The Martin Gardner Polytopes

DOI10.1080/00029890.2020.1751547MaRDI QIDQ3304739zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Kristin Fritsch, Janin Heuer, Raman Sanyal, Nicole Schulz

Publication date 3 August 2020

Published in The American Mathematical Monthly (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.08797

zbMATH Keywords

Birkhoff polytopes.Gardner polytopes

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Permutations, words, matrices (05A05) Combinatorial properties of polytopes and polyhedra (number of faces, shortest paths, etc.) (52B05) Special polytopes (linear programming, centrally symmetric, etc.) (52B12) Lattice polytopes in convex geometry (including relations with commutative algebra and algebraic geometry) (52B20)

Abstract: In the chapter "Magic with a Matrix" in emph{Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions} (1988), Martin Gardner describes a delightful "party trick" to fill the squares of a $d$-by-$d$ chessboard with nonnegative integers such that the sum of the numbers covered by any placement of $d$ nonthreatening rooks is a given number $N$. We consider such chessboards from a geometric perspective which gives rise to a family of lattice polytopes. The polyhedral structure of these Gardner polytopes explains the underlying trick and enables us to count such chessboards for given $N$ in three different ways. We also observe a curious duality that relates Gardner polytopes to Birkhoff polytopes.

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Cited in

(1)

• Unconditional reflexive polytopes

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