The Stirling number of a simple graph is the number of partitions of its vertex set into a specific number of non-empty independent sets. In 2015, Engbers et al. showed that the coefficients in the normal ordering of a word $w$ in the alphabet $\{x,D\}$ subject to the relation $Dx=xD+1$ are equal to the Stirling number of certain graphs constructed from $w$. In this paper, we introduce graphical versions of the Stirling numbers of the first kind and the Lah numbers and show how they occur as coefficients in other normal ordering settings. Identities involving their $q$-analogues are also obtained.
A cyclic base ordering of a connected graph $G$, is a cyclic ordering of $E(G)$ such that every cyclically consecutive $|V(G)|-1$ edges form a spanning tree. In this project, we study cyclic base ordering of various families of graphs, including square of cycles, wheel graphs, generalized wheel graphs and broken wheel graphs, fan and broken fan graphs, prism graphs, and maximal 2-degenerate graphs. We also provide a polynomial time algorithm to verify any giving edge ordering is a cyclic base ordering.
Let $G$ be an $n$-vertex connected graph. A cyclic base ordering of $G$ is a cyclic ordering of all edges such that every cyclically consecutive $n-1$ edges induce a spanning tree of $G$. In this project, we study cyclic base ordering of triangular grid graphs, series composition of graphs, generalized theta graphs, and circulant graphs.
We prove a general result concerning cyclic orderings of the elements of a matroid. For each matroid $M$, weight function $ω:E(M)\rightarrow\mathbb{N}$, and positive integer $D$, the following are equivalent. (1) For all $A\subseteq E(M)$, we have $\sum_{a\in A}ω(a)\le D\cdot r(A)$. (2) There is a map $ϕ$ that assigns to each element $e$ of $E(M)$ a set $ϕ(e)$ of $ω(e)$ cyclically consecutive elements in the cycle $(1,2,...,D)$ so that each set $\{e|i\inϕ(e)\}$, for $i=1,...,D$, is independent. As a first corollary we obtain the following. For each matroid $M$ so that $|E(M)|$ and $r(M)$ are c…
We define the cyclic matching sequencibility of a graph to be the largest integer $d$ such that there exists a cyclic ordering of its edges so that every $d$ consecutive edges in the cyclic ordering form a matching. We show that the cyclic matching sequencibility of $K_{2m}$ and $K_{2m+1}$ equal $m-1$.
We prove that the number of cyclically symmetric, self-complementary plane partitions contained in a cube of side $2n$ equals the square of the number of totally symmetric, self-complementary plane partitions contained in the same cube, without explicitly evaluating either of these numbers. This appears to be the first direct proof of this fact. The problem of finding such a proof was suggested by Stanley.
The cyclic sieving phenomenon of Reiner, Stanton, and White says that we can often count the fixed points of elements of a cyclic group acting on a combinatorial set by plugging roots of unity into a polynomial related to this set. One of the most impressive instances of the cyclic sieving phenomenon is a theorem of Rhoades asserting that the set of plane partitions in a rectangular box under the action of promotion exhibits cyclic sieving. In Rhoades's result the sieving polynomial is the size generating function for these plane partitions, which has a well-known product formula due to MacMah…
This paper develops the theory of enriched toric $[\vec{D}]$-partitions. Whereas Stembridge's enriched $P$-partitions give rises to the peak algebra which is a subring of the ring of quasi-symmetric functions $\text{QSym}$, our enriched toric $[\vec{D}]$-partitions will generate the cyclic peak algebra which is a subring of cyclic quasi-symmetric functions $\text{cQSym}$. In the same manner as the peak set of linear permutations appears when considering enriched $P$-partitions, the cyclic peak set of cyclic permutations plays an important role in our theory. The associated order polynomial is …
This paper addresses the problem of finding $Q_{m,t}\left(n\right)$, the number of possible ways to partition any member $n$ of the cyclic group $\mathbb{Z}/m\mathbb{Z}$ into $t$ distinct parts. When $m$ is odd, it was previously known that the number of partitions of the identity element $0\bmod m$ with distinct parts is equal to the number of possible bi-color necklaces with $m$ beads. This paper will expand upon this result by showing the equivalence between $Q_{m,t}\left(n\right)$ and the number of bi-color necklaces meeting certain periodicity requirements, even when $m$ is even.
We prove an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon, occurring in the context of noncrossing parititions for well-generated complex reflection groups.
