Reciprocal domains and Cohen-Macaulay $d$-complexes in $R^d$

We give a short, self-contained proof of Stanley's reciprocity theorem for a rational cone K \subset R^d. Namely, let sigma_K (x) = sum_{m \in K \cap Z^d} x^m. Then sigma_K (x) and sigma_int(K) (x) are rational functions which satisfy the identity sigma_K (1/x) = (-1)^d sigma_int(K) (x). A corollary of Stanley's theorem is the Ehrhart-Macdonald reciprocity theorem for the lattice-point enumerator of rational polytopes. A distinguishing feature of our proof is that it uses nei...

This expository paper features a few highlights of Richard Stanley's extensive work in Ehrhart theory, the study of integer-point enumeration in rational polyhedra. We include results from the recent literature building on Stanley's work, as well as several open problems.

We give new proofs of three theorems of Stanley on generating functions for the integer points in rational cones. The first, Stanley's reciprocity theorem, relates the rational generating functions for the integer points in a cone K and for those in its interior. The second, Stanley's Positivity theorem asserts that the generating function of the Ehrhart quasipolynomial of a rational polytope P can be written as a rational function with nonnegative numerator. The third, Stanl...

We show that a finite regular cell complex with the intersection property is a Cohen-Macaulay space iff the top enriched cohomology module is the only nonvanishing one. We prove a comprehensive generalization of Balinski's theorem on convex polytopes. Also we show that for any Cohen-Macaulay cell complex as above, although there is no generalization of the Stanley-Reisner ring of simplicial complexes, there is a generalization of its canonical module.

In this expository article we give an introduction to Ehrhart theory, i.e., the theory of integer points in polyhedra, and take a tour through its applications in enumerative combinatorics. Topics include geometric modeling in combinatorics, Ehrhart's method for proving that a couting function is a polynomial, the connection between polyhedral cones, rational functions and quasisymmetric functions, methods for bounding coefficients, combinatorial reciprocity theorems, algorit...

A rational polytope is the convex hull of a finite set of points in $\R^d$ with rational coordinates. Given a rational polytope $P \subseteq \R^d$, Ehrhart proved that, for $t\in\Z_{\ge 0}$, the function $#(tP \cap \Z^d)$ agrees with a quasi-polynomial $L_P(t)$, called the Ehrhart quasi-polynomial. The Ehrhart quasi-polynomial can be regarded as a discrete version of the volume of a polytope. We use that analogy to derive a new proof of Ehrhart's theorem. This proof also allo...

For a convex polytope P with rational vertices, we count the number of integer points in integral dilates of P and its interior. The Ehrhart-Macdonald reciprocity law gives an intimate relation between these two counting functions. A similar counting function and reciprocity law exists for the sum of all solid angles at integer points in dilates of P. We derive a unifying generalization of these reciprocity theorems which follows in a natural way from Brion's Theorem on conic...

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 latti...

We give a new proof for a theorem of Ehrhart regarding the quasi-polynomiality of the function that counts the number of integer points in the integral dilates of a rational polytope. The proof involves a geometric bijection, inclusion-exclusion, and recurrence relations, and we also prove Ehrhart reciprocity using these methods.

We present criteria for the Cohen-Macaulayness of a monomial ideal in terms of its primary decomposition. These criteria allow us to use tools of graph theory and of linear programming to study the Cohen-Macaulayness of monomial ideals which are intersections of prime ideal powers. We can characterize the Cohen-Macaulayness of the second symbolic power or of all symbolic powers of a Stanley-Reisner ideal in terms of the simplicial complex. These characterizations show that th...