A Schläfli-type formula for polytopes with curved faces and its application to the Kneser-Poulsen conjecture (Q2494372)

The Kneser-Poulsen conjecture asserts that given two \(k\)-tuples of points in the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(P_1\dots,P_k\) and \(Q_1\dots,Q_k\) such that \(d(P_1,P,j)\geq d(Q_i,Q_j)\), then \(V_n(\cup_{i=1}^k B(P_i,r))\geq V_n(\cup_{i=1}^k B(Q_i,r))\), where \(V_n\) is the \(n\)-dimensional volume, \(r\) is an arbitrary positive number, and \(B(P,r)\) is the ball of radius \(r\) around \(P\). The conjecture has recently been proven in the plane in [\textit{K. Bezdek}, and \textit{R. Connelly}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 553, 221--236 (2002; Zbl 1021.52012)], and it is still open for \(n\geq 3\), but there have been many papers devoted to the verification of this conjecture and its generalisations in special cases. In the paper under review, the author proves a Schläffli-type formula for polytopes with curved faces lying in pseudo-Riemannian Einstein manifolds, which improves the analogous result (although proved in a different setting) contained in [\textit{Rabah Souam}, Differ. Geom. Appl. 20, No.~1, 31--45 (2004; Zbl 1065.52015)], and then he applies it to the Kneser-Poulsen conjecture.