Hierarchical Zonotopal Power Ideals

Zonotopal algebra deals with ideals and vector spaces of polynomials that are related to several combinatorial and geometric structures defined by a finite sequence of vectors. Given such a sequence $X$, an integer $k \geq -1$ and an upper set in the lattice of flats of the matroid defined by $X$, we define and study the associated $\textit{hierarchical zonotopal power ideal}$. This ideal is generated by powers of linear forms. Its Hilbert series depends only on the matroid structure of $X$. It is related to various other matroid invariants, $\textit{e. g.}$ the shelling polynomial and the characteristic polynomial. This work unifies and generalizes results by Ardila-Postnikov on power ideals and by Holtz-Ron and Holtz-Ron-Xu on (hierarchical) zonotopal algebra. We also generalize a result on zonotopal Cox modules due to Sturmfels-Xu

Interpolation, box splines, and lattice points in zonotopes

Given a finite list of vectors $X \subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$, one can define the box spline $B_X$. Box splines are piecewise polynomial functions that are used in approximation theory. They are also interesting from a combinatorial point of view and many of their properties solely depend on the structure of the matroid defined by the list $X$. The support of the box spline is the zonotope $Z(X)$. We show that if the list $X$ is totally unimodular, any real-valued function defined on the set of lattice points in the interior of $Z(X)$ can be extended to a function on $Z(X)$ of the form $p(D)B_X$ in a unique way, where $p(D)$ is a differential operator that is contained in the so-called internal $\mathcal{P}$-space. This was conjectured by Olga Holtz and Amos Ron. We also point out connections between this interpolation problem and matroid theory, including a deletion-contraction decomposition

Ehrhart polynomial and multiplicity Tutte polynomial

We prove that the Ehrhart polynomial of a zonotope is a specialization of the multiplicity Tutte polynomial. We derive some formulae for the volume and the number of integer points of the zonotope.Comment: 6 pages, 1 pictur

A Tutte polynomial for toric arrangements

We introduce a multiplicity Tutte polynomial M(x,y), with applications to zonotopes and toric arrangements. We prove that M(x,y) satisfies a deletion-restriction recurrence and has positive coefficients. The characteristic polynomial and the Poincare' polynomial of a toric arrangement are shown to be specializations of the associated polynomial M(x,y), likewise the corresponding polynomials for a hyperplane arrangement are specializations of the ordinary Tutte polynomial. Furthermore, M(1,y) is the Hilbert series of the related discrete Dahmen-Micchelli space, while M(x,1) computes the volume and the number of integral points of the associated zonotope.Comment: Final version, to appear on Transactions AMS. 28 pages, 4 picture

Lattice points in polytopes, box splines, and Todd operators

Let $X$ be a list of vectors that is totally unimodular. In a previous article the author proved that every real-valued function on the set of interior lattice points of the zonotope defined by $X$ can be extended to a function on the whole zonotope of the form $p(D)B_X$ in a unique way, where $p(D)$ is a differential operator that is contained in the so-called internal \Pcal-space. In this paper we construct an explicit solution to this interpolation problem in terms of Todd operators. As a corollary we obtain a slight generalisation of the Khovanskii-Pukhlikov formula that relates the volume and the number of integer points in a smooth lattice polytope.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Geometric realizations and duality for Dahmen-Micchelli modules and De Concini-Procesi-Vergne modules

We give an algebraic description of several modules and algebras related to the vector partition function, and we prove that they can be realized as the equivariant K-theory of some manifolds that have a nice combinatorial description. We also propose a more natural and general notion of duality between these modules, which corresponds to a Poincar\'e duality-type correspondence for equivariant K-theory.Comment: Final version, to appear on Discrete and Computational Geometr

Splines, lattice points, and (arithmetic) matroids

Let $X$ be a $(d \times N)$-matrix. We consider the variable polytope $\Pi_X(u) = \left\{ w \geq 0 : Xw = u \right\}$. It is known that the function $T_X$ that assigns to a parameter $u \in \mathbb{R}^N$ the volume of the polytope $\Pi_X(u)$ is piecewise polynomial. Formulas of Khovanskii-Pukhlikov and Brion-Vergne imply that the number of lattice points in $\Pi_X(u)$ can be obtained by applying a certain differential operator to the function $T_X$. In this extended abstract we slightly improve the formulas of Khovanskii-Pukhlikov and Brion-Vergne and we study the space of differential operators that are relevant for $T_X$ (ıe operators that do not annihilate $T_X$) and the space of nice differential operators (ıe operators that leave $T_X$ continuous). These two spaces are finite-dimensional homogeneous vector spaces and their Hilbert series are evaluations of the Tutte polynomial of the (arithmetic) matroid defined by $X$