Algebraic shifting of cyclic polytopes and stacked polytopes (Q879386)

A simplicial complex is a set \(S\) of subsets of \(\{1,\dots,n\}\) such that if \(X\in S\), then \(Y\in S\) for all \(Y\subseteq X\). A simplicial complex \(S\) is shifted if for any \(X=\{x_1,\dots,x_r\}\in S\) with \(x_1<x_2<\dots<x_r\), if \(y_1<y_2<\dots<y_r\) satisfy \(y_i\leq x_i\) for all \(i\), then \(Y=\{y_1,\dots,y_r\}\in S\). A shifting operation is any map from the set of all simplicial complexes to the set of all shifted simplicial complexes. The article under review considers three types of shifting operation. These are exterior shifting and symmetric shifting (introduced by Kalai) and combinatorial shifting (introduced by Erdős et. al.). Denote these respectively by \(\Delta^e\), \(\Delta^s\) and \(\Delta^c\). The article also considers the S-UBR (shifting-theoretic upper bound relation), introduced by Kalai. A simplicial complex \(S\) satisfies the S-UBR if \(\Delta^e(K)\) is a subset of \(\Delta^s(C_n(d))\), where \(C_n(d)\) is the boundary complex of the cyclic \(d\)-polytope on \(n\) vertices. Several results are proven in the article. It is shown that if there exists a \(\Delta^c(S)\) with \(\Delta^c(S)\subset\Delta^s(C_n(d))\), then \(S\) satisfies the S-UBR. A stronger result is obtained for the case when \(S\) is a simplicial \((d-1)\)-sphere, namely that if \(\Delta^c(S)_{d-1}\subset\Delta^s(C_n(d))\), then \(\Delta^e(S)\subset\Delta^s(C_n(d))\). Finally it is shown that \(\Delta^e(C_n(d))=\Delta^s(C_n(d))\), and that a similar relation holds for the boundary complex \(P_n(d)\) of a stacked \(d\)-polytope on \(n\) vertices. This leads to the relation \(\Delta^s(P_n(d))\subset \Delta^s(S)\subset \Delta^s(C_n(d))\) whenever \(S\) is the boundary complex of a simplicial \(d\)-polytope on \(n\) vertices.