Equilibrium stressability of multidimensional frameworks (Q2115329)

This paper introduces a notion of multidimensional stressable frameworks. Specifically, a \(d\)-framework in \(\mathbb{R}^D\) (with \(D > d \geq 1\)) is a tuple \(\mathcal{F} = (E, F, I, \textbf{n})\) where \(E\) is a collection of \((d-1)\)-dimensional affine subspaces of \(\mathbb{R}^D\), \(F\) is a collection of \(d\)-dimensional subspaces, \(I \subset \{ (e, f) \in E \times F \mid e \subset f \}\), and \(\textbf{n}(e, f)\) is a unit vector contained in \(f\) and normal to \(e\), for every \((e, f) \in I\). A stress \(s\) on \(\mathcal{F}\) is any function \(s \colon F \to \mathbb{R}\). A framework \(\mathcal{F}\) with a stress \(s\) is in equilibrium if \[ \sum_{(e, f) \in I} s(f) \, \textbf{n}(e, f) = 0 \quad \forall\, e \in E. \] A framework is called \textit{self-stressable} or a \textit{tensegrity} if it is in equilibrium with respect to some non-zero stress. The previous definitions draw from the classical notion of \textit{tensegrity framework}, a graph over a set of vertices in \(\mathbb{R}^d\) where edges are either \textit{cables} (which provide an upper bound for the distance between the connected vertices) or \textit{struts} (which provide a lower bound) [\textit{B. Roth} and \textit{W. Whiteley}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 265, 419--446 (1981; Zbl 0479.51015)]. The present paper then provides geometric criteria for self-stressability of \textit{trivalent} \(d\)-frameworks, i.e., frameworks where each element of \(E\) appears in exactly three pairs in \(I\). Finally, the paper discusses the relation with an alternative notion of stressable frameworks introduced by Rybnikov, where faces are represented as polytopes instead of affine subspaces [\textit{K. Rybnikov}, Discrete Comput. Geom. 21, No. 4, 481--517 (1999; Zbl 0941.52008)].