The Orlik-Solomon algebra ${\cal A}(G)$ of a matroid $G$ is the free exterior algebra on the points, modulo the ideal generated by the circuit boundaries. On one hand, this algebra is a homotopy invariant of the complement of any complex hyperplane arrangement realizing $G$. On the other hand, some features of the matroid $G$ are reflected in the algebraic structure of ${\cal A}(G)$.
In this mostly expository article, we describe recent developments in the construction of algebraic invariants of ${\cal A}(G)$. We develop a categorical framework for the statement and proof of recently discovered isomorphism theorems which suggests a possible setting for classification theorems. Several specific open problems are formulated.
The Orlik-Solomon algebra of a matroid can be considered as a quotient ring over the exterior algebra E. At first we study homological properties of E-modules as e.g. complexity, depth and regularity. In particular, we consider modules with linear injective resolutions. We apply our results to Orlik-Solomon algebras of matroids and give formulas for the complexity, depth and regularity of such rings in terms of invariants of the matroid. Moreover, we characterize those matroids whose Orlik-Solomon ideal has a linear projective resolution and compute in these cases the Betti numbers of the idea…
In this note we introduce a sufficient condition for the Orlik-Solomon algebra associated to a matroid M to be l-adic and we prove that this condition is necessary when M is binary (in particular graphic). Moreover, this result cannot be extended to the class of all matroids.
We introduce a basis of the Orlik-Solomon algebra labeled by chambers, so called chamber basis. We consider structure constants of the Orlik-Solomon algebra with respect to the chamber basis and prove that these structure constants recover D. Cohen's minimal complex from the Aomoto complex.
Given a real arrangement $A$, the complement $M(A)$ of the complexification of $A$ admits an action of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ by complex conjugation. We define the equivariant Orlik-Solomon algebra of $A$ to be the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-equivariant cohomology ring of $M(A)$ with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z}_2$. We give a combinatorial presentation of this ring, and interpret it as a deformation of the ordinary Orlik-Solomon algebra into the Varchenko-Gel'fand ring of locally constant $\mattbb{Z}_2$-valued functions on the complement $C(A)$ of $A$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$. We also show that the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-equivar…
A family C of circuits of a matroid M is a linear class if, given a modular pair of circuits in C}, any circuit contained in the union of the pair is also in C. The pair (M,C) can be seen as a matroidal generalization of a biased graph. We introduce and study an Orlik-Solomon type algebra determined by (M,C). If C is the set of all circuits of M this algebra is the Orlik-Solomon algebra of M.
We prove the torsion freeness of the decomposable Orlik--Solomon algebra of a simple matroid on ground set $[n]$. In the class of hypersolvable \& non-supersolvable complex hyperplane arrangements, the torsion freeness, in a certain degree, of this combinatorially defined object, associated to the intersection lattice of the arrangement, impacts on the first non-vanishing higher homotopy group of the complement of the arrangement.
Given a matroid $M$ one can define its Orlik-Solomon algebra $OS(M)$ and the Bergman fan $Σ_0(M)$. On the other hand to any rational polyhedral fan $Σ$ one can associate its tropical homology and cohomology groups $\F_\bullet(Σ)$, $\F^\bullet (Σ)$. We will show that the projective Orlik-Solomon algebra $OS_0(M)$ is canonically isomorphic to $\F^\bullet (Σ_0(M))$.
The cohomology on the complement of hyperplanes with the coefficients in the rank one local system associated to a generic weight vanishes except in the highest dimension. In this paper, we construct matroids or arrangements and its weights with non-vanishing cohomology of Orlik-Solomon algebras, using decomposable relations arising from Latin hypercubes.
We give a combinatorial characterization of isotropic subspaces in the Orlik- Solomon algebra of a hyperplane arrangement in terms of decorations of its intersection lattice. We then use this characterization to prove a result that relates these isotropic subspaces with linear systems supported on the arrangement, for arrangements with isolated non-normal crossings of a particular form.
