The Duality of the Volumes and the Numbers of Vertices of Random Polytopes

An identity due to Efron dating from 1965 relates the expected volume of the convex hull of n random points to the expected number of vertices of the convex hull of n + 1 random points. Forty years later this identity was extended from expected values to higher moments. The generalized identity has attracted considerable interest. Whereas the left-hand side of the generalized identity—concerning the volume—has an immediate geometric interpretation, this is not the case for the right-hand side—concerning the number of vertices. A transformation of the right-hand side applying an identity for elementary symmetric polynomials overcomes the blemish. The arising formula reveals a duality between the volumes and the numbers of vertices of random polytopes.