Minimal 3-triangulations of p-toroids

Abstract

It is known that we can always 3-triangulate (i.e. divide into tetrahedra) convex polyhedra but not always non-convex ones. Polyhedra topologically equivalent to sphere with $p$ handles, shortly $p$-toroids, could not be convex. So, it is interesting to investigate possibilities and properties of their 3-triangulations. Here, we study the minimal necessary number of tetrahedra for the triangulation of a 3-triangulable $p$-toroid. For that purpose, we developed the concepts of piecewise convex polyhedra and graphs of connection.