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Partitionability is NP-complete

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  • Claude Opus 3.5
  • Claude Fable 5.1 · bare
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Abstract

We show that the problem of deciding whether a simplicial complex is partitionable is NP-complete in dimensions two and higher, answering a 1995 question of Kleinschmidt and Onn.

Introduction

A simplicial complex Δ\Delta is partitionable if we may partition its set of faces into parts in such a way that each part consists of the faces between some facet σ\sigma and a face φ(σ)⊆σ\varphi(\sigma) \subseteq\sigma. Thus, if [φ(σ),σ]={τ:φ(τ)⊆τ⊆σ}[\varphi(\sigma),\sigma]=\{\tau:\varphi(\tau)\subseteq\tau\subseteq\sigma\}, then the required condition is that

Δ=⋃˙σ facet[φ(σ),σ].\Delta=\mathop{\dot{\bigcup}}_{\sigma\text{ facet}}[\varphi(\sigma),\sigma].

We call the map φ\varphi a partitioning scheme of Δ\Delta. We immediately see that a partitioning scheme makes it convenient to count the faces of Δ\Delta. Indeed, if Δ\Delta is pure dd-dimensional, then the generating function of the faces fkf_k of cardinality kk satisfies

f0+f1x+⋯+fd+1xd+1=h0(1+x)d+1+h1x(1+x)d+⋯+hd+1xd+1(1+x)0(1)f_0+f_1x+\cdots+f_{d+1}x^{d+1}=h_0(1+x)^{d+1}+h_1x(1+x)^d+\cdots+h_{d+1}x^{d+1}(1+x)^0 \tag*{(1)}

where hkh_k is the number of facets σ\sigma so that φ(σ)\varphi(\sigma) has cardinality kk.

Partitionability first arose in the theses of Ball and of Provan, see [1]. It is important in the theory of shellability [22]; indeed, one definition of a shelling is of a partitioning scheme with an ordering that satisfies an additional condition. There has been some recent interest in partitionable simplicial complexes [2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 19].

The decision problem Partitionability asks whether a simplicial complex Δ\Delta (given by a list of facets) is partitionable. Kleinschmidt and Onn conjectured in [14 Section 5] (see also [13]) that Partitionability is NP-complete in dimensions two and higher, and moreover that the problem remains NP-complete when restricted to pseudomanifolds. Noble showed that Partitionability is in NP even when dimension is not restricted [15]. Kaibel and Pfetsch included the Partitionability problem as the final item in their 2002 list of algorithmic problems in polytope theory [12 Problem 35].

In this paper, I will settle this problem for general simplicial complexes.

Theorem 1.1. Partitionability is NP-complete, even when restricted to pure 2-dimensional simplicial complexes.

2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. 05E45, 68Q17.

It follows easily that the same holds for d≥2d \ge2. On the other hand, the problem admits a polynomial algorithm in dimension one [12 Problem 35].

Corollary 1.2. Let d≥2d \ge2. Partitionability is NP-complete, even when restricted to pure dd-dimensional simplicial complexes.

The proof here does not follow the approach suggested in [14]. Indeed, a computer search for a “switching complex” (see Remark 4.8) in the sense of Kleinschmidt and Onn was not successful. I will instead give a reduction directly from 1-In-3-Sat. A main ingredient over the approach of Kleinschmidt and Onn will be control of the Euler characteristic of the simplicial complex produced by the reduction.

Partitionability is frequently studied in conjunction with shellable simplicial complexes. Indeed, any shellable complex is partitionable. The Shellability problem asks whether a simplicial complex (given by a list of facets) is shellable. Shellability was shown to be NP-complete by Goaoc, Paták, Patáková, Tancer, and Wagner [6] (see also [17, 18]). The simplicial complexes used for the reduction in [6] or in [18] are built by taking a 2-sphere for each variable, and wrapping clause gadgets partway around the equators. Truth assignments correspond to (homology facets in) the north/south hemispheres of the variable spheres. The complexes are Cohen-Macaulay by [4 Lemma 2.2], and one can check using the tools of § 5 below that the construction in [18] is always partitionable. In contrast, the simplicial complexes that we will build will have trivial Euler characteristic, but highly nontrivial homology; thus, they will never be Cohen-Macaulay.

The Stanley depth of a simplicial complex is a numeric parameter arising from commutative algebra considerations [21 Section 5], see [8]. It extends partitionability in the sense that a pure dd-dimensional simplicial complex is partitionable if and only if it has Stanley depth of d+1d + 1 (equivalently, Stanley depth ≥d+1\ge d + 1) [8 Section 4]. The associated Stanley Depth decision problem asks, given a simplicial complex Δ\Delta and a parameter kk, is the Stanley depth of Δ\Delta at least kk?

Corollary 1.3. Let d≥2d \ge2. Stanley Depth is NP-complete, even when restricted to pure dd-dimensional simplicial complexes.

