It is conjectured (following the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture) that the cohomology rings of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties yield permutation representations, but the decompositions of the modules are only known in some cases. For the Hessenberg function $h=(h(1),n,\ldots,n)$, the structure of the cohomology ring was determined by Abe, Horiguchi, and Masuda in 2017. We define two new bases for this cohomology ring, one of which is a higher Specht basis, and the other of which is a permutation basis. We also examine the transpose Hessenberg variety, indexed by the Hessenberg function $h' = ((n-1)^{n-m},n^m)$, and show that analogous results hold. Further, we give combinatorial bijections between the monomials in the new basis and sets of $P$-tableaux, motivated by the work of Gasharov, illustrating the connections between the $\mathfrak{S}_n$ action on these cohomology rings and the Schur expansion of chromatic symmetric functions.
The Weil Conjectures are applied to the Hessenberg Varieties to obtain interesting information about the combinatorics of descents in the symmetric group. Combining this with elementary linear algebra leads to elegant proofs of some identities from the theory of descents.
We study a family of subvarieties of the flag variety defined by certain linear conditions, called Hessenberg varieties. We compare them to Schubert varieties. We prove that some Schubert varieties can be realized as Hessenberg varieties and vice versa. Our proof explicitly identifies these Schubert varieties by their permutation and computes their dimension. We use this to answer an open question by proving that Hessenberg varieties are not always pure dimensional. We give examples that neither semisimple nor nilpotent Hessenberg varieties need be pure; the latter are connected, non-pure-dime…
Flag varieties are well-known algebraic varieties with many important geometric, combinatorial, and representation theoretic properties. A Hessenberg variety is a subvariety of a flag variety identified by two parameters: an element $X$ of the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ and a Hessenberg subspace $H\subseteq \mathfrak{g}$. This paper considers when two Hessenberg spaces define the same Hessenberg variety when paired with $X$. To answer this question we present the containment poset $\mathcal{P}_X$ of type $A$ Hessenberg varieties with a fixed first parameter $X$ and prove directly that if $X$ i…
Recently Brosnan and Chow have proven a conjecture of Shareshian and Wachs describing a representation of the symmetric group on the cohomology of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties for $GL_n(\mathbb{C})$. A key component of their argument is that the Betti numbers of regular Hessenberg varieties for $GL_n(\mathbb{C})$ are palindromic. In this paper, we extend this result to all reductive algebraic groups, proving that the Betti numbers of regular Hessenberg varieties are palindromic.
We consider Hessenberg varieties in the flag variety of $GL_n(\mathbb{C})$ with the property that the corresponding Hessenberg function defines an ad-nilpotent ideal. Each such Hessenberg variety is contained in a Springer fiber. We extend a theorem of Tymoczko to this setting, showing that these varieties have an affine paving obtained by intersecting with Schubert cells. Our method of proof constructs an an affine paving for each Springer fiber that restricts to an affine paving of the Hessenberg variety. We use the combinatorial properties of this paving to prove that Hessenberg varieties o…
We discuss three distinct topics of independent interest; one in enumerative combinatorics, one in symmetric function theory, and one in algebraic geometry. The topic in enumerative combinatorics concerns a q-analog of a generalization of the Eulerian polynomials, the one in symmetric function theory deals with a refinement of the chromatic symmetric functions of Stanley, and the one in algebraic geometry deals with Tymoczko's representation of the symmetric group on the cohomology of the regular semisimple Hessenberg variety of type A. Our purpose is to explore some remarkable connections bet…
After proving that every Schubert variety in the full flag variety of a complex reductive group $G$ is a general Hessenberg variety, we show that not all such Schubert varieties are adjoint Hessenberg varieties. In fact, in types A and C, we provide pattern avoidance criteria implying that the proportion of Schubert varieties that are adjoint Hessenberg varieties approaches zero as the rank of $G$ increases. We show also that in type A, some Schubert varieties are not isomorphic to any adjoint Hessenberg variety.
