Rigidity and polynomial invariants of convex polytopes (Q2572640)

Using ideas from algebraic geometry and delicate calculations, the authors introduce an algebraic approach to problems of rigidity of convex polytopes in great generality by establishing polynomial invariants that satisfy polynomial relations in terms of squared edge-lengths of these polytopes. On this way constructions of simplicial convex polytopes from a given triangulation and given edge-lengths are described. Sharp upper and lower bounds on the degree of these polynomial relations are obtained, and a number of examples and special cases are studied (for regular bipyramids even explicit formulae for some of these relations are derived). Furthermore, the authors conclude with a proof of the Robbins conjecture on the degree of generalized Héron polynomials.