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In seven-dimensional
geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
, a 7-polytope is a
polytope In elementary geometry, a polytope is a geometric object with flat sides ('' faces''). Polytopes are the generalization of three-dimensional polyhedra to any number of dimensions. Polytopes may exist in any general number of dimensions as an ...
contained by 6-polytope facets. Each
5-polytope In geometry, a five-dimensional polytope (or 5-polytope) is a polytope in five-dimensional space, bounded by (4-polytope) facets, pairs of which share a polyhedral cell. Definition A 5-polytope is a closed five-dimensional figure with vertices ...
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
being shared by exactly two 6-polytope facets. A uniform 7-polytope is one whose symmetry group is transitive on vertices and whose facets are
uniform 6-polytope In six-dimensional geometry, a uniform 6-polytope is a six-dimensional uniform polytope. A uniform polypeton is vertex-transitive, and all facets are uniform 5-polytopes. The complete set of convex uniform 6-polytopes has not been determined, ...
s.


Regular 7-polytopes

Regular 7-polytopes are represented by the
Schläfli symbol In geometry, the Schläfli symbol is a notation of the form \ that defines regular polytopes and tessellations. The Schläfli symbol is named after the 19th-century Swiss mathematician Ludwig Schläfli, who generalized Euclidean geometry to mor ...
with u 6-polytopes facets around each 4-face. There are exactly three such convex regular 7-polytopes: # -
7-simplex In 7-dimensional geometry, a 7-simplex is a self-dual regular 7-polytope. It has 8 vertices, 28 edges, 56 triangle faces, 70 tetrahedral cells, 56 5-cell 5-faces, 28 5-simplex 6-faces, and 8 6-simplex 7-faces. Its dihedral angle is cos−1(1/ ...
# - 7-cube # - 7-orthoplex There are no nonconvex regular 7-polytopes.


Characteristics

The topology of any given 7-polytope is defined by its
Betti number In algebraic topology, the Betti numbers are used to distinguish topological spaces based on the connectivity of ''n''-dimensional simplicial complexes. For the most reasonable finite-dimensional spaces (such as compact manifolds, finite simplicia ...
s and torsion coefficients.Richeson, D.; ''Euler's Gem: The Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of Topoplogy'', Princeton, 2008. The value of the
Euler characteristic In mathematics, and more specifically in algebraic topology and polyhedral combinatorics, the Euler characteristic (or Euler number, or Euler–Poincaré characteristic) is a topological invariant, a number that describes a topological spac ...
used to characterise polyhedra does not generalize usefully to higher dimensions, whatever their underlying topology. This inadequacy of the Euler characteristic to reliably distinguish between different topologies in higher dimensions led to the discovery of the more sophisticated Betti numbers. Similarly, the notion of orientability of a polyhedron is insufficient to characterise the surface twistings of toroidal polytopes, and this led to the use of torsion coefficients.


Uniform 7-polytopes by fundamental Coxeter groups

Uniform 7-polytopes with reflective symmetry can be generated by these four Coxeter groups, represented by permutations of rings of the Coxeter-Dynkin diagrams:


The A7 family

The A7 family has symmetry of order 40320 (8
factorial In mathematics, the factorial of a non-negative denoted is the product of all positive integers less than or equal The factorial also equals the product of n with the next smaller factorial: \begin n! &= n \times (n-1) \times (n-2) ...
). There are 71 (64+8-1) forms based on all permutations of the Coxeter-Dynkin diagrams with one or more rings. All 71 are enumerated below. Norman Johnson's truncation names are given. Bowers names and acronym are also given for cross-referencing. See also a list of A7 polytopes for symmetric
Coxeter plane In mathematics, the Coxeter number ''h'' is the order of a Coxeter element of an irreducible Coxeter group. It is named after H.S.M. Coxeter. Definitions Note that this article assumes a finite Coxeter group. For infinite Coxeter groups, there a ...
graphs of these polytopes.


The B7 family

The B7 family has symmetry of order 645120 (7
factorial In mathematics, the factorial of a non-negative denoted is the product of all positive integers less than or equal The factorial also equals the product of n with the next smaller factorial: \begin n! &= n \times (n-1) \times (n-2) ...
x 27). There are 127 forms based on all permutations of the Coxeter-Dynkin diagrams with one or more rings. Johnson and Bowers names. See also a list of B7 polytopes for symmetric
Coxeter plane In mathematics, the Coxeter number ''h'' is the order of a Coxeter element of an irreducible Coxeter group. It is named after H.S.M. Coxeter. Definitions Note that this article assumes a finite Coxeter group. For infinite Coxeter groups, there a ...
graphs of these polytopes.


The D7 family

The D7 family has symmetry of order 322560 (7
factorial In mathematics, the factorial of a non-negative denoted is the product of all positive integers less than or equal The factorial also equals the product of n with the next smaller factorial: \begin n! &= n \times (n-1) \times (n-2) ...
x 26). This family has 3×32−1=95 Wythoffian uniform polytopes, generated by marking one or more nodes of the D7 Coxeter-Dynkin diagram. Of these, 63 (2×32−1) are repeated from the B7 family and 32 are unique to this family, listed below. Bowers names and acronym are given for cross-referencing. See also list of D7 polytopes for Coxeter plane graphs of these polytopes.


The E7 family

The E7
Coxeter group In mathematics, a Coxeter group, named after H. S. M. Coxeter, is an abstract group that admits a formal description in terms of reflections (or kaleidoscopic mirrors). Indeed, the finite Coxeter groups are precisely the finite Euclidean ref ...
has order 2,903,040. There are 127 forms based on all permutations of the Coxeter-Dynkin diagrams with one or more rings. See also a list of E7 polytopes for symmetric Coxeter plane graphs of these polytopes.