It is well-known that the $T$-fixed points of a Schubert variety in the flag variety $GL_n(\mathbb{C})/B$ can be characterized purely combinatorially in terms of Bruhat order on the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$. In a recent preprint, Cho, Hong, and Lee give a combinatorial description of the $T$-fixed points of Hessenberg analogues of Schubert varieties (which we call Hessenberg Schubert varieties) in a regular semisimple Hessenberg variety. This note gives an interpretation of their result in terms of Bruhat order by making use of a partition of the symmetric group defined using so-called…
In this paper, we study the geometry of various Hessenberg varieties in type A, as well as families thereof, with the additional goal of laying the groundwork for future computations of Newton-Okounkov bodies of Hessenberg varieties. Our main results are as follows. We find explicit and computationally convenient generators for the local defining ideals of indecomposable regular nilpotent Hessenberg varieties, and then show that all regular nilpotent Hessenberg varieties are local complete intersections. We also show that certain families of Hessenberg varieties, whose generic fibers are regul…
This article surveys recent developments on Hessenberg varieties, emphasizing some of the rich connections of their cohomology and combinatorics. In particular, we will see how hyperplane arrangements, representations of symmetric groups, and Stanley's chromatic symmetric functions are related to the cohomology rings of Hessenberg varieties. We also include several other topics on Hessenberg varieties to cover recent developments.
Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties are smooth subvarieties of the flag variety, and their examples contain the flag variety itself and the permutohedral variety which is a toric variety. We give a complete classification of Fano and weak Fano regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties in type A in terms of combinatorics of Hessenberg functions. In particular, we show that if the anti-canonical bundle of a regular semisimple Hessenberg variety is nef, then it is in fact nef and big.
This paper studies the geometry and combinatorics of three interrelated varieties: Springer fibers, Steinberg varieties, and parabolic Hessenberg varieties. We prove that each parabolic Hessenberg variety is the pullback of a Steinberg variety under the projection of the flag variety to an appropriate partial flag variety and we give three applications of this result. The first application constructs an explicit paving of all Steinberg varieties in Lie type $A$ in terms of semistandard tableaux. As a result, we obtain an elementary proof of a theorem of Steinberg and Shimomura that the well-kn…
Hessenberg varieties are a family of subvarieties of the flag variety, including the Springer fibers, the Peterson variety, and the entire flag variety itself. The seminal example arises from a problem in numerical analysis and consists for a fixed linear operator M of the full flags V_1 \subsetneq V_2 >... \subsetneq V_n in GL_n with M V_i contained in V_{i+1} for all i. In this paper I show that all Hessenberg varieties in type A_n and semisimple and regular nilpotent Hessenberg varieties in types B_n,C_n, and D_n can be paved by affine spaces. Moreover, this paving is the intersection of a …
Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties are a family of subvarieties of the flag variety that arise in number theory, numerical analysis, representation theory, algebraic geometry, and combinatorics. We give a "Giambelli formula" expressing the classes of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties in terms of Chern classes. In fact, we show that the cohomology class of each regular semisimple Hessenberg variety is the specialization of a certain double Schubert polynomial, giving a natural geometric interpretation to such specializations. We also decompose such classes in terms of the Schubert ba…
We define a subclass of Hessenberg varieties called abelian Hessenberg varieties, inspired by the theory of abelian ideals in a Lie algebra developed by Kostant and Peterson. We give an inductive formula for the $S_n$-representation on the cohomology of an abelian regular semisimple Hessenberg variety with respect to the action defined by Tymoczko. Our result implies that a graded version of the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture holds in the abelian case, and generalizes results obtained by Shareshian-Wachs and Teff. Our proof uses previous work of Stanley, Gasharov, Shareshian-Wachs, and Brosnan-…
In this paper we study a relation between the cohomology ring of a regular nilpotent Hessenberg variety and Schubert polynomials. To describe an explicit presentation of the cohomology ring of a regular nilpotent Hessenberg variety, polynomials $f_{i,j}$ were introduced by Abe-Harada-Horiguchi-Masuda. We show that every polynomial $f_{i,j}$ is an alternating sum of certain Schubert polynomials.
