For any lattice polytope $P$, we consider an associated polynomial $\barδ_{P}(t)$ and describe its decomposition into a sum of two polynomials satisfying certain symmetry conditions. As a consequence, we improve upon known inequalities satisfied by the coefficients of the Ehrhart $δ$-vector of a lattice polytope. We also provide combinatorial proofs of two results of Stanley that were previously established using techniques from commutative algebra. Finally, we give a necessary numerical criterion for the existence of a regular unimodular lattice triangulation of the boundary of a lattice polytope.
In this paper, we show the existence of universal inequalities for the $h^*$-vector of a lattice polytope P, that is, we show that there are relations among the coefficients of the $h^*$-polynomial which are independent of both the dimension and the degree of P. More precisely, we prove that the coefficients $h^*_1$ and $h^*_2$ of the $h^*$-vector $(h^*_0,h^*_1,\ldots,h^*_d)$ of a lattice polytope of any degree satisfy Scott's inequality if $h^*_3=0$.
The Ehrhart polynomial of a convex lattice polytope counts integer points in integral dilates of the polytope. We present new linear inequalities satisfied by the coefficients of Ehrhart polynomials and relate them to known inequalities. We also investigate the roots of Ehrhart polynomials. We prove that for fixed d, there exists a bounded region of C containing all roots of Ehrhart polynomials of d-polytopes, and that all real roots of these polynomials lie in [-d, [d/2]). In contrast, we prove that when the dimension d is not fixed the positive real roots can be arbitrarily large. We finish …
We introduce a powerful connection between Ehrhart theory and additive number theory, and use it to produce infinitely many new classes of inequalities between the coefficients of the $h^*$-polynomial of a lattice polytope. This greatly improves upon the three known classes of inequalities, which were proved using techniques from commutative algebra and combinatorics. As an application, we deduce all possible `balanced' inequalities between the coefficients of the $h^*$-polynomial of a lattice polytope containing an interior lattice point, in dimension at most 6.
We formulate conjectures giving combinatorial interpretations of the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector, for hypersimplices, for dilated simplices and for generic cross-sections of cubes, in terms of certain decorated ordered set partitions. All were formulated and checked computationally during our graduate study at Penn State.
We give a combinatorial formula for the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector of the hypersimplex. In particular, we show that $h^{*}_{d}(Δ_{k,n})$ is the number of hypersimplicial decorated ordered set partitions of type $(k,n)$ with winding number $d$, thereby proving a conjecture of Nick Early. We do this by proving a more general conjecture of Nick Early on the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector of a generic cross-section of a hypercube.
Ehrhart theory is the study of sequences recording the number of integer points in non-negative integral dilates of rational polytopes. For a given lattice polytope, this sequence is encoded in a finite vector called the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector. Ehrhart $h^*$-vectors have connections to many areas of mathematics, including commutative algebra and enumerative combinatorics. In this survey we discuss what is known about unimodality for Ehrhart $h^*$-vectors and highlight open questions and problems.
The Ehrhart polynomial $L_P$ of an integral polytope $P$ counts the number of integer points in integral dilates of $P$. Ehrhart polynomials of polytopes are often described in terms of their Ehrhart $h^*$-vector (aka Ehrhart $δ$-vector), which is the vector of coefficients of $L_P$ with respect to a certain binomial basis and which coincides with the $h$-vector of a regular unimodular triangulation of $P$ (if one exists). One important result by Stanley about $h^*$-vectors of polytopes is that their entries are always non-negative. However, recent combinatorial applications of Ehrhart theory …
We consider the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector for the hypersimplex. It is well-known that the sum of the $h_i^*$ is the normalized volume which equals an Eulerian numbers. The main result is a proof of a conjecture by R. Stanley which gives an interpretation of the $h^*_i$ coefficients in terms of descents and excedances. Our proof is geometric using a careful book-keeping of a shelling of a unimodular triangulation. We generalize this result to other closely related polytopes.