Ichim, Katthän, and Moyano-Fernández give an algorithm in [10] to find Stanley depth, but make no particular claim of efficiency.

Organization

The paper is organized as follows. In § 3, we give background material on simplicial complexes and partitionability. In § 4, we construct the necessary simplicial complex gadgets and describe the reduction. In § 5, we introduce the notion of a partitioning with gluing, used to localize and combine partitionings. In § 6, we prove Theorem 1.1. In § 7, we make additional remarks and discuss open questions.

AI disclosure

A precursor of the V0V^{0} gadget was discovered in a computer search carried out by Claude Opus 3.5, and the argument was then developed and refined in conjunction with Opus and Claude Fab­le 5.1 models. Figures were drawn by hand and converted to TikZ by Opus. The paper is human written.

Acknowledgements

Discussing partitionability with Andrés Santamaría-Galvis has been enlightening over the years. I thank the University of Michigan Department of Mathematics for its hospitality during the 2026–2027 academic year.

Preliminaries

We assume that the reader has general familiarity with NP-completeness, on the level of [16] or similar. We review basics of simplicial complexes.

A simplicial complex is simply a hereditary set system: a family of sets Δ\Delta (called faces) so that if σ∈Δ\sigma\in\Delta and τ⊆σ\tau\subseteq\sigma, then also τ∈Δ\tau\in\Delta. Simplicial complexes are important in discrete geometry, as we may identify a singleton set with a vertex, a doubleton with an edge, a 3-element set with a triangle, and so forth. A simplicial complex is pure dd-dimensional if all of its facets (maximal faces) have the cardinality d+1d+1, and so dimension dd. All simplicial complexes discussed in this paper are finite.

The main setting that we focus on is a pure 2-dimensional complex, which we see consists of a set of triangles, together with all edges and vertices that are contained in a triangle. The empty set is a face of every non-trivial simplicial complex.

A relative simplicial complex is a pair (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma), where Δ\Delta is a simplicial complex and Σ\Sigma is a simplicial complex with Σ⊆Δ\Sigma\subseteq\Delta. As a set system, we consider (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) as consisting of the faces of Δ\Delta that are not in Σ\Sigma. Thus, a relative simplicial complex is partitionable if the set system (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) may be partitioned as in the introduction:

(Δ,Σ)=⋃˙σ facet[φ(σ),σ].(\Delta, \Sigma) = \mathop{\dot{\bigcup}}_{\sigma\ \mathrm{facet}} [\varphi(\sigma), \sigma].

(1) goes through without change.

We will occasionally need to distinguish between the simplicial complexes Σ=∅\Sigma= \varnothing (with no faces) and Σ={∅}\Sigma= \{\varnothing\} (having the empty set as its unique face).

The reduced Euler characteristic of the simplicial complex Δ\Delta is given by

χ~(Δ):=−f0+f1−f2+f3−⋯ ,\widetilde{\chi}(\Delta) := -f_0 + f_1 - f_2 + f_3 - \cdots,

where fif_i is the number of faces in Δ\Delta of cardinality ii. Thus, the reduced Euler characteristic includes the empty set f0f_0 in the alternating sum of face numbers. Since we have f0=1f_0 = 1 except in the degenerate case, we see that χ~(Δ)\widetilde{\chi}(\Delta) is one smaller than the (unreduced) Euler characteristic χ(Δ)\chi(\Delta). The (reduced) Euler characteristic of a relative simplicial complex (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) has the same definition, where fif_i is the number of faces of Δ\Delta that are not faces of Σ\Sigma. Thus, χ(Δ,∅)=χ~(Δ)\chi(\Delta, \varnothing) = \widetilde{\chi}(\Delta) while χ(Δ,Σ)=χ~(Δ)−χ~(Σ)=χ(Δ)−χ(Σ)\chi(\Delta, \Sigma) = \widetilde{\chi}(\Delta) - \widetilde{\chi}(\Sigma) = \chi(\Delta) - \chi(\Sigma) when Σ≠∅\Sigma\ne\varnothing.

We record that the hd+1h_{d+1} entry in equation (1.1) has a nice description:

Lemma 2.1. If (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) is a pure dd-dimensional relative complex with fif_i and hih_i as in equation (1.1), then hd+1=(−1)dχ(Δ,Σ)h_{d+1} = (-1)^d \chi(\Delta, \Sigma).

Proof. Plug in x=−1x=-1.

In particular, if χ(Δ,Σ)=0\chi(\Delta,\Sigma)=0 and φ\varphi is a partitioning of (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma), then there is no facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma.

