Ehrhart \(h^{\ast }\)-vectors of hypersimplices (Q1930548)

In this paper, the author treats the lattice-point enumerator function \(\sum_{r \geq 0} \, i(\mathcal{P},r)t^r\) when \(\mathcal{P}\) is what is called here the hypersimplex \[ \Delta_{k,n} = \{(x_1,\ldots,x_{n-1}) \mid 0 \leq x_1,\ldots,x_{n-1} \leq 1;\;k-1 \leq x_1 + \cdots + x_{n-1} \leq k\}, \] where \(i(\mathcal{P},r) = \#(r\mathcal{P} \cap \mathbb{Z}^{n-1})\) counts the lattice points in the dilatate of the integer polytope \(\mathcal{P}\) by \(r\). (The hypersimplex is equivalent to a certain slice of the unit \(n\)-cube by a hyperplane perpendicular to a long diagonal.) It is known that one can write \[ \sum_{r \geq 0} \, i(\mathcal{P},r)t^r = \frac{h^*(t)}{(1 - t)^n}, \] with \(h^*(t)\) a polynomial, whose coefficients give the Ehrhart \(h^*\)-vector of \(\mathcal{P}\). In fact, the author calculates this for the half-open hypersimplex \(\Delta_{k,n}'\), where now \(k > 1\) and the inequalites are \(k-1 < x_1 + \cdots + x_{n-1} \leq k\). This is done by two methods: first, using generating functions and second, by finding a suitable triangulation of the hypersimplex by unimodular simplices (that is, lattice simplices of minimal volume). For a permutation \(w \in \mathfrak{S}_{n-1}\), a descent occurs when \(w(i) > w(i+1)\), and an exceedance is when \(w(i) > i\); their numbers are \(\mathrm{des}(w)\) and \(\mathrm{exc}(w)\), respectively. Among other formulas, it is shown here that the \(h^*\)-polynomial of \(\Delta_{k,n}'\) is \[ \sum_{\substack{ w \in \mathfrak{S}_{n-1} \\ \mathrm{exc}(w) = k-1}} \, t^{\mathrm{des}(w)}. \] The proofs are somewhat lengthy, whichever method is adopted.