Associahedra via spines (Q722343)

The \(n\)-dimensional associahedron is a certain convex \(n\)-polytope whose vertices are in one-to-one correspondence with the triangulations of a convex \((n+3)\)-gon and whose edges represent pairs of triangulations related by a flip of a single diagonal. Various polytopal realizations of the associahedron are known. The present paper introduces the spine of a triangulation of the \((n+3)\)-gon as the dual graph of the triangulation together with a labeling and an orientation. The approach to associahedra via spines extends the classical description of associahedra in terms of binary trees [\textit{J.-L. Loday}, Arch. Math. 83, No. 3, 267--278 (2004; Zbl 1059.52017)] and provides a new perspective on the realizations discovered in [\textit{C. Hohlweg} and \textit{C. E. M. C. Lange}, Discrete Comput. Geom. 37, No. 4, 517--543 (2007; Zbl 1125.52011)], leading in particular to new insights about their geometric and combinatorial properties.