Passing from 2-dimensional complexes to higher-dimensional complexes is not difficult. The cone of the simplicial complex Δ\Delta is the simplicial complex Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta which adds one new apex vertex aa to the vertex set of Δ\Delta, and whose facets are {σ∪a:σ facet of Δ}\{\sigma\cup a:\sigma\text{ facet of }\Delta\}. I did not find the following lemma in the literature in this form, although [9 Lemma 3.6] generalizes to Stanley depth of modules.

Lemma 2.2. If Δ\Delta is a pure dd-dimensional complex, then Δ\Delta is partitionable if and only if Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta is partitionable.

Proof. Let aa be the apex vertex of Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of Δ\Delta, then the map sending σ∪a\sigma\cup a to φ(σ)\varphi(\sigma) is a partitioning of Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta. Conversely, if φ\varphi is a partitioning of Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta, then the face σ\sigma of Cone⁡Δ\operatorname{Cone}\Delta lies only in the facet σ∪{a}\sigma\cup\{a\}, hence φ(σ∪a)⊆σ\varphi(\sigma\cup a)\subseteq\sigma. In particular, the map sending σ\sigma to φ(σ∪a)\varphi(\sigma\cup a) is a well-defined map from facets of Δ\Delta to faces of Δ\Delta, and is easily seen to be a partitioning of Δ\Delta. □\square

In particular, Corollary 1.2 follows immediately from Theorem 1.1.

The reduction

We provide a polynomial time reduction from the 1-In-3-Sat problem [20] (see also [5 LO4]). This problem takes as input a Boolean formula in the form

(ℓ1∨ℓ2∨ℓ3)∧⋯∧(ℓ3m−2∨ℓ3m−1∨ℓ3m),(\ell_1\lor\ell_2\lor\ell_3)\land\cdots\land(\ell_{3m-2}\lor\ell_{3m-1}\lor\ell_{3m}),

where each literal ℓi\ell_i is either a Boolean variable xx or its negation ¬x\neg x, and asks whether there is an assignment of truth values so that each clause (ℓ3k+1∨ℓ3k+2∨ℓ3k+3)(\ell_{3k+1}\lor\ell_{3k+2}\lor\ell_{3k+3}) has exactly one true literal (equivalently, exactly two false literals). It is convenient to assume that each variable xx appears in at least two literals (including in negated form). This assumption causes no loss of generality, as if xx occurs only once, we simply repeat the clause in which it appears. See Remark 5.7 below.

Gadgets

As is usual in NP-completeness reductions from 3-Sat and its variants, the proof proceeds by building gadgets to represent variables and clauses in the simplicial complex setting. We will start by showing that Partitionability is NP-complete when expanded to relative simplicial complexes, and then show that we may restrict back to non-relative complexes.

We have three main gadgets: a variable gadget V(k)V(k), a positive clause gadget C+C^+, and a negated clause gadget C−C^-, as we will now describe.

The variable gadget V0=V(2)V^0=V(2) is formed in two stages. We start by subdividing a square into four triangles 12r12r, 23r23r, 34r34r, 14r14r. We then attach the boundary of a tetrahedron to the edge 2323, and another to the edge 1414. We treat the vertex rr as being relative. Thus, V0V^0 has 9 vertices (1 of which is relative), 18 edges, and 12 triangles.

The variable gadget V(k)V(k) is obtained from k−1k-1 copies of V0V^0 by gluing the vertex 44 from the iith copy to the vertex 11 of the (i+1)(i+1)st copy. See Figure 3.1. The positive variable vertices in V(k)V(k) consist of the vertex 33 from all copies of V0V^0 and the (unglued) vertex 11 from the first copy of V0V^0. The negated variable vertices in V(k)V(k) consist of the vertex 22 from all copies of V0V^0 and the (unglued) vertex 44 from the last copy of V0V^0. Thus, V(k)V(k) has kk positive variable vertices and kk negated variable vertices. The relativizable vertices consist of the vertex rr from all copies of V0V^0.

Variable gadget $V(k)$

Figure 3.1. Variable gadget V(k)V(k). Each double line edge has an independent tetrahedral boundary attached. Vertices labeled xx or ¬x\neg x (shown in blue) are variable vertices.

The positive clause gadget C+C^+ is pictured in Figure 3.2. It consists of three subdivided triangles, each glued to an edge of a center triangle; see also § 6.2. The hollow vertices will later be glued to positive or negated variable vertices. We treat the boundary of C+C^+ (shown in red, and generated by the edges that are only in a single facet) as being relative.

Clause gadgets

Figure 3.2. Clause gadgets. Left: Positive clause gadget C+C^{+}. Hollow vertices ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3\ell_{1}, \ell_{2}, \ell_{3} will be glued to xx or ¬x\neg x variable vertices. Right: One third of negated clause gadget C−C^{-}. The full gadget is formed by gluing three copies of the shown complex along the bolded edge stst. Hollow vertex ¬ℓi\neg\ell_{i} will be glued to an xx or ¬x\neg x variable vertex.