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…
The solution of Shareshian-Wachs conjecture by Brosnan-Chow linked together the cohomology of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties and graded chromatic symmetric functions on unit interval graphs. On the other hand, it is known that unicellular LLT polynomials have similar properties to graded chromatic symmetric functions. In this paper, we link together the unicellular LLT polynomials and twin of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties introduced by Ayzenberg-Buchstaber. We prove their palindromicity from topological viewpoint. We also show that modules of a symmetric group generated by f…
The Springer variety is the set of flags stabilized by a nilpotent operator. In 1976, T.A. Springer observed that this variety's cohomology ring carries a symmetric group action, and he offered a deep geometric construction of this action. Sixteen years later, Garsia and Procesi made Springer's work more transparent and accessible by presenting the cohomology ring as a graded quotient of a polynomial ring. They combinatorially describe an explicit basis for this quotient. The goal of this paper is to generalize their work. Our main result deepens their analysis of Springer varieties and extend…
We study the space $X_h$ of Hermitian matrices having staircase form and the given simple spectrum. There is a natural action of a compact torus on this space. Using generalized Toda flow, we show that $X_h$ is a smooth manifold and its smooth type is independent of the spectrum. Morse theory is then used to show the vanishing of odd degree cohomology, so that $X_h$ is an equivariantly formal manifold. The equivariant and ordinary cohomology of $X_h$ are described using GKM-theory. The main goal of this paper is to show the connection between the manifolds $X_h$ and the semisimple Hessenberg v…
Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties admit actions of associated Weyl groups on their cohomology space of each degree. In this paper, we consider the module structure of the cohomology spaces of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties of type $A$. We define a subset of the Bialynicki-Birula basis of the cohomology space so that they become a module generator set of the cohomology module of each degree. We then use those generators to construct permutation submodules of the degree two cohomology module and show that they form a permutation module decomposition. Our construction is consistent…
In this manuscript we develop the theory of poset pinball, a combinatorial game recently introduced by Harada and Tymoczko for the study of the equivariant cohomology rings of GKM-compatible subspaces of GKM spaces. Harada and Tymoczko also prove that in certain circumstances, a successful outcome of Betti poset pinball yields a module basis for the equivariant cohomology ring of the GKM-compatible subspace. Our main contributions are twofold. First we construct an algorithm (which we call the dimension pair algorithm) which yields the result of a successful outcome of Betti poset pinball for …
We study subvarieties of the flag variety called Hessenberg varieties, defined by certain linear conditions. These subvarieties arise naturally in applications including geometric representation theory, number theory, and numerical analysis. We describe completely the homology of Hessenberg varieties over GL_n(C) and show that they have no odd-dimensional homology. We provide an explicit geometric construction which partitions each Hessenberg variety into pieces homeomorphic to affine space. We characterize these affine pieces by fillings of Young tableaux and show that the dimension of the af…
Generalizing the notion of a vexillary permutation, we introduce a filtration of S_infinity by the number of Schur function terms in the Stanley symmetric function, with the kth filtration level called the k-vexillary permutations. We show that for each k, the k-vexillary permutations are characterized by avoiding a finite set of patterns. A key step is the construction of a Specht series, in the sense of James and Peel, for the Specht module associated to the diagram of a permutation. As a corollary, we prove a conjecture of Liu on diagram varieties for certain classes of permutation diagrams…
Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties are subvarieties of the flag variety $\mathrm{Flag}(\mathbb{C}^n)$ arising naturally in the intersection of geometry, representation theory, and combinatorics. Recent results of Abe-Horiguchi-Masuda-Murai-Sato and Abe-DeDieu-Galetto-Harada relate the volume polynomials of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties to the volume polynomial of the Gelfand-Zetlin polytope $\mathrm{GZ}(λ)$ for $λ=(λ_1,λ_2,\ldots,λ_n)$. The main results of this manuscript use and generalize tools developed by Anderson-Tymoczko, Kiritchenko-Smirnov-Timorin, and Postnikov, in orde…
