The weak separation in higher dimensions (Q2229161)

Let \(r\) be an odd positive integer, and let \(n > r\). Sets \(A, B \subseteq [n]\) are called (strongly) \(r\)-separated if there is no sequence \(i_1 < i_2 < \ldots< i_{r+2}\) of elements of \([n]\) such that the elements with odd indices (\(i_1\), \(i_3, \ldots\)) belong to one of \(A \setminus B\) and \(B \setminus A\), while the elements with even indices (\(i_2, i_4, \ldots\)) belong to the other of these two sets. When sets \(A\) and \(B\) are \(r\)-separated but not \((r - 1)\)-separated, they are called \((r + 1)\)-intertwined. That is, the interval procession associated with the sets \(A\), \(B\) consists of \(r + 1\) intervals. When \(A\) and \(B\) are such that \(\min(A \setminus B) < \min(B \setminus A)\) and \(\max(A \setminus B) > \max(B \setminus A)\), one says that \(A\) surrounds \(B\). The authors define a notion of weakly \(r\)-separated collections of subsets of \([n] = \{1, 2, \ldots , n\}\), i.e., sets \(A,B\subseteq [n]\) are weakly \(r\)-separated if they are \(r'\)-intertwined with \(r'\leq r+2\), and if \(r'=r+2\), then either \(A\) surrounds \(B\) and \(|A|\leq |B|\), or \(B\) surrounds \(A\) and \(|B|\leq |A|\). In this manuscript, extending results related to the concept of weak separation due to Leclerc-Zelevinsky for when \(r=1\), the authors develop a geometric approach to establish a number of combinatorial properties for maximal weakly \(r\)-separated collections (such as an exact upper bound on the maximal size of weakly \(r\)-separated collections, mutations rules, connections to the so-called weak membranes in zonotopes of dimension \(r+2\)). A possible analog for \(r\) even is briefly discussed in Appendix B.