A colored complex of type $\mathbf{a} = (a_1, \dots, a_n)$ is a simplicial complex $Δ$ on a vertex set $V$, together with an ordered partition $(V_1, \dots, V_n)$ of $V$, such that every face $F$ of $Δ$ satisfies $|F \cap V_i| \leq a_i$. For each $\mathbf{b} = (b_1, \dots, b_n) \leq \mathbf{a}$, let $f_{\mathbf{b}}$ be the number of faces $F$ of $Δ$ such that $|F \cap V_i| = b_i$. The array of integers $\{f_{\mathbf{b}}\}_{\mathbf{b} \leq \mathbf{a}}$ is called the fine $f$-vector of $Δ$, and it is a refinement of the $f$-vector of $Δ$. In this paper, we generalize the notion of Macaulay representations and give a numerical characterization of the fine $f$-vectors of colored complexes of arbitrary type, in terms of these generalized Macaulay representations. As part of the proof, we introduce the property of $\mathbf{a}$-Macaulay decomposability for simplicial complexes, which implies vertex-decomposability, and we show that every pure color-shifted balanced complex $Δ$ of type $\mathbf{a}$ is $\mathbf{a}$-Macaulay decomposable. Combined with previously known results, we also obtain a numerical characterization of the flag $f$-vectors of completely balanced Cohen-Macaulay complexes.
We show that if a $d$-dimensional Cohen-Macaulay complex is, in a certain sense, sufficiently "close" to being balanced, then there is a $d$-dimensional balanced Cohen-Macaulay complex having the same $f$-vector. This in turn provides some partial evidence for a conjecture of Kalai on the $f$-vectors of Cohen-Macaulay flag complexes.
The flag f-vectors of three-colored complexes are characterized. This also characterizes the flag h-vectors of balanced Cohen-Macaulay complexes of dimension two, as well as the flag h-vectors of balanced shellable complexes of dimension two.
It is shown that conditions stronger in a certain sense than color-shifting cannot be placed on the class of colored complexes without changing the characterization of the flag f-vectors.
Starting from an unpublished conjecture of Kalai and from a conjecture of Eisenbud, Green and Harris, we study several problems relating h-vectors of Cohen-Macaulay, flag simplicial complexes and face vectors of simplicial complexes.
We introduce a construction on a flag complex that, by means of modifying the associated graph, generates a new flag complex whose $h$-factor is the face vector of the original complex. This construction yields a vertex-decomposable, hence Cohen-Macaulay, complex. From this we get a (non-numerical) characterisation of the face vectors of flag complexes and deduce also that the face vector of a flag complex is the $h$-vector of some vertex-decomposable flag complex. We conjecture that the converse of the latter is true and prove this, by means of an explicit construction, for $h$-vectors of Coh…
We prove that the group algebra of the hyperoctahedral group contains a subalgebra corresponding to the flag descent number of Adin, Brenti, and Roichman. This algebra is in fact the span of the basis elements of the type A and type B Eulerian descent algebras. We describe a set of orthogonal idempotents which spans the flag descent algebra and prove that it contains the type A Eulerian descent algebra as a two-sided ideal. Using a new colored analogue of Stanley's $P$-partitions, we prove the existence of a colored Eulerian descent algebra which is a subalgebra of the Mantaci-Reutenauer algeb…
We investigate the $α$-colored Eulerian polynomials and a notion of descents introduced in a recent paper of Hedmark and show that such polynomials can be computed as a polynomial encoding descents computed over a quotient of the wreath product $\mathbb{Z}_α\wr\mathfrak{S}_n$. Moreover, we consider the flag descent statistic computed over this same quotient and find that the flag Eulerian polynomial remains palindromic. We prove that the flag descent polynomial is palindromic over this same quotient by giving a combinatorial proof that the flag descent statistic is symmetrically distributed ov…
A method that often works for constructing a flag complex with a specified face vector is given. This method can also be adapted to construct a vertex-decomposable (and hence Cohen-Macaulay) flag complex with a specified h-vector.
Given a polynomial ring $S = \Bbbk[x_1, \dots, x_n]$ over a field $\Bbbk$, and a monomial ideal $M$ of $S$, we say the quotient ring $R = S/M$ is Macaulay-Lex if for every graded ideal of $R$, there exists a lexicographic ideal of $R$ with the same Hilbert function. In this paper, we introduce a class of quotient rings with combinatorial significance, which we call colored quotient rings. This class of rings include Clements-Lindström rings and colored squarefree rings as special cases that are known to be Macaulay-Lex. We construct two new classes of Macaulay-Lex rings, characterize all color…
We characterize pure lexsegment complexes which are Cohen-Macaulay in arbitrary codimension. More precisely, we prove that any lexsegment complex is Cohen-Macaulay if and only if it is pure and its one dimensional links are connected, and, a lexsegment flag complex is Cohen-Macaulay if and only if it is pure and connected. We show that any non-Cohen-Macaulay lexsegment complex is a Buchsbaum complex if and only if it is a pure disconnected flag complex. For $t\ge 2$, a lexsegment complex is strictly Cohen-Macaulay in codimension $t$ if and only if it is the join of a lexsegment pure disconnect…
It is known that the normalized volume of standard hypersimplices (defined as some slices of the unit hypercube) are the Eulerian numbers. More generally, a recent conjecture of Stanley relates the Ehrhart series of hypersimplices with descents and excedences in permutations. This conjecture was proved by Nan Li, who also gave a generalization to colored permutations. In this article, we give another generalization to colored permutations, using the flag statistics introduced by Foata and Han. We obtain in particular a new proof of Stanley's conjecture, and some combinatorial identities relati…
Recently, Hyatt introduced some colored Eulerian quasisymmetric function to study the joint distribution of excedance number and major index on colored permutation groups. We show how Hyatt's generating function formula for the fixed point colored Eulerian quasisymmetric functions can be deduced from the Decrease value theorem of Foata and Han. Using this generating function formula, we prove two symmetric function generalizations of the Chung-Graham-Knuth symmetrical Eulerian identity for some flag Eulerian quasisymmetric functions, which are specialized to the flag excedance numbers. Combina…
It is proved that the Boolean algebra of rank n minimizes the flag f-vector among all graded lattices of rank n, whose proper part has nontrivial top-dimensional homology. The analogous statement for the flag h-vector is conjectured in the Cohen-Macaulay case.