The conjecture on roots of Ehrhart polynomials, stated by Matsui et al. \cite[Conjecture 4.10]{MHNOH}, says that all roots $α$ of the Ehrhart polynomial of a Gorenstein Fano polytope of dimension $d$ satisfy $-\frac{d}{2} \leq \Re(α) \leq \frac{d}{2} -1$. In this paper, we observe the behaviors of roots of SSNN polynomials which are a wider class of the polynomials containing all the Ehrhart polynomials of Gorenstein Fano polytopes. As a result, we verify that this conjecture is true when the roots are real numbers or when $d \leq 5$.
For an integral convex polytope $\Pc \subset \RR^N$ of dimension $d$, we call $δ(\Pc)=(δ_0, δ_1,..., δ_d)$ the $δ$-vector of $\Pc$ and $\vol(\Pc)=\sum_{i=0}^dδ_i$ its normalized volume. In this paper, we will establish the new equalities and inequalities on $δ$-vectors for integral simplices whose normalized volumes are prime. Moreover, by using those, we will classify all the possible $δ$-vectors of integral simplices with normalized volume 5 and 7.
A complete classification of the $δ$-vectors of lattice polytopes whose normalized volumes are at most $4$ is known. In the present paper, we will classify all the $δ$-vectors of lattice polytopes with normalized volumes $5$.
In Ehrhart theory, the $h^*$-vector of a rational polytope often provide insights into properties of the polytope that may be otherwise obscured. As an example, the Birkhoff polytope, also known as the polytope of real doubly-stochastic matrices, has a unimodal $h^*$-vector, but when even small modifications are made to the polytope, the same property can be very difficult to prove. In this paper, we examine the $h^*$-vectors of a class of polytopes containing real doubly-stochastic symmetric matrices.
Using a ribbon structure of the graph, we construct a dissection of the symmetric edge polytope of a graph into unimodular simplices. Our dissection is shellable, and one can interpret the elements of the resulting $h$-vector via graph theory. This gives an elementary method for computing the $h^*$-vector of the symmetric edge polytope.
The fractional stable set polytope ${\rm FRAC}(G)$ of a simple graph $G$ with $d$ vertices is a rational polytope that is the set of nonnegative vectors $(x_1,\ldots,x_d)$ satisfying $x_i+x_j\le 1$ for every edge $(i,j)$ of $G$. In this paper we show that (i) The $δ$-vector of a lattice polytope $2 {\rm FRAC}(G)$ is alternatingly increasing; (ii) The Ehrhart ring of ${\rm FRAC}(G)$ is Gorenstein; (iii) The coefficients of the numerator of the Ehrhart series of ${\rm FRAC}(G)$ are symmetric, unimodal and computed by the $δ$-vector of $2 {\rm FRAC}(G)$.
An interesting open problem in Ehrhart theory is to classify those lattice polytopes having a unimodal $h^*$-vector. Although various sufficient conditions have been found, necessary conditions remain a challenge. In this paper, we consider integrally closed reflexive simplices and discuss an operation that preserves reflexivity, integral closure, and unimodality of the $h^*$-vector, providing one explanation for why unimodality occurs in this setting. We also discuss the failure of proving unimodality in this setting using weak Lefschetz elements.
We establish a connection between the orbifold cohomology of hypertoric varieties and the Ehrhart theory of Lawrence polytopes. More specifically, we show that the dimensions of the orbifold cohomology groups of a hypertoric variety are equal to the coefficients of the Ehrhart $δ$-polynomial of the associated Lawrence polytope. As a consequence, we deduce a formula for the Ehrhart $δ$-polynomial of a Lawrence polytope and use the injective part of the Hard Lefschetz Theorem for hypertoric varieties to deduce some inequalities between the coefficients of the $δ$-polynomial.
We consider a formula of Stanley that expresses the Ehrhart generating polynomial of a polyhedral complex in terms of the h-polynomials of toric varieties. We prove that the coefficients in this expression are all non-negative and show that these coefficients can be found using the decomposition theorem in intersection cohomology.
