An Introduction to Regular Convex Polytopes

Wesley Klein

November 30, 2017

Abstract
This paper explores regular convex polytopes and the recursive manner in which they can be
defined. Starting from one of the most basic and well known polytopes, a polygon, the general
notion of polytope will be formulated. This formulation will involve the use of vertex figures
and cells to define the regularity of convex polytopes. Rather than overwhelm the reader with
a slew of theorems, only concepts and definitions important to understanding the structure of
polytopes will be addressed. Thus, one will have a strong foundation for further exploration of
the specific details of polytope which they find most interesting.

1 Introduction
Most everyone has some familiarity with regular convex polygons and polyhedra. Names such as,
cube, pentagon, and square, are common and ubiquitous even among those with little mathemat-
ical experience. However, despite this prevalence, most do not know that these geometric objects
are subsets of a more wide ranging classification of object. The polytope is the generalization
of two dimensional polygons and three dimensional polyhedra in n dimensions. One might think
of polytopes as extensions of polygons and polyhedra into higher dimensions. Therefore, in or-
der to discuss this more wide ranging classification, we first investigate and understand its lower
dimensional counterparts; the polygon and polyhedra.
Note that this paper will closely follow the narrative of H.S.M. Coexter’s textbook, Regular
Polytopes (a full citation appears in the Reference section) and thus, many definitions will be
similar to ones used there. Unless cited otherwise, assume that all definitions and specificities
originate from this citation.

2 Polygons
We begin our discussion with the simplest of all polytopes: the polygon, which occupies the space
of two dimensions. Note that definitions and concepts relating to polytopes are recursive in nature.
Thus, much of what is presented in this section will be seen throughout our discussion of regular
convex polytopes.

2.1 Definitions
We begin our discussion of polygons by first giving them a formal definition.
Definition 1. A polygon is a figure made by joining p consecutive pairs of points by p line
segments. These p pairs of points are called the vertices of the polygon, while the p line segments
are called the sides of the polygon. For this paper, we do not allow the sides of the polygon to
intersect. Also, all sides and vertices must lie within the same two-dimensional plane.

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 Figure 1: Examples of various polygons.

In the examples of polygons shown above, we see that each polygon splits the plane into two
regions. One of these is finite and can be thought of as the inside of a polygon. We denote this
region as the interior and include it as part of our polygon. In other words, a polygon is not only
the p sides and p vertices, but also the region enclosed by these objects. This allows for an alternate
definition of a polygon.
Definition 2. A polygon is a simply connected region bounded by p distinct line segments.
Furthermore, since this paper’s purpose is to discuss only regular convex polygons, we can
narrow our scope of polygon. We will deal only with convex polygons, that is, polygons with
boundaries that never intersect the interior. Stated similarly, we can connect any two points within
the polygon by a line segment and never intersect the sides or vertices. Thus, we must remove some
polygons shown before from consideration.

Figure 2: Non-convex polygons removed.

2.2 Regular Polygons

With an understanding of convex polygons developed, we can now discuss regularity of these
objects. However, we must first define two important notions. A polygon is equilateral if all angles
are equal, and is equilateral if all sides are of equal length. Note that when the number of sides of
a polygon is greater than three, these two concepts are independent of each other. For example, a
rectangle can be equilangular without being equilateral. With that said, we are now able to define
the notion of regularity in polygons.
Definition 3. A polygon is regular if it is both equilateral and equilangular.
When discussing regular polygons, it is convenient to notate them as {p}, where p is the number
of sides (or vertices). For instance, a square is notated as {4}, and a pentagon as {5}. It must be
noted that there is not a limit to the number of possible regular polygons. That is, there exists
{n} for every natural number n.

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3 Polyhedra
With our conclusion of regular convex polygons, we now discuss polyhedra, that is, polytopes of
three dimensions. As in the previous section, we will first define the general notion of polyhedra,
and then steadily move towards the more narrow definition of regular convex polyhedra.

3.1 Definitions
We first give the formal definition of polyhedra.

Definition 4. A polyhedra is a finite and connected set of polygons. Every side of each polygon is
adjacent to only one other polygon. Also, polygons surrounding a vertex form a single circuit, that
is, you should be able to consecutively count through the polygons at each vertex, never counting
the same polygon twice. The polygons making up a polyhedra are called faces and their sides are
called edges. We will not consider polyhedra which have intersecting faces.

Note that this definition implies that each polyhedra forms a single, closed surface. As with
polygons, this splits the space into two regions. One region is finite and denoted as the interior.
Analogous to polygons, we consider polyehdra as the union of their interior, faces, edges, and
vertices. Also, we only consider polyhedra that are convex, where the definition is the same as with
polygons.

3.2 Regular Polyhedra

With convex polyhedra understood, we can now discuss regularity of these objects. Here, we give
the definition of a regular polyhedra.

Definition 5. A regular polyhedron is a convex polyhedron where each vertex is surrounded by

the same number of equal, regular faces.

As with regular polygons, we can denote regular polyhedra in a succinct manner. Since all faces
are equal and regular, we can inherit the {p} notation from before. However, we add the number
of faces surrounding each vertex, q. This gives the notation {p, q}.
Unlike regular polygons, there is not an infinite amount of regular convex polyhdera. In fact,
there are only five, known as the five platonic solids. These include: the tetrahedron (denoted
{3, 3}), the octahedron (denoted {3, 4}), the cube, (denoted {4, 3}), the icosahedron (denoted {3, 5}),
and the dodecahedron (denoted {5, 3}). Examples of these objects are given below.