The negated clause gadget C−C^- is formed by gluing three copies of the complex pictured in Figure 3.2 (right) along the bolded edge. The hollow vertices will later be glued to positive or negated variable vertices. We treat the boundary of C−C^- (shown in red, generated by edges that are in a single facet) as being relative.

Putting the gadgets together

For ease, we first describe the relative case of the simplicial complex output by the reduction. We are given a 1-In-3-SAT instance with mm clauses and nn variables. For the variable xx, let mxm_x be the number of occurrences of xx or ¬x\neg x as a literal in the instance. We have assumed without loss of generality that each mxm_x is at least 2.

For each xx, we take VxV_x to be a copy of V(mx)V(m_x). The subcomplex RxR_x consists of all relativizable vertices (together with the empty set).

For each clause ℓ1∨ℓ2∨ℓ3\ell_1 \vee\ell_2 \vee\ell_3, we take both a copy of C+C^+ and also a copy of C−C^-. We notice that exactly one of ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3\ell_1,\ell_2,\ell_3 is true if and only if exactly two of ¬ℓ1,¬ℓ2,¬ℓ3\neg\ell_1,\neg\ell_2,\neg\ell_3 are true. We glue the three hollow vertices of C+C^+ to variable vertices corresponding to the literals ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3\ell_1,\ell_2,\ell_3, and glue the three hollow vertices of C−C^- to the variable vertices corresponding to the negated literals ¬ℓ1,¬ℓ2,¬ℓ3\neg\ell_1,\neg\ell_2,\neg\ell_3.

Thus, for each xx appearing in ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3\ell_1,\ell_2,\ell_3, we have glued to both a positive variable vertex and also to a negated variable vertex in VxV_x. The gluing yields a bijection between variable vertices (taken over all VxV_x) and hollow vertices (taken over all positive and negated clause gadgets).

Our relative complex thus consists of

(Δ,Σ):=⋃x variable(Vx,Rx) ∪ ⋃clauses(C+,∂C+) ∪ ⋃clauses(C−,∂C−).(\Delta,\Sigma) := \bigcup_{x\ \text{variable}} (V_x,R_x) \ \cup\ \bigcup_{\text{clauses}} (C^{+},\partial C^{+}) \ \cup\ \bigcup_{\text{clauses}} (C^{-},\partial C^{-}).

Theorem 3.1. Given an instance II of 1-In-3-SAT with each variable appearing in at least two literals, let (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma) be as constructed above. The relative simplicial complex (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma) is partitionable if and only if II is satisfiable.

It is easy to extend this to non-relative simplicial complexes: given Δ\Delta and Σ\Sigma as above, we let Δ+\Delta^{+} be obtained from Δ\Delta by adding a disconnected triangle, gluing an independent copy of the triangulated 5-vertex Möbius strip to each vertex of Σ\Sigma, and gluing an independent copy of the tetrahedral boundary to each edge of Σ\Sigma.

Corollary 3.2. Given an instance II of 1-In-3-SAT with each variable appearing in at least two literals, let Δ+\Delta^{+} be as constructed above. The simplicial complex Δ+\Delta^{+} is partitionable if and only if II is satisfiable.

It is clear that the reduction may be implemented in polynomial time. Theorem 1.1 is an immediate consequence of Corollary 3.2.

Size of the reduction

We count the triangles in Δ\Delta and in Δ+\Delta^{+}. We note that C+C^{+} has 9 vertices (6 of them relative), 18 edges (6 relative), and 10 triangles; C−C^{-} has 11 vertices (8 relative), 22 edges (9 relative), and 12 triangles.

Each VxV_x contributes (mx−1)⋅12(m_x-1)\cdot12 triangles to Δ\Delta, while each clause contributes 10+1210+12 triangles in C+C^{+} and C−C^{-} to Δ\Delta. Noting that ∑mx=3m\sum m_x=3m, the relative complex (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma) has 58m−12n58m-12n triangles.

Finally, each vertex of Σ\Sigma contributes 5 additional triangles to Δ+\Delta^{+} (using the 5 triangle Möbius strip), each edge contributes 4 additional triangles, and the empty set contributes 1 additional triangle. Thus, each variable xx contributes (mx−1)⋅5(m_x - 1) \cdot5 additional triangles, and each clause contributes 14⋅5+15⋅414 \cdot5 + 15 \cdot4 triangles. We see that the simplicial complex Δ+\Delta^{+} has 1+203m−17n1 + 203m - 17n triangles.

Partitioning complexes with gluing

The complexes (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) and Δ+\Delta^{+} of Theorem 3.1 and Corollary 3.2 are built by gluing together gadgets along uncomplicated subcomplexes. In this section, we develop language to describe each “piece” of such a partitioning scheme. The approach here will offer better control of gluing along small intersections as compared to e.g. [4 Theorem 3.1].