We prove a theorem allowing us to find convex-ear decompositions for rank-selected subposets of posets that are unions of Boolean sublattices in a coherent fashion. We then apply this theorem to geometric lattices and face posets of shellable complexes, obtaining new inequalities for their h-vectors. Finally, we use the latter decomposition to prove new inequalities for the flag h-vectors of face posets of Cohen-Macaulay complexes.
A notion of an $i$-banner simplicial complex is introduced. For various values of $i$, these complexes interpolate between the class of flag complexes and the class of all simplicial complexes. Examples of simplicial spheres of an arbitrary dimension that are $(i+1)$-banner but not $i$-banner are constructed. It is shown that several theorems for flag complexes have appropriate $i$-banner analogues. Among them are (1) the codimension-$(i+j-1)$ skeleton of an $i$-banner homology sphere $Δ$ is $2(i+j)$-Cohen--Macaulay for all $0\leq j\leq \dimΔ+1-i$, and (2) for every $i$-banner simplicial compl…
We show that monomial ideals generated in degree two satisfy a conjecture by Eisenbud, Green and Harris. In particular we give a partial answer to a conjecture of Kalai by proving that $h$-vectors of flag Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complexes are $h$-vectors of Cohen-Macaulay balanced simplicial complexes.
We study the complex reflection groups G(r,p,n). By considering these groups as subgroups of the wreath products Z_r wr S_n, and by using Clifford theory, we define combinatorial parameters and descent representations of G(r,p,n), previously known for classical Weyl groups. One of these parameters is the flag major index, which also has an important role in the decomposition of these representations into irreducibles. A Carlitz type identity relating the combinatorial parameters with the degrees of the group, is presented.
We study colored generalizations of the symmetric algebra and its Koszul dual, the exterior algebra. The symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$ acts on the multilinear components of these algebras. While $\mathfrak{S}_n$ acts trivially on the multilinear components of the colored symmetric algebra, we use poset topology techniques to understand the representation on its Koszul dual. We introduce an $\mathfrak{S}_n$-poset of weighted subsets that we call the weighted boolean algebra and we prove that the multilinear components of the colored exterior algebra are $\mathfrak{S}_n$-isomorphic to the top…
We show that the $γ$-vector of the order complex of any polytope is the f-vector of a balanced simplicial complex. This is done by proving this statement for a subclass of Stanley's S-shellable spheres which includes all polytopes. The proof shows that certain parts of the cd-index, when specializing $c=1$ and considering the resulted polynomial in $d$, are the f-polynomials of simplicial complexes that can be colored with "few" colors. We conjecture that the cd-index of a regular CW-sphere is itself the flag f-vector of a colored simplicial complex in a certain sense.
Given a generic map between flagged vector bundles on a Cohen-Macaulay variety, we construct maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules with linear resolutions supported on the Schubert-type degeneracy loci. The linear resolution is provided by the Schubert complex, which is the main tool introduced and studied in this paper. These complexes extend the Schubert functors of Kraśkiewicz and Pragacz, and were motivated by the fact that Schur complexes resolve maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules supported on determinantal varieties. The resulting formula in K-theory provides a "linear approximation" of the structu…
Shellability is a well-known combinatorial criterion for verifying that a simplicial complex is Cohen-Macaulay. Another notion familiar to commutative algebraists, but which has not received as much attention from combinatorialists as the Cohen-Macaulay property, is the notion of a Golod ring. Recently, a criterion on simplicial complexes reminiscent of shellability, called the strong gcd-condition, was shown to imply Golodness of the associated Stanley-Reisner ring. The two algebraic notions were tied together by Herzog, Reiner and Welker who showed that if the Alexander dual of a complex is …
We describe a closed immersion from each representation space of a type A quiver with bipartite (i.e., alternating) orientation to a certain opposite Schubert cell of a partial flag variety. This "bipartite Zelevinsky map" restricts to an isomorphism from each orbit closure to a Schubert variety intersected with the above-mentioned opposite Schubert cell. For type A quivers of arbitrary orientation, we give the same result up to some factors of general linear groups. These identifications allow us to recover results of Bobinski and Zwara; namely we see that orbit closures of type A quivers are…
