One-point suspensions and wreath products of polytopes and spheres (Q556855)

The authors unify several constructions that have previously appeared in the literature [e.g., \textit{B. McMullen}, Discrete Math. 14, 347--358 (1976; Zbl 0319.52010); \textit{I. Adler} and \textit{G. B. Dantzig}, Pivoting and Ext., Math. Program. Study 1, 20--40 (1974; Zbl 0395.90051)] into what they term the wreath product \(P\wr Q\) of polytopes, or more generally, of simplicial complexes. In the case where \(P\subset\mathbb R^d\)~is a \(d\)-dimensional polytope with vertices \(v_1,\dots,v_m\), and \(Q\subset\mathbb R^e\) an \(e\)-dimensional polytope with vertices \(w_1,\dots,w_n\), it is defined as \[ P\wr Q= \text{conv} \{ (v_i)^k \oplus w_k: 1\leq i\leq m \text{ and } 1\leq k\leq n\}\subset \mathbb R^{nd+e}, \] where \((v_i)^k\in\mathbb R^{nd}\) is the row vector that consists of \(n\)~blocks of length~\(d\), all of them zero except for the \(k\)-th one, which is~\(v_i\). The name stems from the fact that the wreath product \(\Aut P\wr\Aut Q = (\Aut P)^n \rtimes \Aut Q\) of the automorphism groups of the factors acts as a group of automorphisms on~\(P\wr Q\); here, the semi-direct product \(\rtimes\) is taken with respect to the natural action of \(\text{Aut\;}Q\) on the \(n\)~vertices of~\(Q\). In case \(P=\Delta_d\) is a simplex, the wreath product \(\Delta_d\wr Q\) is combinatorially isomorphic to an iterated dual wedge over~\(Q\). A main technical tool used in the paper is to view a single dual wedge operation as a one-point suspension of the boundary of~\(Q\). In this way, in the more general case where \(P\) is the boundary \(\partial\Delta_d\) of a simplex and \(Q=K\) a simplicial complex, the authors give an expression for the \(f\)-vector of~\(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\), and relate combinatorial properties of \(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\) to combinatorial properties of~\(K\) as follows: \(\bullet\) \(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\) is vertex-decomposable, shellable, constructible, a cone, non-evasive, or a polytopal sphere if and only if \(K\)~is; \(\bullet\) if \(K\)~is collapsible, then so is~\(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\); if \(K\)~is \(\mathbb Z\)-acyclic and \(d\geq1\), then \(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\) is contractible; if \(K\) is a (vertex-transitive) non-spherical homology sphere and \(d\geq1\), then \(\partial\Delta_d\wr K\)~is a (vertex-transitive) non-PL sphere. In particular, the last construction yields an infinite series of vertex-transitive non-PL spheres, starting from any vertex-transitive triangulation of the Poincaré homology \(3\)-sphere. In closing, the authors mention some connections to the evasiveness conjecture, \textit{J. Kahn, M. Saks} and \textit{D. Sturtevant} [Combinatorica 4, 297--306 (1984; Zbl 0577.05061)] and the counterexample by \textit{P. Mani} and \textit{D. W. Walkup} [Math. Oper. Res. 5, 595--598 (1980; Zbl 0457.52004)] to the spherical Hirsch conjecture.