We consider generalizations of the Springer resolution of the nilpotent cone of a simple Lie algebra by replacing the cotangent bundle with certain other vector bundles over the flag variety. We show that the analogue of the Springer sheaf has as direct summands only intersection cohomology sheaves that arise in the Springer correspondence. The fibers of these general maps are nilpotent Hessenberg varieties, and we build on techniques established by De Concini, Lusztig, and Procesi to study their geometry. For example, we show that these fibers have vanishing cohomology in odd degrees. This le…
Motivated by a 1993 conjecture of Stanley and Stembridge, Shareshian and Wachs conjectured that the characteristic map takes the dot action of the symmetric group on the cohomology of a regular semisimple Hessenberg variety to $ωX_G(t)$, where $X_G(t)$ is the chromatic quasisymmetric function of the incomparability graph $G$ of the corresponding natural unit interval order, and $ω$ is the usual involution on symmetric functions. We prove the Shareshian--Wachs conjecture. Our proof uses the local invariant cycle theorem of Beilinson-Bernstein-Deligne to obtain a surjection from the cohomology o…
Recent work of Shareshian and Wachs, Brosnan and Chow, and Guay-Paquet connects the well-known Stanley-Stembridge conjecture in combinatorics to the dot action of the symmetric group $S_n$ on the cohomology rings $H^*(Hess(S,h))$ of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties. In particular, in order to prove the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture, it suffices to construct (for any Hessenberg function $h$) a permutation basis of $H^*(Hess(S,h))$ whose elements have stabilizers isomorphic to Young subgroups. In this manuscript we give several results which contribute toward this goal. Specifically, in s…
Hessenberg varieties are subvarieties of the flag variety parametrized by a linear operator $X$ and a nondecreasing function $h$. The family of Hessenberg varieties for regular $X$ is particularly important: they are used in quantum cohomology, in combinatorial and geometric representation theory, in Schubert calculus and affine Schubert calculus. We show that the classes of a regular Hessenberg variety in the cohomology and $K$-theory of the flag variety are given by making certain substitutions in the Schubert polynomial (respectively Grothendieck polynomial) for a permutation that depends o…
This paper has three main goals. First, we set up a general framework to address the problem of constructing module bases for the equivariant cohomology of certain subspaces of GKM spaces. To this end we introduce the notion of a GKM-compatible subspace of an ambient GKM space. We also discuss poset-upper-triangularity, a key combinatorial notion in both GKM theory and more generally in localization theory in equivariant cohomology. With a view toward other applications, we present parts of our setup in a general algebraic and combinatorial framework. Second, motivated by our central problem o…
Let $n$ be a fixed positive integer and $h: \{1,2,\ldots,n\} \rightarrow \{1,2,\ldots,n\}$ a Hessenberg function. The main results of this paper are twofold. First, we give a systematic method, depending in a simple manner on the Hessenberg function $h$, for producing an explicit presentation by generators and relations of the cohomology ring $H^\ast(Hess(\mathsf{N},h))$ with $\mathbb{Q}$ coefficients of the corresponding regular nilpotent Hessenberg variety $Hess(\mathsf{N},h)$. Our result generalizes known results in special cases such as the Peterson variety and also allows us to answer a q…
Given a semisimple complex linear algebraic group $G$ and a lower ideal $I$ in positive roots of $G$, three objects arise: the ideal arrangement $\mathcal{A}_I$, the regular nilpotent Hessenberg variety $\mbox{Hess}(N,I)$, and the regular semisimple Hessenberg variety $\mbox{Hess}(S,I)$. We show that a certain graded ring derived from the logarithmic derivation module of $\mathcal{A}_I$ is isomorphic to $H^*(\mbox{Hess}(N,I))$ and $H^*(\mbox{Hess}(S,I))^W$, the invariants in $H^*(\mbox{Hess}(S,I))$ under an action of the Weyl group $W$ of $G$. This isomorphism is shown for general Lie type, an…
University of Maryland（马里兰大学）；Center for Complex Geometry, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)（基础科学研究所复杂几何中心）；June E Huh Center for Mathematical Challenges, Korea Institute for Advanced Study（韩国高等科学研究院朱莉·E·胡数学挑战中心）