A famous and wide-open problem, going back to at least the early 1970's, concerns the classification of chromatic polynomials of graphs. Toward this classification problem, one may ask for necessary inequalities among the coefficients of a chromatic polynomial, and we contribute such inequalities when a chromatic polynomial $χ_G(n) = χ^*_0 \binom {n+d} d + χ^*_1 \binom {n+d-1} d + \dots + χ^*_d \binom n d$ is written in terms of a binomial-coefficient basis. For example, we show that $χ^*_{ j } \le χ^*_{ d-j }$, for $0 \le j \le \frac{ d }{ 2 }$. Similar results hold for flow and tension polyn…
As a discrete analog to Minkowski's theorem on convex bodies, Wills conjectured that the Ehrhart coefficients of a centrally symmetric lattice polytope with exactly one interior lattice point are maximized by those of the cube of side length two. We discuss several counterexamples to this conjecture and, on the positive side, we identify a family of lattice polytopes that fulfill the claimed inequalities. This family is related to the recently introduced class of $l$-reflexive polytopes.
We use a polynomial decomposition result by Stapledon to show that the numerator polynomial of the Ehrhart series of an open polytope is the difference of two symmetric polynomials with nonnegative integer coefficients. We obtain a related decomposition for order polytopes and for the numerator polynomial of the corresponding series for chromatic polynomials. The nonnegativity of the coefficients in such decompositions provide inequalities satisfied by the coefficients of chromatic polynomials for any simple graph.
We investigate properties of Ehrhart polynomials for matroid polytopes, independence matroid polytopes, and polymatroids. In the first half of the paper we prove that for fixed rank their Ehrhart polynomials are computable in polynomial time. The proof relies on the geometry of these polytopes as well as a new refined analysis of the evaluation of Todd polynomials. In the second half we discuss two conjectures about the h^*-vector and the coefficients of Ehrhart polynomials of matroid polytopes; we provide theoretical and computational evidence for their validity.
In a previous paper, we showed how to use the Ehrhart function $L_P(s)$, defined by $L_P(s) = \#(sP \cap \mathbb Z^d)$, to reconstruct a polytope $P$. More specifically, we showed that, for rational polytopes $P$ and $Q$, if $L_{P + w}(s) = L_{Q + w}(s)$ for all integer vectors $w$, then $P = Q$. In this paper we show the same result, but assuming that $P$ and $Q$ are symmetric convex bodies instead of rational polytopes.
We introduce the notion of a weighted $δ$-vector of a lattice polytope. Although the definition is motivated by motivic integration, we study weighted $δ$-vectors from a combinatorial perspective. We present a version of Ehrhart Reciprocity and prove a change of variables formula. We deduce a new geometric interpretation of the coefficients of the Ehrhart $δ$-vector. More specifically, they are sums of dimensions of orbifold cohomology groups of a toric stack.
It is proved that a certain symmetric sequence of nonnegative integers arising in the enumeration of magic squares of given size n by row sums or, equivalently, in the generating function of the Ehrhart polynomial of the polytope of doubly stochastic n by n matrices, is equal to the h-vector of a simplicial polytope and hence that it satisfies the conditions of the g-theorem. The unimodality of this sequance, which follows, was conjectured by Stanley (1983). Several generalizations are given.
The Ehrhart polynomial of a lattice polygon P is completely determined by the pair (b(P),i(P)) where b(P) equals the number of lattice points on the boundary and i(P) equals the number of interior lattice points. All possible pairs (b(P),i(P)) are completely described by a theorem due to Scott. In this note, we describe the shape of the set of pairs (b(T),i(T)) for lattice triangles T by finding infinitely many new Scott-type inequalities.
We call the $δ$-vector of an integral convex polytope of dimension $d$ flat if the $δ$-vector is of the form $(1,0,\ldots,0,a,\ldots,a,0,\ldots,0)$, where $a \geq 1$. In this paper, we give the complete characterization of possible flat $δ$-vectors. Moreover, for an integral convex polytope $\mathcal{P} \subset \mathbb{R}^N$ of dimension $d$, we let $i(\mathcal{P},n)=|n\mathcal{P} \cap \mathbb{Z}^N|$ and $\ i^*(\mathcal{P},n)=|n(\mathcal{P} \setminus \partial \mathcal{P}) \cap \mathbb{Z}^N|.$ By this characterization, we show that for any $d \geq 1$ and for any $k,\ell \geq 0$ with $k+\ell \le…
We express the generating function for lattice points in a rational polyhedral cone with a simplicial subdivision in terms of multivariate analogues of the h-polynomials of the subdivision and "local contributions" of the links of its nonunimodular faces. We also compute new examples of nonunimodal h^*-vectors of reflexive polytopes.