Regular and uniform honeycombs

There are five fundamental affine
Coxeter groups In mathematics, a Coxeter group, named after H. S. M. Coxeter, is an abstract group that admits a formal description in terms of reflections (or kaleidoscopic mirrors). Indeed, the finite Coxeter groups are precisely the finite Euclidean refle ...
and sixteen prismatic groups that generate regular and uniform tessellations in 6-space: Regular and uniform tessellations include: * _6, 17 forms ** Uniform
6-simplex honeycomb In six-dimensional Euclidean geometry, the 6-simplex honeycomb is a space-filling tessellation (or honeycomb). The tessellation fills space by 6-simplex, rectified 6-simplex, and birectified 6-simplex facets. These facet types occur in proportion ...
: ** Uniform
Cyclotruncated 6-simplex honeycomb In six-dimensional Euclidean geometry, the cyclotruncated 6-simplex honeycomb is a space-filling tessellation (or honeycomb). The tessellation fills space by 6-simplex, truncated 6-simplex, bitruncated 6-simplex, and tritruncated 6-simplex face ...
: t0,1 ** Uniform Omnitruncated 6-simplex honeycomb: t0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 * _6, ,34,4 71 forms ** Regular 6-cube honeycomb, represented by symbols , * _6, 1,1,33,4 95 forms, 64 shared with _6, 32 new ** Uniform 6-demicube honeycomb, represented by symbols h = , = * _6, 1,1,32,31,1 41 unique ringed permutations, most shared with _6 and _6, and 6 are new. Coxeter calls the first one a quarter 6-cubic honeycomb. ** = ** = ** = ** = ** = ** = * _6: 2,2,2 39 forms ** Uniform 222 honeycomb: represented by symbols , ** Uniform t4(222) honeycomb: 4r, ** Uniform 0222 honeycomb: , ** Uniform t2(0222) honeycomb: 2r,


Regular and uniform hyperbolic honeycombs

There are no compact hyperbolic Coxeter groups of rank 7, groups that can generate honeycombs with all finite facets, and a finite
vertex figure In geometry, a vertex figure, broadly speaking, is the figure exposed when a corner of a polyhedron or polytope is sliced off. Definitions Take some corner or vertex of a polyhedron. Mark a point somewhere along each connected edge. Draw lines ...
. However, there are 3 paracompact hyperbolic Coxeter groups of rank 7, each generating uniform honeycombs in 6-space as permutations of rings of the Coxeter diagrams.


Notes on the Wythoff construction for the uniform 7-polytopes

The reflective 7-dimensional
uniform polytope In geometry, a uniform polytope of dimension three or higher is a vertex-transitive polytope bounded by uniform facets. The uniform polytopes in two dimensions are the regular polygons (the definition is different in 2 dimensions to exclude ver ...
s are constructed through a
Wythoff construction In geometry, a Wythoff construction, named after mathematician Willem Abraham Wythoff, is a method for constructing a uniform polyhedron or plane tiling. It is often referred to as Wythoff's kaleidoscopic construction. Construction process ...
process, and represented by a Coxeter-Dynkin diagram, where each node represents a mirror. An active mirror is represented by a ringed node. Each combination of active mirrors generates a unique uniform polytope. Uniform polytopes are named in relation to the
regular polytope In mathematics, a regular polytope is a polytope whose symmetry group acts transitively on its flags, thus giving it the highest degree of symmetry. All its elements or -faces (for all , where is the dimension of the polytope) — cells, ...
s in each family. Some families have two regular constructors and thus may be named in two equally valid ways. Here are the primary operators available for constructing and naming the uniform 7-polytopes. The prismatic forms and bifurcating graphs can use the same truncation indexing notation, but require an explicit numbering system on the nodes for clarity.


References

* T. Gosset: ''On the Regular and Semi-Regular Figures in Space of n Dimensions'',
Messenger of Mathematics The ''Messenger of Mathematics'' is a defunct British mathematics journal. The founding editor-in-chief was William Allen Whitworth with Charles Taylor and volumes 1–58 were published between 1872 and 1929. James Whitbread Lee Glaisher was th ...
, Macmillan, 1900 * A. Boole Stott: ''Geometrical deduction of semiregular from regular polytopes and space fillings'', Verhandelingen of the Koninklijke academy van Wetenschappen width unit Amsterdam, Eerste Sectie 11,1, Amsterdam, 1910 *
H.S.M. Coxeter Harold Scott MacDonald "Donald" Coxeter, (9 February 1907 – 31 March 2003) was a British and later also Canadian geometer. He is regarded as one of the greatest geometers of the 20th century. Biography Coxeter was born in Kensington t ...
: ** H.S.M. Coxeter, M.S. Longuet-Higgins und J.C.P. Miller: ''Uniform Polyhedra'', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Londne, 1954 ** H.S.M. Coxeter, ''Regular Polytopes'', 3rd Edition, Dover New York, 1973 * Kaleidoscopes: Selected Writings of H.S.M. Coxeter, edited by F. Arthur Sherk, Peter McMullen, Anthony C. Thompson, Asia Ivic Weiss, Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1995, http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471010030.html ** (Paper 22) H.S.M. Coxeter, ''Regular and Semi Regular Polytopes I'', ath. Zeit. 46 (1940) 380-407, MR 2,10** (Paper 23) H.S.M. Coxeter, ''Regular and Semi-Regular Polytopes II'', ath. Zeit. 188 (1985) 559-591** (Paper 24) H.S.M. Coxeter, ''Regular and Semi-Regular Polytopes III'', ath. Zeit. 200 (1988) 3-45* N.W. Johnson: ''The Theory of Uniform Polytopes and Honeycombs'', Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Toronto, 1966 *


External links


Polytope names




{{Polytopes 7-polytopes