Let (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma) be a relative simplicial complex, and let Γ\Gamma be another subcomplex of KK. It is convenient to require that no face of Γ\Gamma be a facet of KK. We wish to think of KK as sitting inside a larger (relative) simplicial complex as a full-dimensional subcomplex, and Γ\Gamma as where KK is glued to the rest of the complex.

We say that a partitioning with gluing at Γ\Gamma of (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma) is a map φ\varphi from facets of (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma) to faces of (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma) where φ(σ)⊆σ\varphi(\sigma) \subseteq\sigma and so that

  1. The sets of faces [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma), \sigma] are disjoint over facets σ\sigma of (K,Σ∪Γ)(K, \Sigma\cup\Gamma).

  2. Each face of (K,Σ∪Γ)(K, \Sigma\cup\Gamma) is in exactly one of the [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma), \sigma].

Thus, each face of (Γ,Γ∩Σ)(\Gamma, \Gamma\cap\Sigma) is in at most one of the [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma), \sigma]. If a face γ\gamma of Γ\Gamma is in one of the [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma), \sigma], then we say it is used; otherwise it is unused.

Thus, if a dd-dimensional complex may be written as K∪ΛK \cup\Lambda, where KK and Λ\Lambda are both dd-dimensional and K∩ΛK \cap\Lambda is lower dimensional, then a partitioning of K∪ΛK \cup\Lambda induces a partitioning with gluing at K∩ΛK \cap\Lambda of KK, and also a partitioning with gluing at K∩ΛK \cap\Lambda of Λ\Lambda. Given partitionings with gluing of KK and of Λ\Lambda, we may be able to recover a partitioning of K∪ΛK \cup\Lambda if every face of the intersection is used in one or the other of KK or Λ\Lambda.

Indeed, the following follows immediately from definition:

Proposition 4.1. Let KK be a pure dd-dimensional simplicial complex, where KK is the union of pure dd-dimensional complexes K=K1∪K2∪⋯∪KnK = K_1 \cup K_2 \cup\cdots\cup K_n; let Σ\Sigma be a subcomplex of KK, and assume that each facet is in exactly one KiK_i. If each (Ki,Ki∩Σ)(K_i, K_i \cap\Sigma) admits a partitioning with gluing φi\varphi_i at Ki∩(⋃j≠iKj)K_i \cap\left(\bigcup_{j \ne i} K_j\right) in such a way that each gluing face not in Σ\Sigma is used by exactly one φi\varphi_i, then ⋃φi\bigcup\varphi_i forms a partitioning of (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma).

Remark 4.2. Conversely, in the situation of Proposition 4.1, a partitioning of (K,Σ)(K, \Sigma) restricts to partitionings with gluing of the constituent (Ki,Ki∩Σ)(K_i, K_i \cap\Sigma)’s with the “used exactly once” property.

We are interested in putting restrictions on the used faces of a partitioning with gluing of an uncomplicated simplicial complex. We give several examples, which we will make good use of later.

Lemma 4.3. Let KK be a dd-dimensional simplex for d>1d > 1 and let Γ\Gamma be {∅}\{\varnothing\}. The unique partitioning with gluing at Γ\Gamma of K=(K,∅)K = (K,\varnothing) uses the face ∅\varnothing.

Proof. KK has 2d+12^{d+1} faces, and any partitioning with gluing that does not use ∅\varnothing covers at most 2d2^d faces.

Lemma 4.4. Let KK be a Möbius strip or cylinder with an equal number of vertices and triangles. Let Γ\Gamma be generated by a single vertex vv of KK. Every partitioning with gluing at Γ\Gamma of (K,{∅})(K,\{\varnothing\}) uses vv.

Proof. Note that (K,{∅})(K,\{\varnothing\}) is partitionable by [19 Propositions 4.3, 4.4]. Let f1=f3f_1 = f_3 be the number of vertices/triangles of KK. Since the Euler characteristic χ(K)=0\chi(K) = 0, the number of edges is f2=2f1f_2 = 2f_1. But now if φ\varphi is a partitioning with gluing, then [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma),\sigma] covers 2 edges if φ(σ)\varphi(\sigma) is a vertex, and 1 or 0 edges otherwise. The result follows by counting.

Lemma 4.5. Let KK be a triangulation of the 2-sphere, and let Γ\Gamma be generated by a single edge ee of KK. If φ\varphi is a partitioning with gluing at Γ\Gamma of (K,{∅})(K,\{\varnothing\}), then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma) = \sigma, or else

(b) the edge ee is used, but its endpoint vertices are not.