University of Kentucky（肯塔基大学）；Pomona College（波莫纳学院）；Washington University in St. Louis（华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校）；University of California, Davis（加州大学戴维斯分校）；Harvey Mudd College（哈维穆德学院）
For $\ba \in \R_{\geq 0}^{n}$, the Tesler polytope $\tes_{n}(\ba)$ is the set of upper triangular matrices with non-negative entries whose hook sum vector is $\ba$. Motivated by a conjecture of Morales', we study the questions of whether the coefficients of the Ehrhart polynomial of $\tes_n(1,1,\dots,1)$ are positive. We attack this problem by studying a certain function constructed by Berline-Vergne and its values on faces of a unimodularly equivalent copy of $\tes_n(1,1,\dots,1).$ We develop a method of obtaining the dot products appeared in formulas for computing Berline-Vergne's function d…
In a previous paper (El. J. Combin. 6 (1999), R37), the author generalized Ehrhart's idea of counting lattice points in dilated rational polytopes: Given a rational polytope, that is, a polytope with rational vertices, we use its description as the intersection of halfspaces, which determine the facets of the polytope. Instead of just a single dilation factor, we allow different dilation factors for each of these facets. We proved that, if our polytope is a simplex, the lattice point counts in the interior and closure of such a vector-dilated simplex are quasipolynomials satisfying an Ehrhart-…
A result of Haglund implies that the $(q,t)$-bigraded Hilbert series of the space of diagonal harmonics is a $(q,t)$-Ehrhart function of the flow polytope of a complete graph with netflow vector $(-n, 1, \dots, 1)$. We study the $(q,t)$-Ehrhart functions of flow polytopes of threshold graphs with arbitrary netflow vectors. Our results generalize previously known specializations of the mentioned bigraded Hilbert series at $t=1$, $0$, and $q^{-1}$. As a corollary to our results, we obtain a proof of a conjecture of Armstrong, Garsia, Haglund, Rhoades and Sagan about the $(q, q^{-1})$-Ehrhart fun…
We study the Ehrhart theory of quadratic irrational polytopes that undergo vector dilations. That is, for a given polytope with vertices in $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{D})$, and a different dilation factor for each facet, we show that the leading term of the lattice-point count behaves similar to an Ehrhart polynomial, generalizing previous work of Borda on scalar dilations of quadratic irrational polytopes. As a result, a form of the Ehrhart-Macdonald reciprocity law is obtained for the leading term.
We characterize all signed Minkowski sums that define generalized permutahedra, extending results of Ardila-Benedetti-Doker (2010). We use this characterization to give a complete classification of all positive, translation-invariant, symmetric Minkowski linear functionals on generalized permutahedra. We show that they form a simplicial cone and explicitly describe their generators. We apply our results to prove that the linear coefficients of Ehrhart polynomials of generalized permutahedra, which include matroid polytopes, are non-negative, verifying conjectures of De Loera-Haws-Koeppe (2009)…
The Baldoni--Vergne volume and Ehrhart polynomial formulas for flow polytopes are significant in at least two ways. On one hand, these formulas are in terms of Kostant partition functions, connecting flow polytopes to this classical vector partition function fundamental in representation theory. On the other hand the Ehrhart polynomials can be read off from the volume functions of flow polytopes. The latter is remarkable since the leading term of the Ehrhart polynomial of an integer polytope is its volume! Baldoni and Vergne proved these formulas via residues. To reveal the geometry of these f…
We study the connection between stringy Betti numbers of Gorenstein toric varieties and the generating functions of the Ehrhart polynomials of certain polyhedral regions. We use this point of view to give counterexamples to Hibi's conjecture on the unimodality of delta-vectors of reflexive polytopes.