Louis Solomon showed that the group algebra of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_{n}$ has a subalgebra called the descent algebra, generated by sums of permutations with a given descent set. In fact, he showed that every Coxeter group has something that can be called a descent algebra. There is also a commutative, semisimple subalgebra of Solomon's descent algebra generated by sums of permutations with the same number of descents: an "Eulerian" descent algebra. For any Coxeter group that is also a Weyl group, Paola Cellini proved the existence of a different Eulerian subalgebra based on a modi…
We prove that the generalised non-crossing partitions associated to well-generated complex reflection groups of exceptional type obey two different cyclic sieving phenomena, as conjectured by Armstrong, respectively by Bessis and Reiner. This manuscript accompanies the paper "Cyclic sieving for generalised non-crossing partitions associated to complex reflection groups of exceptional type" [arXiv:1001.0028], for which it provides the computational details.
Let $a < b$ be coprime positive integers. Armstrong, Rhoades, and Williams defined a set $\mathsf{NC}(a,b)$ of `rational noncrossing partitions', which form a subset of the ordinary noncrossing partitions of $\{1, 2, \dots, b-1\}$. Confirming a conjecture of Armstrong et. al., we prove that $\mathsf{NC}(a,b)$ is closed under rotation and prove an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon for this rotational action. We also define a rational generalization of the $\mathfrak{S}_a$-noncrossing parking functions of Armstrong, Reiner, and Rhoades.
We present the proof of the cyclic sieving conjectures for generalised non-crossing partitions associated to well-generated complex reflection groups due to Armstrong, respectively to Bessis and Reiner, for the 26 exceptional well-generated complex reflection groups. The computational details are provided in the manuscript "Cyclic sieving for generalised non-crossing partitions associated to complex reflection groups of exceptional type - the details" [arXiv:1001.0030].
The cyclic matching sequenceability of a simple graph $G$, denoted $\mathrm{cms}(G)$, is the largest integer $s$ for which there exists a cyclic ordering of the edges of $G$ so that every set of $s$ consecutive edges forms a matching. In this paper we consider the minimum cyclic matching sequenceability of $k$-regular graphs. We completely determine this for $2$-regular graphs, and give bounds for $k \geq 3$.
We are interested in ordering the elements of a subset A of the non-zero integers modulo n in such a way that all the partial sums are distinct. We conjecture that this can always be done and we prove various partial results about this problem.
The purpose of this article is to initiate a combinatorial study of the Bruhat-Chevalley ordering on certain sets of permutations obtained by omitting the parentheses from their standard cyclic notation. In particular, we show that these sets form a bounded, graded, unimodal, rank-symmetric and EL-shellable posets. Moreover, we determine the homotopy types of the associated order complexes.
We classify certain categories of partitions of finite sets subject to specific rules on the colorization of points and the sizes of blocks. More precisely, we consider pair partitions such that each block contains exactly one white and one black point when rotated to one line; however crossings are allowed. There are two families of such categories, the first of which is indexed by cyclic groups and is covered in the present article; the second family will be the content of a follow-up article. Via a Tannaka-Krein result, the categories in the two families correspond to easy quantum groups in…
For coprime positive integers $a<b$, Armstrong, Rhoades, and Williams (2013) defined a set $NC(a,b)$ of rational noncrossing partitions, a subset of the ordinary noncrossing partitions of $\{1, \ldots, b-1\}$. Bodnar and Rhoades (2015) confirmed their conjecture that $NC(a,b)$ is closed under rotation and proved an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon for this rotation action. We give a definition of $NC(a,b)$ which works for all coprime $a$ and $b$ and prove closure under rotation and cyclic sieving in this more general setting. We also generalize noncrossing parking functions to all cop…
For each minuscule flag variety $X$, there is a corresponding minuscule poset, describing its Schubert decomposition. We study an action on plane partitions over such posets, introduced by P. Cameron and D. Fon-der-Flaass (1995). For plane partitions of height at most $2$, D. Rush and X. Shi (2013) proved an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon, completely describing the orbit structure of this action. They noted their result does not extend to greater heights in general; however, when $X$ is one of the two minuscule flag varieties of exceptional Lie type $E$, they conjectured explicit in…