To each finite subset of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ (a diagram), one can associate a subvariety of a complex Grassmannian (a diagram variety), and a representation of a symmetric group (a Specht module). Liu has conjectured that the cohomology class of a diagram variety is represented by the Frobenius characteristic of the corresponding Specht module. We give a counterexample to this conjecture. However, we show that for the diagram variety of a permutation diagram, Liu's conjectured cohomology class $σ$ is at least an upper bound on the actual class $τ$, in the sense that $σ- τ$ is a nonnegative linear c…
We compare two important bases of an irreducible representation of the symmetric group: the web basis and the Specht basis. The web basis has its roots in the Temperley-Lieb algebra and knot-theoretic considerations. The Specht basis is a classic algebraic and combinatorial construction of symmetric group representations which arises in this context through the geometry of varieties called Springer fibers. We describe a graph that encapsulates combinatorial relations between each of these bases, prove that there is a unique way (up to scaling) to map the Specht basis into the web representatio…
This is a set of working notes which give a second proof of the Shareshian--Wachs conjecture, the first (and recent) proof being by Brosnan and Chow in November 2015. The conjecture relates some symmetric functions constructed combinatorially out of unit interval graphs (their $q$-chromatic quasisymmetric functions), and some symmetric functions constructed algebro-geometrically out of Tymoczko's representation of the symmetric group on the equivariant cohomology ring of a family of subvarieties of the complex flag variety, called regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties. Brosnan and Chow's pro…
We study type $A$ nilpotent Hessenberg varieties equipped with a natural $S^1$-action using techniques introduced by Tymoczko, Harada-Tymoczko, and Bayegan-Harada, with a particular emphasis on a special class of nilpotent Springer varieties corresponding to the partition $λ= (n-2,2)$ for $n \geq 4$. First we define the adjacent-pair matrix corresponding to any filling of a Young diagram with $n$ boxes with the alphabet $\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$. Using the adjacent-pair matrix we make more explicit and also extend some statements concerning highest forms of linear operators in previous work of Tymocz…
We identify the ring of odd symmetric functions introduced by Ellis and Khovanov as the space of skew polynomials fixed by a natural action of the Hecke algebra at q=-1. This allows us to define graded modules over the Hecke algebra at q=-1 that are `odd' analogs of the cohomology of type A Springer varieties. The graded module associated to the full flag variety corresponds to the quotient of the skew polynomial ring by the left ideal of nonconstant odd symmetric functions. The top degree component of the odd cohomology of Springer varieties is identified with the corresponding Specht module …
In 2015, Brosnan and Chow, and independently Guay-Paquet, proved the Shareshian-Wachs conjecture, which links the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture in combinatorics to the geometry of Hessenberg varieties through Tymoczko's permutation group action on the cohomology ring of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties. In previous work, the authors exploited this connection to prove a refined (graded) version of the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture in a special case. In this manuscript, we derive a new set of linear relations satisfied by the multiplicities of certain permutation representations in Tymocz…
The irreducible representations of symmetric groups can be realized as certain graded pieces of invariant rings, equivalently as global sections of line bundles on partial flag varieties. There are various ways to choose useful bases of such Specht modules $S^λ$. Particularly powerful are web bases, which make important connections with cluster algebras and quantum link invariants. Unfortunately, web bases are only known in very special cases -- essentially, only the cases $λ=(d,d)$ and $λ=(d,d,d)$. Building on work of B. Rhoades (2017), we construct an apparent web basis of invariant polynomi…
We introduce a quasisymmetric refinement of Stanley's chromatic symmetric function. We derive refinements of both Gasharov's Schur-basis expansion of the chromatic symmetric function and Chow's expansion in Gessel's basis of fundamental quasisymmetric functions. We present a conjectural refinement of Stanley's power sum basis expansion, which we prove in special cases. We describe connections between the chromatic quasisymmetric function and both the $q$-Eulerian polynomials introduced in our earlier work and, conjecturally, representations of symmetric groups on cohomology of regular semisimp…