We discover that tautological intersection numbers on $\bar{\mathcal{M}}_{g, n}$, the moduli space of stable genus $g$ curves with $n$ marked points, are evaluations of Ehrhart polynomials of partial polytopal complexes. In order to prove this, we realize the Virasoro constraints for tautological intersection numbers as a recursion for integer-valued polynomials. Then we apply a theorem of Breuer that classifies Ehrhart polynomials of partial polytopal complexes by the nonnegativity of their $f^*$-vector. In dimensions 1 and 2, we show that the polytopal complexes that arise are \emph{inside-o…
In this paper we calculate the Ehrhart's polynomial associated with a 2-dimensional regular polytope (i.e. equilateral triangles) in $\mathbb Z^3$. The polynomial takes a relatively simple form in terms of the coordinates of the vertices of the polytope and it depends heavily on the value $d$ and its divisors, where $d=\sqrt{\frac{a^2+b^2+c^2}{3}}$ and $(a,b,c)$ ($\gcd(a,b,c)=1$) is a vector with integer coordinates normal to the plane containing the triangle.
For lattice polytopes $P_1,\ldots, P_k \subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$, Bihan (2014) introduced the discrete mixed volume $\mathrm{DMV}(P_1,\dots,P_k)$ in analogy to the classical mixed volume. In this note we initiate the study of the associated mixed Ehrhart polynomial $\mathrm{ME}_{P_1,\dots,P_k}(n) = \mathrm{DMV}(nP_1,\dots,nP_k)$. We study properties of this polynomial and we give interpretations for some of its coefficients in terms of (discrete) mixed volumes. Bihan (2014) showed that the discrete mixed volume is always non-negative. Our investigations yield simpler proofs for certain special c…
The notion of Ehrhart tensor polynomials, a natural generalization of the Ehrhart polynomial of a lattice polytope, was recently introduced by Ludwig and Silverstein. We initiate a study of their coefficients. In the vector and matrix cases, we give Pick-type formulas in terms of triangulations of a lattice polygon. As our main tool, we introduce $h^r$-tensor polynomials, extending the notion of the Ehrhart $h^\ast$-polynomial, and, for matrices, investigate their coefficients for positive semidefiniteness. In contrast to the usual $h^\ast$-polynomial, the coefficients are in general not monot…
We show that the Ehrhart h-vector of an integer Gorenstein polytope with a regular unimodular triangulation satisfies McMullen's g-theorem; in particular, it is unimodal. This result generalizes a recent theorem of Athanasiadis (conjectured by Stanley) for compressed polytopes. It is derived from a more general theorem on Gorenstein affine normal monoids M: one can factor K[M] (K a field) by a "long" regular sequence in such a way that the quotient is still a normal affine monoid algebra. This technique reduces all questions about the Ehrhart h-vector of P to the Ehrhart h-vector of a Gorenste…
This paper initiates the study of the "Laplacian simplex" $T_G$ obtained from a finite graph $G$ by taking the convex hull of the columns of the Laplacian matrix for $G$. Basic properties of these simplices are established, and then a systematic investigation of $T_G$ for trees, cycles, and complete graphs is provided. Motivated by a conjecture of Hibi and Ohsugi, our investigation focuses on reflexivity, the integer decomposition property, and unimodality of Ehrhart $h^*$-vectors. We prove that if $G$ is a tree, odd cycle, complete graph, or a whiskering of an even cycle, then $T_G$ is reflex…
A lattice polytope is called spanning if its lattice points affinely span the ambient lattice. We show as a corollary to a general result in the Ehrhart theory of lattice polytopes that the $h^*$-vector of a spanning lattice polytope has no gaps, i. e., $h^*_i =0$ implies $h^*_{i+1}=0$. This generalizes a recent result by Blekherman, Smith, and Velasco, and implies a polyhedral consequence of the Eisenbud-Goto conjecture. We also discuss how this relates to unimodality questions of lattice polytopes and previously achieved decomposition results on lattice polytopes of given degree.
We classify the three-dimensional lattice polytopes with two interior lattice points. Up to unimodular equivalence there are 22,673,449 such polytopes. This classification allows us to verify, for this case only, a conjectural upper bound for the volume of a lattice polytope with interior points, and provides strong evidence for new conjectural inequalities on the coefficients of the Ehrhart polynomial in dimension three.