The (n,k)-arrangement graph A(n,k) is a graph with all the k-permutations of an n-element set as vertices where two k-permutations are adjacent if they agree in exactly k-1 positions. We introduce a cyclic decomposition for k-permutations and show that this gives rise to a very fine equitable partition of A(n,k). This equitable partition can be employed to compute the complete set of eigenvalues (of the adjacency matrix) of A(n,k). Consequently, we determine the eigenvalues of A(n,k) for small values of k. Finally, we show that any eigenvalue of the Johnson graph J(n,k) is an eigenvalue of A(n…
Square Heffter arrays are $n\times n$ arrays such that each row and each column contains $k$ filled cells, each row and column sum is divisible by $2nk+1$ and either $x$ or $-x$ appears in the array for each integer $1\leq x\leq nk$. Archdeacon noted that a Heffter array, satisfying two additional conditions, yields a face $2$-colourable embedding of the complete graph $K_{2nk+1}$ on an orientable surface, where for each colour, the faces give a $k$-cycle system. Moreover, a cyclic permutation on the vertices acts as an automorphism of the embedding. These necessary conditions pertain to cycli…
We study the chromatic polynomial P_G(q) for m \times n square- and triangular-lattice strips of widths 2\leq m \leq 8 with cyclic boundary conditions. This polynomial gives the zero-temperature limit of the partition function for the antiferromagnetic q-state Potts model defined on the lattice G. We show how to construct the transfer matrix in the Fortuin--Kasteleyn representation for such lattices and obtain the accumulation sets of chromatic zeros in the complex q-plane in the limit n\to\infty. We find that the different phases that appear in this model can be characterized by a topological…
A {\em cyclic graph} is a graph with at each vertex a cyclic order of the edges incident with it specified. We characterize which real-valued functions on the collection of cubic cyclic graphs are partition functions of a real vertex model (P. de la Harpe, V.F.R. Jones, Graph invariants related to statistical mechanical models: examples and problems, Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series B 57 (1993) 207--227). They are characterized by `weak reflection positivity', which amounts to the positive semidefiniteness of matrices based on the `$k$-join' of cubic cyclic graphs (for all $k\in\oZ_+$).…
We conjecture an evaluation of three-partition cyclic Hodge integrals in terms of loop Schur functions. Our formula implies the orbifold Gromov-Witten/Donaldson-Thomas correspondence for toric Calabi-Yau threefolds with transverse type A singularities. We prove the formula in the case where one of the partitions is empty, and thus establish the orbifold Gromov- Witten/Donaldson-Thomas correspondence for local toric surfaces with transverse type A singularities.
Let P be a polygon whose vertices have been colored (labeled) cyclically with the numbers 1,2,...,c. Motivated by conjectures of Propp, we are led to consider partitions of P into k-gons which are proper in the sense that each k-gon contains all c colors on its vertices. Counting the number of proper partitions involves a generalization of the k-Catalan numbers. We also show that in certain cases, any proper partition can be obtained from another by a sequence of moves called flips.
Let $N(\leq m,n)$ denote the number of partitions of $n$ with rank not greater than $m$, and let $M(\leq m,n)$ denote the number of partitions of $n$ with crank not greater than $m$. Bringmann and Mahlburg observed that $N(\leq m,n)\leq M(\leq m,n)\leq N(\leq m+1,n)$ for $m<0$ and $1\leq n\leq 100$. They also pointed out that these inequalities can be restated as the existence of a re-ordering $τ_n$ on the set of partitions of $n$ such that $|\text{crank}(λ)|-|\text{rank}(τ_n(λ))|=0$ or $1$ for all partitions $λ$ of $n$, that is, the rank and the crank are nearly equal distributions over parti…
A hamiltonian cycle system (HCS, for short) of a graph $Γ$ is a partition of the edges of $Γ$ into hamiltonian cycles. A HCS is cyclic when it is invariant under a cyclic permutation of all the vertices of $Γ$; the existence problem for a cyclic HCS has been completely solved by Buratti and Del Fra in 2004 when $Γ$ is the complete graph $K_v$, $v$ odd, and by Jordon and Morris in 2008 when $Γ$ is the complete graph minus a $1$-factor $K_v-I$, $v$ even. In this work we present a complete solution to the existence problem of a cyclic HCS for $Γ= K_{m\times n}$, the complete multipartite graph, w…
This paper studies partitions in the space of antimonotonic boolean functions on sets of n elements. The antimonotonic functions are the antichains of the partially ordered set of subsets. We analyse and characterise a natural partial ordering on this set. We study the inter- vals according to this ordering. We show how intervals of antimonotonic functions, and a fortiori the whole space of antimonotonic functions can be partitioned as disjoint unions of certain classes of intervals. These in- tervals are uniquely determined by antimonotonic functions on smaller sets. This leads to recursive e…