Proof. Let f1f_1, f2f_2, and f3f_3 be the number of vertices, edges, and triangles of KK. Then we must have at least f1−2f_1 - 2 vertices in the image of φ\varphi. This leaves (2,f2−2f1+4,f3−f1+2)(2, f_2 - 2f_1 + 4, f_3 - f_1 + 2) vertices, edges, and triangles. Since the Euler characteristic χ(K)=2\chi(K) = 2, we have f2−2f1+4=f3−f1+2f_2 - 2f_1 + 4 = f_3 - f_1 + 2. Thus, if we do not have a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma) = \sigma, then every edge (including ee) must be in the image of φ\varphi, and no additional vertices may be in the image.

Remark 4.6. The boundary of a tetrahedron is easily seen to admit both types of partitioning with gluing at an edge from Lemma 4.5.

As a consequence of these examples, we obtain:

Proposition 4.7. Let Δ\Delta be a pure 2-dimensional simplicial complex, and Σ\Sigma be a subcomplex. Let Δ+\Delta^{+} be obtained by adding a disconnected triangle, gluing a copy of a 5-vertex Möbius strip at each vertex of Σ\Sigma, and gluing a copy of the tetrahedral boundary to each edge of Σ\Sigma. If Σ\Sigma is 0-dimensional or {∅}\{\varnothing\}, or if Σ\Sigma is 1-dimensional with χ(Δ,Σ)=0\chi(\Delta,\Sigma) = 0, then (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma) is partitionable if and only if Δ+\Delta^{+} is partitionable.

Proof. If Σ\Sigma is 0-dimensional or {∅}\{\varnothing\}, then the result is immediate from Proposition 4.1, the induced partitionings with gluings, Lemmas 4.3 and 4.4, and [19 Proposition 4.3]. The empty set is used by the disconnected triangle, and each vertex is used by its Möbius strip.

If Σ\Sigma is 1-dimensional, then for Lemma 4.5 to say each edge is used by its tetrahedral boundary, we need also that χ~(Δ+)=0\widetilde{\chi}(\Delta^{+}) = 0. (See Lemma 2.1.) Now Δ+\Delta^{+} is the disjoint union of the relative complex (Δ,Σ)(\Delta,\Sigma), the disconnected triangle, copies of a relative Möbius band (M,{∅})(M,\{\varnothing\}), and copies of a relative sphere (S2,S0)(S^2,S^0). Since each (relative) complex in the union has 0 Euler characteristic, so does Δ+\Delta^{+}.

Remark 4.8. The switching complex desired by Kleinschmidt and Onn [14, 13] may be formulated in this language: it is a simplicial complex KK, with gluing subcomplex Γ={∅,v1,v2,v3}\Gamma= \{\varnothing, v_1, v_2, v_3\} such that any partitioning with gluing at Γ\Gamma of (K,{∅})(K, \{\varnothing\}) uses either all or none of v1,v2,v3v_1, v_2, v_3, and so that both types of partitionings with gluing exist.

The variable gadgets of this paper have a similar rigidity with respect to partitionings with gluing, so long as they are embedded in a simplicial complex with trivial Euler characteristic.

Proof of the main theorems

Throughout this section, let (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma) be as in Theorem 3.1, and Δ+\Delta^+ be as in Corollary 3.2. In § 6.1, we will show that the relative Euler characteristic χ(Δ,Σ)\chi(\Delta, \Sigma) is zero. In § 6.2, we will show that this highly constrains partitionings with gluing of our gadgets: in particular, an appropriate partitioning with gluing of the variable gadget (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x) will use all positive or all negated variable vertices, corresponding to the two truth values of xx. In § 6.3 we will assemble these ingredients into a proof of Theorem 3.1.

Relative Euler characteristic

We begin by computing the relative Euler characteristic of (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma), which will be useful in light of Lemma 2.1.

Since V0V^0 is obtained by gluing together two spheres and a disc along contractible intersections, we have χ~(V0)=2\widetilde{\chi}(V^0) = 2. Since C+C^+ and C−C^- are contractible, ∂C+\partial C^+ is an S1S^1, and ∂C−\partial C^- is a bouquet of two S1S^1’s, we have χ(C+,∂C+)=1\chi(C^+, \partial C^+) = 1 and χ(C−,∂C−)=2\chi(C^-, \partial C^-) = 2.

As VxV_x is homotopy equivalent to a bouquet of mx−1m_x - 1 copies of V0V^0, each variable gadget (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x) contributes (2mx−2)−(mx−2)=mx(2m_x - 2) - (m_x - 2) = m_x to the relative Euler characteristic. Gluing (C+,∂C+)(C^+, \partial C^+) along three vertices contributes 1−3=−21 - 3 = -2 to the relative Euler characteristic, and gluing (C−,∂C−)(C^-, \partial C^-) along three vertices contributes 2−3=−12 - 3 = -1. Here, we have already counted the hollow vertices of C+C^+ and C−C^- in the VxV_x gadgets. Our Euler characteristic of the relative complex is

χ(Δ,Σ)=(∑mx)+∑clauses(−2−1)=3m−3m=0.\chi(\Delta, \Sigma) = \left(\sum m_x\right) + \sum_{\mathrm{clauses}} (-2 - 1) = 3m - 3m = 0.

