Generalized angle vectors, geometric lattices, and flag-angles


Abstract in English

Interior and exterior angle vectors of polytopes capture curvature information at faces of all dimensions and can be seen as metric variants of $f$-vectors. In this context, Grams relation takes the place of the Euler-Poincare relation as the unique linear relation among interior angles. We show the existence and uniqueness of Euler-Poincare-type relations for generalized angle vectors by building a bridge to the algebraic combinatorics of geometric lattices, generalizing work of Klivans-Swartz. We introduce flag-angles of polytopes as a geometric counterpart to flag-$f$-vectors. Flag-angles generalize the angle deficiencies of Descartes-Shephard, Grassmann angles, and spherical intrinsic volumes. Using the machinery of incidence algebras, we relate flag-angles of zonotopes to flag-$f$-vectors of graded posets. This allows us to determine the linear relations satisfied by interior/exterior flag-angle vectors.

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