Consider an integer associated with every subset of the set of columns of an $n\times k$ matrix. The collection of those matrices for which the rank of a union of columns is the predescribed integer for every subset, will be denoted by $X_C$. We study the equivariant cohomology class represented by the Zariski closure $Y_C$ of this set. We show that the coefficients of this class are solutions to problems in enumerative geometry, which are natural generalization of the linear Gromov-Witten invariants of projective spaces. We also show how to calculate these classes and present their basic properties.
To every matroid, we associate a class in the K-theory of the Grassmannian. We study this class using the method of equivariant localization. In particular, we provide a geometric interpretation of the Tutte polynomial. We also extend results of the second author concerning the behavior of such classes under direct sum, series and parallel connection and two-sum; these results were previously only established for realizable matroids, and their earlier proofs were more difficult.
To each prime ideal in a polynomial ring over a field we associate an algebraic matroid and show that it is preserved under tropicalization. This gives a necessary condition for a tropical variety to be set-theoretically realizable from a prime ideal. We also show that there are infinitely many Bergman fans that are not set-theoretically realizable as the tropicalization of any ideal.
Each point $x$ in Gr$(r,n)$ corresponds to an $r \times n$ matrix $A_x$ which gives rise to a matroid $M_x$ on its columns. Gel'fand, Goresky, MacPherson, and Serganova showed that the sets $\{y \in \mathrm{Gr}(r,n) | M_y = M_x\}$ form a stratification of Gr$(r,n)$ with many beautiful properties. However, results of Mnëv and Sturmfels show that these strata can be quite complicated, and in particular may have arbitrary singularities. We study the ideals $I_x$ of matroid varieties, the Zariski closures of these strata. We construct several classes of examples based on theorems from projective g…
Matroid varieties are the closures in the Grassmannian of sets of points defined by specifying which Plücker coordinates vanish and which don't. In general these varieties are very ill-behaved, but in many cases one can estimate their codimension by keeping careful track of the conditions imposed by the vanishing of each Plücker coordinates on the columns of the matrix representing a point of the Grassmannian. This paper presents a way to make this procedure precise, producing a number for each matroid variety called its expected codimension that can be computed combinatorially solely from the…
Flag matroids are combinatorial abstractions of flags of linear subspaces, just as matroids are of linear subspaces. We introduce the flag Dressian as a tropical analogue of the partial flag variety, and prove a correspondence between: (a) points on the flag Dressian, (b) valuated flag matroids, (c) flags of projective tropical linear spaces, and (d) coherent flag matroidal subdivisions. We introduce and characterize projective tropical linear spaces, which serve as a fundamental tool in our proof. We apply the correspondence to prove that all valuated flag matroids on ground set up to size 5 …
Building on a recent joint paper with Sturmfels, here we argue that the combinatorics of matroids is intimately related to the geometry and topology of toric hyperkaehler varieties. We show that just like toric varieties occupy a central role in Stanley's proof for the necessity of McMullen's conjecture (or g-inequalities) about the classification of face vectors of simplicial polytopes, the topology of toric hyperkaehler varieties leads to new restrictions on face vectors of matroid complexes. Namely in this paper we give two proofs that the injectivity part of the Hard Lefschetz theorem surv…
We define an intersection product of tropical cycles on matroid varieties (via cutting out the diagonal) and show that it is well-behaved. In particular, this enables us to intersect cycles on moduli spaces of tropical rational marked curves $M_{0,n}$ and $M_{0,n}(\R^r, d)$. This intersection product can be extended to smooth varieties (whose local models are matroid varieties). We also study pull-backs of cycles and rational equivalence.
We generalize the Tutte polynomial of a matroid to a morphism of matroids via the K-theory of flag varieties. We introduce two different generalizations, and demonstrate that each has its own merits, where the trade-off is between the ease of combinatorics and geometry. One generalization recovers the Las Vergnas Tutte polynomial of a morphism of matroids, which admits a corank-nullity formula and a deletion-contraction recursion. The other generalization does not, but better reflects the geometry of flag varieties.