The Orlik-Solomon algebra of a matroid M is the quotient of the exterior algebra on the points by the ideal I(M) generated by the boundaries of the circuits of the matroid. There is an isomorphism between the Orlik-Solomon algebra of a complex matroid and the cohomology of the complement of a complex arrangement of hyperplanes. In this article a generalization of the Orlik-Solomon algebras, called X-algebras, are considered. These new algebras include, apart from the Orlik-Solomon algebras, the Orlik-Solomon-Terao algebra of a set of vectors and the Cordovil algebra of an oriented matroid. To …
We relate the cohomology of the Orlik-Solomon algebra of a discriminantal arrangement to the local system cohomology of the complement. The Orlik-Solomon algebra of such an arrangement (viewed as a complex) is shown to be a linear approximation of a complex arising from the fundamental group of the complement, the cohomology of which is isomorphic to that of the complement with coefficients in an arbitrary complex rank one local system. We also establish the relationship between the cohomology support loci of the complement of a discriminantal arrangement and the resonant varieties of its Orli…
A deformation of the Orlik-Solomon algebra of a matroid M is defined as a quotient of the free associative algebra over a commutative ring R with 1. It is shown that the given generators form a Groebner basis and that after suitable homogenization the deformation and the Orlik-Solomon have the same Hilbert series as R-algebras. For supersolvable matroids, equivalently fiber type arrangements, there is a quadratic Groebner basis and hence the algebra is Koszul
We give a vanishing theorem for the monodromy eigenspaces of the Milnor fibers of complex line arrangements. By applying the modular bound of the local system cohomology groups given by Papadima-Suciu, the result is deduced from the vanishing of the cohomology of certain Aomoto complex over finite fields. In order to prove this, we introduce degeneration homomorphisms of Orlik-Solomon algebras.
To encode an important property of the "no broken circuit bases" of the Orlik-Solomon-Terao algebras, Andras Szenes has introduced a particular type of bases, the so called "diagonal basis". We prove that this definition extends naturally to a large class of algebras, the so called chi-algebras. Our definitions make also use of an "iterative residue formula" based on the matroidal operation of contraction. This formula can be seen as the combinatorial analogue of an iterative residue formula introduced by Szenes. As an application we deduce nice formulas to express a pure element in a diagonal…
The paper provides a combinatorial method to decide when the space of local systems with non vanishing first cohomology on the complement to an arrangement of lines in a complex projective plane has as an irreducible component a subgroup of positive dimension. Partial classification of arrangements having such a component of positive dimension and a comparison theorem for cohomology of Orlik-Solomon algebra and cohomology of local systems are given. The methods are based on Vinberg-Kac classification of generalized Cartan matrices and study of pencils of algebraic curves defined by mentioned p…
We develop a model for the cohomology of the complement of a hypersurface arrangement inside a smooth projective complex variety. This generalizes the case of normal crossing divisors, discovered by P. Deligne in the context of the mixed Hodge theory of smooth complex varieties. Our model is a global version of the Orlik-Solomon algebra, which computes the cohomology of the complement of a union of hyperplanes in an affine space. The main tool is the complex of logarithmic forms along a hypersurface arrangement, and its weight filtration. Connections with wonderful compactifications and the co…
Let A be a (central) arrangement of hyperplanes in a finite dimension complex vector space V. Let M(A) be the dependence matroid determined by A. The Orlik-Solomon algebra OS(M) of a matroid M is the exterior algebra on the points modulo the ideal generated by circuit boundaries. The algebra OS(M) is isomorphic to the cohomology algebra of the complement in V of the union of the hyperplanes of A. The Tutte polynomial T(x,y) of M is a powerful invariant of the matroid M. When M(A) is a rank three matroid and A is the complexification of a real arrangement, we prove that OS(M) determines T(x,y).…
