The assembly problem for alternating semiregular polytopes (Q2197694)

This paper deals with several problems raised by abstract semiregular polytopes. One of the main problems is the assembly problem: Suppose \(\mathcal{P}\) and \(\mathcal{Q}\) are regular \(n\)-polytopes with isomorphic facets \(\mathcal{K}\); and fix \(k\geq 2\). Does there exist an alternating semiregular \((n+1)\)-polytope \(\mathcal{S}\) with facets \(\mathcal{P}\) and \(\mathcal{Q}\), and interlacing number \(k\)? The answer can be negative or positive, and several such answers are determined for specific \(\mathcal{P}\), \(\mathcal{Q}\), \(\mathcal{K}\) and \(k\). Here is an example of a negative answer: Let \(\mathcal{P}\) be the hemi-\(3\)-cube \({4, 3}_3\) , and let \(\mathcal{Q}\) be a 3-toroid \({4, 4}_{(s,0)}\) with \(s\geq 2\). For odd \(s\), there is no alternating semiregular \(4\)-polytope with facets \({\mathcal P}\) and \({\mathcal Q}\) and interlacing number \(k=2\).