We prove a type-uniform Chevalley formula for multiplication with divisor classes in the equivariant quantum $K$-theory ring of any cominuscule flag variety $G/P$. We also prove that multiplication with divisor classes determines the equivariant quantum $K$-theory of arbitrary flag varieties. These results prove a conjecture of Gorbounov and Korff concerning the equivariant quantum $K$-theory of Grassmannians of Lie type A.
We introduce a mutation algorithm for puzzles that is a three-direction analogue of the classical jeu de taquin algorithm for semistandard tableaux. We apply this algorithm to prove our conjectured puzzle formula for the equivariant Schubert structure constants of two-step flag varieties. This formula gives an expression for the structure constants that is positive in the sense of Graham. Thanks to the equivariant version of the `quantum equals classical' result, our formula specializes to a Littlewood-Richardson rule for the equivariant quantum cohomology of Grassmannians.
Using a transversality argument, we demonstrate the positivity of certain coefficients in the equivariant cohomology and K-theory of a generalized flag manifold. This strengthens earlier equivariant positivity theorems (of Graham and Anderson-Griffeth-Miller) by further constraining the roots which can appear in these coefficients. As an application, we deduce that structure constants for comultiplication in the equivariant K-theory of an infinite flag manifold exhibit an unusual positivity property, establishing conjectures of Lam-Lee-Shimozono. Along the way, we present alternative formulas …
Matroid varieties are the closures in the Grassmannian of sets of points defined by specifying which Plücker coordinates vanish and which don't --- the set of nonvanishing Plücker coordinates forms a well-studied object called a matroid. Many problems in enumerative geometry could be solved if there were an efficient way to compute the cohomology class of a matroid variety in an efficient way just from the combinatorial data contained in the matroid itself. Unfortunately, in full generality, this problem is known to be completely intractable. In this thesis, we explore two attempts to get a ha…
Extending work of Bielawski-Dancer and Konno, we develop a theory of toric hyperkahler varieties, which involves toric geometry, matroid theory and convex polyhedra. The framework is a detailed study of semi-projective toric varieties, meaning GIT quotients of affine spaces by torus actions, and specifically, of Lawrence toric varieties, meaning GIT quotients of even-dimensional affine spaces by symplectic torus actions. A toric hyperkahler variety is a complete intersection in a Lawrence toric variety. Both varieties are non-compact, and they share the same cohomology ring, namely, the Stanle…
We obtain an explicit presentation of the equivariant cobordism ring of a complete flag variety. An immediate corollary is a Borel presentation of the ordinary cobordism ring. Another application is an equivariant Schubert calculus in cobordism. We also describe the rational cobordism rings of wonderful symmetric varieties of minimal rank.
In this work we construct global resolutions for general coherent equivariant sheaves over toric varieties. For this, we use the framework of sheaves over posets. We develop a notion of gluing of posets and of sheaves over posets, which we apply to construct global resolutions for equivariant sheaves. Our constructions give a natural correspondence between resolutions for reflexive equivariant sheaves and free resolutions of vector space arrangements.
For a complete toric variety, we obtain an explicit formula for the localized equivariant Todd class in terms of the combinatorial data -- the fan. This is based on the equivariant Riemann-Roch theorem and the computation of the equivariant cohomology and equivariant homology of toric varieties.
We study the equivariant cobordism rings for the action of a torus $T$ on smooth varieties over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. We prove a theorem describing the rational $T$-equivariant cobordism rings of smooth projective $G$-spherical varieties with the action of a maximal torus $T$ of $G$. As an application, we obtain explicit presentations for the rational equivariant cobordism rings of smooth projective horospherical varieties of Picard number one.
Kazhdan-Lusztig-Stanley polynomials are a combinatorial generalization of Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of for Coxeter groups that include g-polynomials of polytopes and Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of matroids. In the cases of Weyl groups, rational polytopes, and realizable matroids, one can count points over finite fields on flag varieties, toric varieties, or reciprocal planes to obtain cohomological interpretations of these polynomials. We survey these results and unite them under a single geometric framework.
This expository note surveys some results on equivariant K-theory of varieties with a torus action, focusing on recent work with Sam Payne and Richard Gonzales. It is based on my contribution to the Clifford Lectures at Tulane University in March 2015.
