A comparison theorem for \(f\)-vectors of simplicial polytopes (Q930786)

The author proves the following results. Let \(S(n,d)\) and \(C(n,d)\) denote the stacked and neighbourly (cyclic) \(d\)-polytopes with \(n\) vertices, and let \(f_i(P)\) denote the number of \(i\)-faces of a polytope \(P\). If \(P\) is a simplicial \(d\)-polytope such that \(f_r(S(n_1,d)) \leq f_r(P) \leq f_r(C(n_2,d))\) for some number \(n_1,n_2\) and \(r\), then \(f_s(S(n_1,d)) \leq f_s(P) \leq f_s(C(n_2,d))\) for all \(r < s < d\). These inequalities generalize the well-known lower and upper bound theorems, which form the case \(r = 0\). There is an analogous lower bound inequality for centrally symmetric simplicial polytopes. The core result, from which these inequalities are deduced, is significant in its own right. Suppose that \(\Delta\) and \(\Gamma\) are \((d-1)\)-dimensional simplicial homology spheres whose \(g\)-vectors satisfy \(g_i(\Delta) \geq g_i(\Gamma)\) for \(i = 1,\ldots,t\) and \(g_i(\Delta) \leq g_i(\Gamma)\) for \(i = t+1,\ldots,\lfloor d/2 \rfloor\), where \(0 \leq t \leq \lfloor d/2 \rfloor\). If \(f_r(\Delta) \leq f_r(\Gamma)\) for some \(0 \leq r \leq d-2\), then \(f_s(\Delta) \leq f_s(\Gamma)\) for each \(r < s < d\).