Figure 3: Paper models of the five platonic solids (in the same order as above).

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4 Polytopes
Although there is much more to the study of polygons and polyhedra, we now know enough about
them to begin our discussion of polytopes. As stated before, these are the generalization in n
dimensions of polygons in two dimensions and polyhedra in three dimensions. One can think of
them as a general geometric object in the sequence

point, line segement, polygon, polyhedron, . . . . (1)

We will first describe general polytopes, and then move into more specific descriptions of convex
and regular convex polytopes.

4.1 Definitions
In order to define the general notion of polytope, it is helpful to reflect on sequence (1) above.
Each time we move up a dimension, the previous dimension’s geometric object becomes a boundary
element for the formation of the new polytope. For instance, a line segment is bounded by two
points, a polygon is bounded by at least three line segments, and lastly, a polyhedra is bounded by
at least four polygons[2]. As we move into higher dimensions and continue along this progression,
the pattern of bounding the next dimension’s polytope by the previous continues. However, past
three dimensions we no longer have a convenient and familiar space through which to bound the
new polytope. Thus, we need a new definition:

Definition 6. A hyperplane is an (n − 1)-dimensional space.

We now have the apparatus to formally define a polytope.

Definition 7. A polytope is a finite, convex region of dimension n, enclosed by a finite number

of hyperplanes.

It is at this stage that we shift our definition of convexity for polytopes. We will say that
a polytope is convex if its interior is entirely to one side of each of its hyperplane enclosures[2].
Note that if a polytope of dimensions n is convex, then so are each of these lower dimensional
boundaries[2].
When discussing polyhedra and polygons, it was helpful to have a name when referring to these
enclosures of lower dimension. We would like to do the same with any polytope of dimension n.
This leads to our next important definition.

Definition 8. The part of the polytope which lies in one of the hyperplanes is called a cell.

Note that each cell is a polytope of n − 1 dimensions. We can recursively continue this, noting
that the cells of the cells of our dimension n polytope are of dimension n − 2. This sequence
continues all the way down to dimensions 0, that is, a point. For example, a polytope of four
dimensions has a descending sequence made up of polyhedra cells, polygon faces, edges, and then
vertices.

4.2 Vertex Figures of Polytopes

Vertex figures allow for a more succinct way to define the regularity of polytopes. They are easiest
to understand in dimensions two and three where we have the ability to visualize these objects.

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 In two dimensions, the vertex figure at vertex O is the line segment formed by connecting the
midpoints of the two sides through O. Next, in three dimensions, the vertex figure at vertex O is
the the figure formed by connecting the vertex figures of each face at O. Stated another way, the
vertex figure is formed by connecting the midpoints of each edge at O. Thus, its vertices are these
midpoints along with O. An example of both is given below.

Figure 4: A vertex figure of a polygon and polyhedra (shown in blue).

For dimensions greater than three, we will rely on the formal definition for a vertex figure in
arbitrary dimension n.

Definition 9. A vertex figure of an n-dimensional polytope at vertex O is formed by the mid-

points of all edges through O in one hyperplane. This figure is an (n − 1)-dimensional polytope.

Unlike with the vertex figures for dimensions two and three, we cannot visualize vertex figures of
an arbitrary polytope in dimension n where n > 4. However, as with polygons and polyhedra, the
recursive construction of vertex figures remains consistent. For instance, just as the vertex figure
of a cube at vertex O is composed of the vertex figures of its cells (i.e., of its square sides) at vertex
O, the vertex figure of a polytope of dimension n at vertex O is composed of the vertex figures of
its cells at the same vertex. In this way we can understand vertex figures of higher dimensions.

4.3 Regular Polytopes

We now have all the tools needed to discuss regular polytopes. While there are many definitions
for regular polytopes, we will use one that best fits the narrative thus far. Note that this definition
is inductive, and that it only applies to dimensions greater than three. For these lower dimensions,
we rely on the definitions given earlier.

Definition 10. A regular polytope of dimension n has a regular vertex figure at every vertex and
cells which are all regular.

As before, we would like a succinct notation for regular convex polytopes. Luckily, the recursive
nature of our chosen definition allows for us to utilize the notation used thus far. First, we will
consider a regular convex polytope of dimension four. Since regularity of a polytope is defined by
the regularity of its cells and vertex figures (both of which are polyhedra in this instance) we can
use the notation from Section 3.2.
Suppose that the cells are of type {p, q}, and the vertex figures are of type {q, r} (r being the
number of cells surrounding an edge). We can then define our regular convex polytope of dimension
four as {p, q, r}.

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 Furthermore, we can inductively extend this process to regular convex polytopes of dimension
n. Suppose we have a regular polytope {p1 , p2 , . . . , pn−1 , pn }. Then this same polytope has cells
{p1 , p2 , . . . , pn−1 } and vertex figures {p2 , . . . , pn−1 , pn }. Since our original polytope is regular, so
are both these cells and vertex figures.

5 Conclusion
As this was intended as an introductory paper, please note that there is more to this topic. One can
dive into the world of rotation groups, honeycombs, and enumeration of regular convex polytopes
in each dimension. Better yet, if the restriction of convexity is lifted, unique and different worlds of
regular polytopes are opened. There is an entire universe of geometric objects to study; hopefully
this paper served as an an enthusiastic entryway to their investigation.

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References
[1] Coxeter, H.S.M., Regular Polytopes. New York: Macmillan, 1963.

[2] Sommerville, D.M.Y, An Introduction to the Geometry of N Dimensions. New York: Dover,
1958. Boston: Birkhäuser, 1988.