Rigidity of Balanced Minimal Cycle Complexes

Abstract

A $(d-1)$-dimensional simplicial complex $\Delta$ is balanced if its graph $G(\Delta)$ is $d$-colorable. Klee and Novik obtained the balanced lower bound theorem for balanced normal $(d-1)$-pseudomanifolds $\Delta$ with $d\geq3$ by showing that the subgraph of $G(\Delta)$ induced by the vertices colored in $T$ is rigid in $\mathbb{R}^3$ for any $3$ colors $T$. We show that the same rigidity result, and thus the balanced lower bound theorem, holds for balanced minimal $(d-1)$-cycle complexes with $d \geq 3$. Motivated by the Stanley's work on a colored system of parameters for the Stanley-Reisner ring of balanced simplicial complexes, we further investigate the infinitesimal rigidity of non-generic realization of balanced, and more broadly $\bm{a}$-balanced, simplicial complexes. Among other results, we show that for $d \geq 4$, a balanced homology $(d-1)$-manifold can be realized as an infinitesimally rigid framework in $\mathbb{R}^d$ such that each vertex of color $i$ lies on the $i$th coordinate axis.