Partitioning the gadgets

The essential ingredient in the proof is the V0V^0 relative simplicial complex.

Lemma 5.1. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of V0V^{0} with gluing at Γ={0,1,2,3,4}\Gamma=\{0,1,2,3,4\} of (V0,{∅,r})(V^{0},\{\emptyset,r\}), then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, or

(b) φ\varphi uses vertices 1 and 3 and does not use vertices 2 or 4, or else

(c) φ\varphi uses vertices 2 and 4 and does not use vertices 1 or 3.

Proof. By Lemma 4.5, if there is no facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, then the restrictions of φ\varphi to the two tetrahedral boundaries use the edges 23 and 14. By counting edges, φ\varphi must send two facets to vertices and two to edges. The result now follows by inspection. See Figure 5.1. □

Partitioning with gluing of $V^0$ using 1, 3 (left) and using 2, 4 (right)

Figure 5.1. Partitioning with gluing of V0V^0 using 1, 3 (left) and using 2, 4 (right). The arrows are drawn from φ(σ)\varphi(\sigma) to σ\sigma; shaded bands indicate the edges in [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma),\sigma].

Since VxV_x is obtained by gluing together many copies of V0V^{0}, we obtain immediately the following.

Corollary 5.2. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of (Vx,Rx)(V_x,R_x) with gluing at Γ\Gamma the subcomplex generated by variable vertices, then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, or

(b) φ\varphi uses all positive variable vertices and no negated variable vertices, or else

(c) φ\varphi uses all negated variable vertices and no positive variable vertices.

Proof. If (a) does not occur, then by Lemma 5.1 the vertices shared by adjacent copies of V0V^{0} are either all used by the predecessor copy of V0V^{0} or all by the successor copy. □

We now consider the clause gadgets. Let T\mathrm{T} be the simplicial complex with vertices 1, 2, 3, ℓ\ell and triangles 12ℓ12\ell, 23ℓ23\ell, 13ℓ13\ell, and ΣT\Sigma_{\mathrm{T}} the subcomplex generated by 12 and 13. Thus, the relative complexes (C+,∂C+)(C^{+},\partial C^{+}) respectively (C−,∂C−)(C^{-},\partial C^{-}) are formed by gluing together three copies of (T,ΣT)(\mathrm{T},\Sigma_{\mathrm{T}}) around a triangle respectively around three triangles sharing a common edge.

Lemma 5.3. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of (T,ΣT)(\mathrm{T},\Sigma_{\mathrm{T}}) with gluing at Γ\Gamma the subcomplex generated by ℓ\ell and 23, then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, or

(b) φ\varphi uses both ℓ\ell and 23, or else

(c) φ\varphi uses neither ℓ\ell nor 23.

Proof. If there is no facet with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, then count edges! If ℓ\ell is not used, then the three edges 1ℓ1\ell, 2ℓ2\ell, 3ℓ3\ell are covered by three facets. If ℓ\ell is used, then [ℓ,σ][\ell,\sigma] covers two edges, and we need two additional edges to cover the remaining two facets. □

Lemma 5.4. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of (C+,∂C+)(C^{+},\partial C^{+}) with gluing at {∅,ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3}\{\emptyset,\ell_{1},\ell_{2},\ell_{3}\}, then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma, or

(b) exactly two of ℓ1,ℓ2,ℓ3\ell_{1},\ell_{2},\ell_{3} are used by φ\varphi.

Proof. Assume that there is no facet with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma)=\sigma. The partitioning φ\varphi matches the middle triangle to one of its edges (as its vertices are relative). By three applications of Lemma 5.3, φ\varphi does not use ℓi\ell_i in the corresponding copy of T\mathrm{T}, but does use ℓi\ell_i in the other two copies. □

The corresponding result for C−C^{-} is proved in exactly the same way.

Lemma 5.5. If φ\varphi is a partitioning of (C−,∂C−)(C^{-}, \partial C^{-}) with gluing at {∅,−ℓ1,−ℓ2,−ℓ3}\{\varnothing, -\ell_1, -\ell_2, -\ell_3\}, then either

(a) there is a facet σ\sigma with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma) = \sigma, or

(b) exactly one of −ℓ1,−ℓ2,−ℓ3-\ell_1, -\ell_2, -\ell_3 is used by φ\varphi.

All of the possibilities for partitionings with gluing enumerated in the lemmas and corollary of this section can indeed be constructed.

Proposition 5.6. There are partitionings with gluing satisfying each enumerated type in Corollary 5.2 and Lemmas 5.1, 5.4, and 5.5.

