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A topological proof of the modified Euler characteristic based on the orbifold concept
Author(s) -
Naskręcki Bartosz,
Dauter Zbigniew,
Jaskolski Mariusz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.742
H-Index - 83
ISSN - 2053-2733
DOI - 10.1107/s2053273321004320
Subject(s) - orbifold , polyhedron , mathematics , euler characteristic , euler's formula , coxeter group , pure mathematics , space (punctuation) , bounded function , tessellation (computer graphics) , topology (electrical circuits) , mathematical analysis , combinatorics , geometry , computer science , operating system
The notion of the Euler characteristic of a polyhedron or tessellation has been the subject of in‐depth investigations by many authors. Two previous papers worked to explain the phenomenon of the vanishing (or zeroing) of the modified Euler characteristic of a polyhedron that underlies a periodic tessellation of a space under a crystallographic space group. The present paper formally expresses this phenomenon as a theorem about the vanishing of the Euler characteristic of certain topological spaces called topological orbifolds. In this new approach, it is explained that the theorem in question follows from the fundamental properties of the orbifold Euler characteristic. As a side effect of these considerations, a theorem due to Coxeter about the vanishing Euler characteristic of a honeycomb tessellation is re‐proved in a context which frees the calculations from the assumptions made by Coxeter in his proof. The abstract mathematical concepts are visualized with down‐to‐earth examples motivated by concrete situations illustrating wallpaper and 3D crystallographic space groups. In a way analogous to the application of the classic Euler equation to completely bounded solids, the formula proven in this paper is applicable to such important crystallographic objects as asymmetric units and Dirichlet domains.