Orlik-Solomon algebras determine the Tutte polynomials of matroids of rank at most three
Xiamen University（厦门大学）；Qinghai Minzu University（青海民族大学）；Qinghai Institute of Applied Mathematics（青海省应用数学研究所）；Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University（广东技术师范大学）
We give an explicit presentation for the integral cohomology ring of the complement of any arrangement of level sets of characters in a complex torus (alias "toric arrangement"). Our description parallels the one given by Orlik and Solomon for arrangements of hyperplanes, and builds on De Concini and Procesi's work on the rational cohomology of unimodular toric arrangements. As a byproduct we extend Dupont's rational formality result to formality over $\mathbb Z$. The data needed in order to state the presentation is fully encoded in the poset of connected components of intersections of the ar…
We study the notion of a nice partition or factorization of a hyperplane arrangement due to Terao from the early 1990s. The principal aim of this note is an analogue of Terao's celebrated addition-deletion theorem for free arrangements for the class of nice arrangements. This is a natural setting for the stronger property of an inductive factorization of a hyperplane arrangement by Jambu and Paris. In addition, we show that supersolvable arrangements are inductively factored and that inductively factored arrangements are inductively free. Combined with our addition-deletion theorem this leads …
In recent papers we have refined a conjecture of Lehrer and Solomon expressing the characters of a finite Coxeter group $W$ afforded by the homogeneous components of its Orlik-Solomon algebra as sums of characters induced from linear characters of centralizers of elements of $W$. Our refined conjecture also relates the Orlik-Solomon characters above to the terms of a decomposition of the regular character of $W$ related to the descent algebra of $W$. A consequence of our conjecture is that both the regular character of $W$ and the character of the Orlik-Solomon algebra have parallel, graded de…
The Orlik-Solomon algebra is the cohomology ring of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement A in C^n; it is the quotient of an exterior algebra E(V) on |A| generators. Orlik and Terao introduced a commutative analog S(V)/I of the Orlik-Solomon algebra to answer a question of Aomoto and showed the Hilbert series depends only on the intersection lattice L(A). Motivated by topological considerations, Falk and Randell introduced the property of 2-formality; we study the relation between 2-formality and the Orlik-Terao algebra. Our main result is a necessary and sufficient condition for 2-formal…
The $OS$ algebra $A$ of a matroid $M$ is a graded algebra related to the Whitney homology of the lattice of flats of $M$. In case $M$ is the underlying matroid of a hyperplane arrangement \A in $\C^r$, $A$ is isomorphic to the cohomology algebra of the complement $\C^r\setminus \bigcup \A.$ Few examples are known of pairs of arrangements with non-isomorphic matroids but isomorphic $OS$ algebras. In all known examples, the Tutte polynomials are identical, and the complements are homotopy equivalent but not homeomorphic. We construct, for any given simple matroid $M_0$, a pair of infinite famili…
A bi-arrangement of hyperplanes in a complex affine space is the data of two sets of hyperplanes along with a coloring information on the strata. To such a bi-arrangement, one naturally associates a relative cohomology group, that we call its motive. The motivation for studying such relative cohomology groups comes from the notion of motivic period. More generally, we suggest the systematic study of the motive of a bi-arrangement of hypersurfaces in a complex manifold. We provide combinatorial and cohomological tools to compute the structure of these motives. Our main object is the Orlik-Solom…
We refine a conjecture by Lehrer and Solomon on the structure of the Orlik-Solomon algebra of a finite Coxeter group $W$ and relate it to the descent algebra of $W$. As a result, we claim that both the group algebra of $W$, as well as the Orlik-Solomon algebra of $W$ can be decomposed into a sum of induced one-dimensional representations of element centralizers, one for each conjugacy class of elements of $W$. We give a uniform proof of the claim for symmetric groups. In addition, we prove that a relative version of the conjecture holds for every pair $(W, W_L)$, where $W$ is arbitrary and $W_…
