Some polynomial spaces are Euclidean balls

Abstract

In this paper, we establish a matrix criterion for a space to be homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball. As applications, we prove that the normalized space of $K$-Lorentzian polynomials on an arbitrary open convex cone $K$ is homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball, giving an affirmative answer to Brändén and Leake's question, and we also settle Brändén's conjecture that the normalized space of homogeneous multiaffine real stable polynomials is homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball. In addition, our results show that the normalized space of homogeneous $K$-stable polynomials of degree $d$ is homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball.