The Minkowski sum of simplices in 3-dimensional space. An analytical description (Q2248741)

A row matrix \(A=\left(\frac{1}{a_1} \quad \frac{1}{a_2} \quad \frac{1}{a_3}\right)\) with positive entries defines a \(3\)-dimensional de Gua simplex \[ P_A=\{x\in \mathbb{R}_{+}^3: Ax\leqslant 1\}=\text{conv}\{(0,0,0),\;(a_1,0,0), \;(0,a_2,0), \;(0,0,a_3)\}. \] The author considers the polytopes which are Minkowski sums of \(3\)-dimensional de Gua simplices, describes the shape of nontrivial facets (those facets that are not lying in the coordinate planes) and determines the coordinates of their vertices. Also, the author determines the maximal number of nontrivial facets of such a polytope and gives some sufficient conditions on the defining row matrices of de Gua simplices that ensure the maximal number of non-trivial facets.