We use stratified Morse theory to construct a complex to compute the cohomology of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement with coefficients in a complex rank one local system. The linearization of this complex is shown to be the Orlik-Solomon algebra with the connection operator. Using this result, we establish the relationship between the cohomology support loci of the complement and the resonance varieties of the Orlik-Solomon algebra for any arrangement, and show that the latter are unions of subspace arrangements in general, resolving a conjecture of Falk. We also obtain lower bounds f…
In recent papers we have refined a conjecture of Lehrer and Solomon expressing the character of a finite Coxeter group $W$ acting on the $p$th graded component of its Orlik-Solomon algebra as a sum of characters induced from linear characters of centralizers of elements of $W$. Our refined conjecture relates the character above to a component of a decomposition of the regular character of $W$ related to Solomon's descent algebra of $W$. The refined conjecture has been proved for symmetric and dihedral groups, as well as finite Coxeter groups of rank three and four. In this paper, the second in…
In this paper we build an Orlik-Solomon model for the canonical gradation of the cohomology algebra with integer coefficients of the complement of a toric arrangement. We give some results on the uniqueness of the representation of arithmetic matroids, in order to discuss how the Orlik-Solomon model depends on the poset of layers. The analysis of discriminantal toric arrangements permits us to isolate certain conditions under which two toric arrangements have diffeomorphic complements. We also give combinatorial conditions determining whether the cohomology algebra is generated in degree one.
We expand upon the notion of equivariant log concavity, and make equivariant log concavity conjectures for Orlik--Solomon algebras of matroids, Cordovil algebras of oriented matroids, and Orlik--Terao algebras of hyperplane arrangements. In the case of the Coxeter arrangement for the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{sl}_n$, we exploit the theory of representation stability to give computer assisted proofs of these conjectures in low degree.
In a recent paper we claimed that both the group algebra of a finite Coxeter group $W$ as well as the Orlik-Solomon algebra of $W$ can be decomposed into a sum of induced one-dimensional representations of centralizers, one for each conjugacy class of elements of $W$, and gave a uniform proof of this claim for symmetric groups. In this note we outline an inductive approach to our conjecture. As an application of this method, we prove the inductive version of the conjecture for finite Coxeter groups of rank up to 2.
We study the cohomology ring of the complement $\mathcal{M}(\mathcal{A})$ of a manifold arrangement $\mathcal{A}$ in a smooth manifold $M$ without boundary. We first give the concept of monoidal cosheaf on a locally geometric poset $\mathfrak{L}$, and then define the generalized Orlik--Solomon algebra $A^*(\mathfrak{L}, \mathcal{C})$ over a commutative ring with unit, which is built by the classical Orlik--Solomon algebra and a monoidal cosheaf $\mathcal{C}$ as coefficients. Furthermore, we construct a monoidal cosheaf $\hat{\mathcal{C}}(\mathcal{A})$ associated with $\mathcal{A}$, so that the…
The Orlik-Solomon algebra A of a matroid is isomorphic to the quotient of an exterior algebra E by a defining ideal I. We find an explicit presentation of the annihilator ideal of I or, equivalently, the E-module dual to A. As an application of that we provide a necessary, combinatorial condition for the algebra A to be quadratic. We show that this is stronger than matroid being line-closed thereby resolving (negatively) a conjecture by Falk. We also show that our condition is not sufficient for the quadraticity.
We prove that the ith graded pieces of the Orlik-Solomon algebras or Cordovil algebras of resonance arrangements form a finitely generated FS^op-module, thus obtaining information about the growth of their dimensions and restrictions on the irreducible representations of symmetric groups that they contain.
