Lipschitz polytopes of posets and permutation statistics (Q721062)

In the article under review, the authors introduce Lipschitz functions in the context of posets in the following way. Let \(P\) be a finite poset and \(f:P \to \mathbb{R}\) an order-preserving map. Given \(a, b \in P\) with \(a \preceq b\), denote by \(d_P(a,b)\) the length of the shortest saturated chain from \(a\) to \(b\). If, for all such \(a\) and \(b\), \(f(b) - f(a) \leq k\cdot d_P(a,b)\) for some constant (integer) \(k\), then we say \(f\) is \(k\)-Lipschitz. Further, \(f\) is called Lipschitz if \(f\) is \(1\)-Lipschitz. Lipschitz functions are common objects in analysis, and the definition given by the authors is a particular discrete analogue of theirs. From this definition, the authors construct the Lipschitz polytope of \(P\) as a set of Lipschitz functions on \(P\) with a \(\hat{0}\) adjoined, subject to mild additional conditions. In section \(2\), they provide a criterion for identifying when a vector is a vertex of a Lipschitz polytope. They also prove that Lipschitz polytopes are \(2\)-level; such polytopes have many desirable properties, including unimodular pulling triangulations. In the following section, the authors construct unimodular triangulations that are not pulling triangulations. They also express the Ehrhart \(h^*\)-vector of Lipschitz polytopes in terms of a certain permutation statistic, summed over permutations that are descent-compatible with \(P\). In section \(4\), the authors study Lipschitz polytopes of ranked posets, identifying cases which are centrally-symmetric and \(2\)-Gorenstein. The closing section defines and studies \((P,k)\)-hypersimplices, a special class of alcoved polytopes that allow for a more precise description of its vertices. Again, the Ehrhart \(h^*\)-vector and volume is described.