An ordered set-partition (or preferential arrangement) of n labeled elements represents a single ``hierarchy''; these are enumerated by the ordered Bell numbers. In this note we determine the number of ``hierarchical orderings'' or ``societies'', where the n elements are first partitioned into m <= n subsets and a hierarchy is specified for each subset. We also consider the unlabeled case, where the ordered Bell numbers are replaced by the composition numbers. If there is only a single hierarchy, we show that the average rank of an element is asymptotic to n/(4 log 2) in the labeled case and t…
Normally ordered forms of functions of boson operators are important in many contexts in particular concerning Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Optics. Beginning with the seminal work of Katriel [Lett. Nuovo Cimento, 10(13):565--567, 1974], in the last few years, normally ordered forms have been shown to have a rich combinatorial structure, mainly in virtue of a link with the theory of partitions. In this paper, we attempt to enrich this link. By considering linear representations of noncrossing partitions, we define the notion of noncrossing normal ordering. Given the growing interest in nonc…
Although symmetry methods and analysis are a necessary ingredient in every physicist's toolkit, rather less use has been made of combinatorial methods. One exception is in the realm of Statistical Physics, where the calculation of the partition function, for example, is essentially a combinatorial problem. In this talk we shall show that one approach is via the normal ordering of the second quantized operators appearing in the partition function. This in turn leads to a combinatorial graphical description, giving essentially Feynman-type graphs associated with the theory. We illustrate this me…
We consider the Potts model in a magnetic field on an arbitrary graph $G$. Using a formula of F. Y. Wu for the partition function $Z$ of this model as a sum over spanning subgraphs of $G$, we prove some properties of $Z$ concerning factorization, monotonicity, and zeros. A generalization of the Tutte polynomial is presented that corresponds to this partition function. In this context we formulate and discuss two weighted graph-coloring problems. We also give a general structural result for $Z$ for cyclic strip graphs.
We present exact calculations of the zero-temperature partition function (chromatic polynomial) and the (exponent of the) ground-state entropy $S_0$ for the $q$-state Potts antiferromagnet on families of cyclic and twisted cyclic (Möbius) strip graphs composed of $p$-sided polygons. Our results suggest a general rule concerning the maximal region in the complex $q$ plane to which one can analytically continue from the physical interval where $S_0 > 0$. The chromatic zeros and their accumulation set ${\cal B}$ exhibit the rather unusual property of including support for $Re(q) < 0$ and provide …
partial abstract: The $q$-state Potts model partition function (equivalent to the Tutte polynomial) for a lattice strip of fixed width $L_y$ and arbitrary length $L_x$ has the form $Z(G,q,v)=\sum_{j=1}^{N_{Z,G,λ}}c_{Z,G,j}(λ_{Z,G,j})^{L_x}$, where $v$ is a temperature-dependent variable. The special case of the zero-temperature antiferromagnet ($v=-1$) is the chromatic polynomial $P(G,q)$. Using coloring and transfer matrix methods, we give general formulas for $C_{X,G}=\sum_{j=1}^{N_{X,G,λ}}c_{X,G,j}$ for $X=Z,P$ on cyclic and Möbius strip graphs of the square and triangular lattice. Combinin…
We examine the lattice of all order congruences of a finite poset from the viewpoint of combinatorial algebraic topology. We will prove that the order complex of the lattice of all nontrivial order congruences (or order-preserving partitions) of a finite $n$-element poset $P$ with $n\geq 3$ is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of spheres of dimension $n-3$. If $P$ is connected, then the number of spheres is equal to the number of linear extensions of $P$. In general, the number of spheres is equal to the number of cyclic extensions of $P$.
We discuss a general combinatorial framework for operator ordering problems by applying it to the normal ordering of the powers and exponential of the boson number operator. The solution of the problem is given in terms of Bell and Stirling numbers enumerating partitions of a set. This framework reveals several inherent relations between ordering problems and combinatorial objects, and displays the analytical background to Wick's theorem. The methodology can be straightforwardly generalized from the simple example given herein to a wide class of operators.
We introduce a decorated configuration space $\mathscr{C}\!{\rm onf}_n^\times(a)$ with a potential function $\mathcal{W}$. We prove the cluster duality conjecture of Fock-Goncharov for Grassmannians, that is, the tropicalization of $\big(\mathscr{C}\!{\rm onf}_n^\times(a), \mathcal{W}\big)$ canonically parametrizes a linear basis of the homogeneous coordinate ring of the Grassmannian $\operatorname{Gr}_a(n)$ with respect to the Plücker embedding. We prove that $\big(\mathscr{C}\!{\rm onf}_n^\times(a), \mathcal{W}\big)$ is equivalent to the mirror Landau-Ginzburg model of the Grassmannian consi…
