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The vertex-blend of two cubes as an explicit H-polytope

Definition
Hirsch_cube_blend

by elmismisimoxhunca · Sep 7, 2026 · Mathlib c5ea003 (Lean v4.30.0)

graph-expansionhirsch-conjecturepolytopes

For d≥2d\ge2d≥2, the simple ddd-polytope cut out by the 3d3d3d integer inequalities

d xi−s≤d,−d xi+3s≤d2,−d xi−s≤d2(1≤i≤d),s=∑ixi.d\,x_i-s\le d,\qquad -d\,x_i+3s\le d^2,\qquad -d\,x_i-s\le d^2\qquad(1\le i\le d),\quad s=\textstyle\sum_i x_i .dxi​−s≤d,−dxi​+3s≤d2,−dxi​−s≤d2(1≤i≤d),s=∑i​xi​.

Its graph is two ddd-cubes each with one vertex removed, joined by the perfect matching of the ddd neighbours of the removed vertices (the vertex blend of two cubes, cf. Santos, Annals of Math. 176 (2012), Lemma 6.2). It has 2d+1−22^{d+1}-22d+1−2 vertices, diameter 2d−12d-12d−1, and edge expansion exactly d/(2d−1)d/(2^d-1)d/(2d−1): with only n=3dn=3dn=3d facets, the graphs of simple bounded H-polytopes need not have inverse-polynomial expansion in n+dn+dn+d, which rules out unweighted expansion arguments for the polynomial Hirsch conjecture.

Formalization Note Rows are indexed by Fin (3d) through finProdFinEquiv; normals are written with EuclideanSpace.single and the all-ones vector.

Definition code
import Mathlib
import Definitions.Def_Hirsch_model

/-!
# The vertex-blend of two cubes as an explicit H-polytope

For `d ≥ 2` the polytope `blendPoly d ⊆ ℝ^d` is cut out by the `3d` integer inequalities
```
  d x_i - s ≤ d,        -d x_i + 3 s ≤ d^2,        -d x_i - s ≤ d^2        (1 ≤ i ≤ d)
```
where `s = ∑ x_i`.  Its graph is two `d`-cubes with one vertex removed each, joined by a
perfect matching of the `d` neighbours of the removed vertices.  It has `2^(d+1) - 2`
vertices, diameter `2d - 1`, and edge expansion `d / (2^d - 1)`, so the graphs of simple
bounded H-polytopes with `O(d)` facets need not have inverse-polynomial expansion in
`n + d`.  (Campaign notes, `deep_astra_geom.md`, §2–4; the graph is the vertex blend of
two cubes, cf. Santos, Annals 2012, Lemma 6.2.)

Rows are indexed by `Fin (3 * d)` through the equivalence with `Fin 3 × Fin d`
(`finProdFinEquiv`): row `(0, i)` is `d e_i - 𝟙`, row `(1, i)` is `-d e_i + 3·𝟙`,
row `(2, i)` is `-d e_i - 𝟙`.
-/

namespace Hirsch

/-- The all-ones vector of `ℝ^d`. -/
noncomputable def ones (d : ℕ) : EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin d) := WithLp.toLp 2 (fun _ => (1 : ℝ))

/-- The normal of the row with type `t ∈ Fin 3` and coordinate `i ∈ Fin d`. -/
noncomputable def blendRow (d : ℕ) (t : Fin 3) (i : Fin d) : EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin d) :=
  if t = 0 then (d : ℝ) • EuclideanSpace.single i (1 : ℝ) - ones d
  else if t = 1 then -((d : ℝ) • EuclideanSpace.single i (1 : ℝ)) + (3 : ℝ) • ones d
  else -((d : ℝ) • EuclideanSpace.single i (1 : ℝ)) - ones d

/-- The `3d` normals of the cube-blend polytope, indexed by `Fin (3 * d)`. -/
noncomputable def blendA (d : ℕ) : Fin (3 * d) → EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin d) :=
  fun j => blendRow d (finProdFinEquiv.symm j).1 (finProdFinEquiv.symm j).2

/-- The right-hand sides: `d` for type-0 rows, `d^2` for the others. -/
noncomputable def blendB (d : ℕ) : Fin (3 * d) → ℝ :=
  fun j => if (finProdFinEquiv.symm j).1 = 0 then (d : ℝ) else (d : ℝ) ^ 2

/-- The cube-blend polytope. -/
noncomputable def blendPoly (d : ℕ) : Set (EuclideanSpace ℝ (Fin d)) := Hpoly (blendA d) (blendB d)

end Hirsch
Source
F. Santos, A counterexample to the Hirsch conjecture, Annals of Math. 176 (2012), Lemma 6.2 (blending); Campaign research notes (2026-09-06), Prove2Me mission 'The Polynomial Hirsch Conjecture', discussion thread; independently audited on-paper proofs

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