geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

, a uniform polyhedron compound is a

polyhedral compound In geometry, a polyhedral compound is a figure that is composed of several polyhedra sharing a common centre. They are the three-dimensional analogs of polygonal compounds such as the hexagram. The outer vertices of a compound can be connec ...

whose constituents are identical (although possibly enantiomorphous)

uniform polyhedra In geometry, a uniform polyhedron has regular polygons as faces and is vertex-transitive (i.e., there is an isometry mapping any vertex onto any other). It follows that all vertices are congruent. Uniform polyhedra may be regular (if also ...

, in an arrangement that is also uniform, i.e. the

symmetry group In group theory, the symmetry group of a geometric object is the group of all transformations under which the object is invariant, endowed with the group operation of composition. Such a transformation is an invertible mapping of the amb ...

of the compound acts transitively on the compound's vertices. The uniform polyhedron compounds were first enumerated by John Skilling in 1976, with a proof that the enumeration is complete. The following table lists them according to his numbering. The prismatic compounds of

prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

s ( UC₂₀ and UC₂₁) exist only when , and when and are

coprime In mathematics, two integers and are coprime, relatively prime or mutually prime if the only positive integer that is a divisor of both of them is 1. Consequently, any prime number that divides does not divide , and vice versa. This is equivale ...

. The prismatic compounds of

antiprism In geometry, an antiprism or is a polyhedron composed of two parallel direct copies (not mirror images) of an polygon, connected by an alternating band of triangles. They are represented by the Conway notation . Antiprisms are a subclass o ...

s ( UC₂₂, UC₂₃, UC₂₄ and UC₂₅) exist only when , and when and are coprime. Furthermore, when , the antiprisms

degenerate Degeneracy, degenerate, or degeneration may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Degenerate (album), ''Degenerate'' (album), a 2010 album by the British band Trigger the Bloodshed * Degenerate art, a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party i ...

into

tetrahedra In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all th ...

with

digon In geometry, a digon is a polygon with two sides (edges) and two vertices. Its construction is degenerate in a Euclidean plane because either the two sides would coincide or one or both would have to be curved; however, it can be easily visu ...

al bases.

References

*{{citation, first=John, last=Skilling, title=Uniform Compounds of Uniform Polyhedra, journal=Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, volume=79, pages=447–457, year=1976, doi=10.1017/S0305004100052440, mr=0397554.

External links

* http://www.interocitors.com/polyhedra/UCs/ShortNames.html - ''Bowers style acronyms'' for uniform polyhedron compounds Polyhedral compounds