Proof. Inspection. □

Proof of Theorem 3.1

We are now ready to prove Theorem 3.1. First, suppose that φ\varphi is a partitioning of (Δ,Σ)(\Delta, \Sigma). Then φ\varphi induces a partitioning with gluing of each variable and clause gadget:

  • In each variable gadget (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x), we have an induced partitioning with gluing at the subcomplex generated by the variable vertices.

  • In each positive clause gadget (C+,∂C+)(C^{+}, \partial C^{+}) and negated clause gadget (C−,∂C−)(C^{-}, \partial C^{-}), we have an induced partitioning with gluing at the subcomplex generated by the three hollow vertices.

Since the Euler characteristic χ(Δ,Σ)\chi(\Delta, \Sigma) is zero, Lemma 2.1 tells us that no facet σ\sigma has φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma) = \sigma. It follows from Corollary 5.2 that each (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x) uses either positive or negated variable vertices. Setting xx true if (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x) uses the positive variable vertices (and otherwise false) yields a truth assignment T\mathcal{T}.

The remaining variable vertices must be used by the clause gadgets (both positive and negated) corresponding to clauses containing xx or ¬x\neg x as a literal. By Lemmas 5.4 and 5.5, each (C+,∂C+)(C^{+}, \partial C^{+}) must use exactly two of these variable vertices left over from T\mathcal{T} and each (C−,∂C−)(C^{-}, \partial C^{-}) must use exactly one. Since C+C^{+} attaches to the literals of the associated clause and C−C^{-} to the literals of the negated clause, we see that T\mathcal{T} is a legal 1-In-3-Sat truth assignment.

Conversely, if T\mathcal{T} is a 1-In-3-Sat truth assignment, then we put together partitionings with gluing of each gadget using Proposition 4.1. Since χ(Δ,Σ)=0\chi(\Delta, \Sigma) = 0, we will not want any facets with φ(σ)=σ\varphi(\sigma) = \sigma by Lemma 2.1.

We take a partitioning with gluing of each (Vx,Rx)(V_x, R_x) that uses xx or ¬x\neg x according to whether xx is true or false in T\mathcal{T}. Since T\mathcal{T} has exactly one true literal in each clause, we can use the remaining variable vertices in (C+,∂C+)(C^{+}, \partial C^{+}) and (C−,∂C−)(C^{-}, \partial C^{-}) gadgets.

Corollary 3.2 is an immediate consequence of Theorem 3.1 and Proposition 4.7.

Remark 5.7. The reduction assumes that a 1-In-3-Sat instance has every variable occurring in at least two literals of clauses. It is possible to avoid this assumption, using a single vertex relative to the empty set as a V(1)V(1) gadget. As this approach would require more care with the partition gluing arguments, we do not follow it further.

Partitioning with gluing of $C^{+}$ associated with a truth assignment

Figure 5.2. The partitioning with gluing of C+C^{+} associated with truth assignment ℓ1=true\ell_{1} = \text{true}, ℓ2=ℓ3=false\ell_{2} = \ell_{3} = \text{false}. The arrows are drawn from φ(σ)\varphi(\sigma) to σ\sigma; shaded bands indicate the edges in [φ(σ),σ][\varphi(\sigma),\sigma]. Vertices ℓ2\ell_{2} and ℓ3\ell_{3} are used by this gadget.

Additional remarks and questions

Partitionability has often been studied in the context of Cohen–Macaulay simplicial complexes [22]. Indeed, it was a long-standing conjecture disproved by Duval, Goeckner, Klivans and Martin [4] that every Cohen–Macaulay simplicial complex is partitionable. I do not know if partitionability is NP-complete when restricted to Cohen–Macaulay complexes.

Question 6.1. Is Partitionability NP-complete when restricted to Cohen–Macaulay complexes?

Examples of Cohen–Macaulay simplicial complexes that are not partitionable seem to be relatively difficult to construct. In [4], the authors construct a 3-dimensional complex with 42 tetrahedra. No examples seem to be known of 2-dimensional complexes that are Cohen–Macaulay but not partitionable, and for example [19] shows that every triangulation of the dunce cap or of RP2\mathbb{RP}^{2} is partitionable.

Question 6.2. Is every 2-dimensional Cohen–Macaulay complex also partitionable?

Of course, a “yes” answer to Question 6.2 would mean that Question 6.1 is only interesting in dimensions 3 and higher.

The full conjecture of Kleinschmidt and Onn [14], that Partitionability is NP-complete already for 2-dimensional pseudomanifolds, also remains open. In a 2-dimensional pseudomanifold, every edge lies in at most two triangles. Our construction here has edges that lie in exactly three triangles in two places: the edges where we attach tetrahedral boundaries, and an edge in the C−C^{-} gadget.

UNIVERZA NA PRIMORSKEM, GLAGOLJAŠKA 8, 6000 KOPER, SLOVENIA

Email address: [email protected]

URL: https://osebje.famnit.upr.si/~russ.woodroofe/

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