We characterize embeddability of algebraic varieties into smooth toric varieties and prevarieties. Our embedding results hold also in an equivariant context and thus generalize a well known embedding theorem of Sumihiro on quasiprojective G-varieties. The main idea is to reduce the embedding problem to the affine case. This is done by constructing equivariant affine conoids, a tool which extends the concept of an equivariant affine cone over a projective G-variety to a more general framework.
The main result of this note is a Giambelli formula for the Peterson Schubert classes in the $S^1$-equivariant cohomology ring of a type $A$ Peterson variety. Our results depend on the Monk formula for the equivariant structure constants for the Peterson Schubert classes derived by Harada and Tymoczko. In addition, we give proofs of two facts observed by H. Naruse: firstly, that some constants which appear in the multiplicative structure of the $S^1$-equivariant cohomology of Peterson varieties are Stirling numbers of the second kind, and secondly, that the Peterson Schubert classes satisfy a …
We construct a basis of the equivariant $K$-theory of Bott towers, and we describe precisely the multiplicative structure of these algebras. We deduce similar results for Bott-Samelson varieties. Thanks to the link between flag varieties and Bott-Samelson varieties, we give a method to compute the structure constants of the equivariant $K$-theory of flag varieties in the basis constructed by Kostant and Kumar.
In this paper, we study equivariant vector bundles on partial flag varieties arising from Schur functors. We show that a partial flag variety with three or more steps does not admit an Ulrich bundle of this form with respect to the minimal ample class. We classify Ulrich bundles of this form on two-step flag varieties F(2,n;n+1), F(2,n;n+2), F(k,k+1;n), and F(k,k+2;n). We give a conjectural description of the two-step flag varieties which admit such Ulrich bundles. Our results provide counterexamples to conjectures by Costa and Miro-Roig.
We consider bases for the cohomology space of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties, consisting of the classes that naturally arise from the Bialynicki-Birula decomposition of the Hessenberg varieties. We give an explicit combinatorial description of the support of each class, which enables us to compute the symmetric group actions on the classes in our bases. We then successfully apply the results to the permutohedral varieties to explicitly write down each class and to construct permutation submodules that constitute summands of a decomposition of cohomology space of each degree. This reso…
We show that the equivariant Chow cohomology ring of a toric variety is naturally isomorphic to the ring of integral piecewise polynomial functions on the associated fan. This gives a large class of singular spaces for which localization holds in equivariant Chow cohomology with integer coefficients. We also compute the equivariant Chow cohomology of toric prevarieties and general complex hypertoric varieties in terms of piecewise polynomial functions.
We classify holomorphic as well as algebraic torus equivariant principal $G$-bundles over a nonsingular toric variety $X$, where $G$ is a complex linear algebraic group. It is shown that any such bundle over an affine, nonsingular toric variety admits a trivialization in equivariant sense. We also obtain some splitting results.
We prove that the only rational homogeneous varieties with Picard number 1 of the exceptional algebraic groups admitting irreducible equivariant Ulrich vector bundles are the Cayley plane $E_6/P_1$ and the $E_7$-adjoint variety $E_7/P_1$. From this result, we see that a general hyperplane section $F_4/P_4$ of the Cayley plane also has an equivariant but non-irreducible Ulrich bundle.
Let G be a semisimple affine algebraic group and P a parabolic subgroup of G. We classify all flag varieties G/P which admit an action of the commutative unipotent group G_a^n with an open orbit.
We show the existence of an equivariant weight filtration on the equivariant homology of real algebraic varieties equipped with a finite group action, by applying group homology onto the weight complex of McCrory and Parusiński. The group action enriches the information contained in the induced equivariant weight spectral sequence from which we can not extract finite additivity directly if the group is of even order. Still, we manage to construct additive invariants from its elementary bricks, and prove that they are induced from the very equivariant geometry of real algebraic varieties with a…
Let X be a T-variety, where T is an algebraic torus. We describe a fully faithful functor from the category of T-equivariant vector bundles on X to a certain category of filtered vector bundles on a suitable quotient of X by T. We show that if X is factorial, this functor gives an equivalence of categories. This generalizes Klyachko's description of equivariant vector bundles on toric varieties. We apply our machinery to show that vector bundles of low rank on projective space which are equivariant with respect to special subtori of the maximal torus must split, generalizing a theorem of Kaney…