Associated to the cohomology ring A of the complement X(A) of a hyperplane arrangement A in complex m-space are the resonance varieties R^k(A). The most studied of these is R^1(A), which is the union of the tangent cones at the origin to the characteristic varieties of the fundamental group of X. R^1(A) may be described in terms of Fitting ideals, or as the locus where a certain Ext module is supported. Both these descriptions give obvious algorithms for computation. In this note, we show that interpreting R^1(A) as the locus of decomposable two-tensors in the Orlik-Solomon ideal leads to a de…
We study Stanley-Reisner ideals of broken circuits complexes and characterize those ones admitting a linear resolution or being complete intersections. These results will then be used to characterize arrangements whose Orlik-Terao ideal has the same properties. As an application, we improve a result of Wilf on upper bounds for the coefficients of the chromatic polynomial of a maximal planar graph. We also show that for an ordered matroid with disjoint minimal broken circuits, the supersolvability of the matroid is equivalent to the Koszulness of its Orlik-Solomon algebra.
We give a type-independent construction of an explicit basis for the semi-invariant harmonic differential forms of an arbitrary pseudo-reflection group in characteristic zero. Our "top-down" approach uses the methods of Cartan's exterior calculus and is in some sense dual to related work of Solomon, Orlik--Solomon, and Shepler describing (semi-)invariant differential forms. We apply our results to a recent conjecture of Zabrocki which provides a representation theoretic-model for the Delta conjecture of Haglund--Remmel--Wilson in terms of a certain non-commutative coinvariant algebra for the s…
There is a well-known combinatorial definition, based on ordered set partitions, of the semigroup of faces of the braid arrangement. We generalize this definition to obtain a semigroup Sigma_n^G associated with G wr S_n, the wreath product of the symmetric group S_n with an arbitrary group G. Techniques of Bidigare and Brown are adapted to construct an anti-homomorphism from the S_n-invariant subalgebra of the semigroup algebra of Sigma_n^G into the group algebra of G wr S_n. The generalized descent algebras of Mantaci and Reutenauer are obtained as homomorphic images when G is abelian.
We will start from the beginning and define a matroid and its Orlik-Solomon algebra and holonomy Lie algebra, but first we give some background from topology and cohomology. A (central) hyperplane arrangement is a finite number of subspaces of codimension one in a finite dimensional vector space over R, C or even finite fields. The space X which is the complement of the union of the hyperplanes has interesting properties. If you consider R^n the cohomology is however rather trivial, there is just an H^0, since X is a disjoint union of contractible sets. But it is not a trivial task to compute …
This is a survey and research note on the modified Orlik conjecture derived from the division theorem introduced in [2]. The division theorem is a generalization of classical addition-deletion theorems for free arrangements. The division theorem can be regarded as a modified converse of the Orlik's conjecture with a combinatorial condition, i.e., an arrangement is free if the restriction is free and the characteristic polynomial of the restriction divides that of an arrangement. In this article we recall, summarize, pose and re-formulate some of results and problems related to the division the…
List-decoding of Reed-Solomon (RS) codes beyond the so called Johnson radius has been one of the main open questions since the work of Guruswami and Sudan. It is now known by the work of Rudra and Wootters, using techniques from high dimensional probability, that over large enough alphabets most RS codes are indeed list-decodable beyond this radius. In this paper we take a more combinatorial approach which allows us to determine the precise relation (up to the exact constant) between the decoding radius and the list size. We prove a generalized Singleton bound for a given list size, and conjec…
In the context of generating functions for $P$-partitions, we revisit three flavors of quasisymmetric functions: Gessel's quasisymmetric functions, Chow's type B quasisymmetric functions, and Poirier's signed quasisymmetric functions. In each case we use the inner coproduct to give a combinatorial description (counting pairs of permutations) to the multiplication in: Solomon's type A descent algebra, Solomon's type B descent algebra, and the Mantaci-Reutenauer algebra, respectively. The presentation is brief and elementary, our main results coming as consequences of $P$-partition theorems alre…
We extend to several combinatorial Hopf algebras the endomorphism of symmetric functions sending the first power-sum to zero and leaving the other ones invariant. As a transformation of alphabets, this is the (1-E)-transform, where E is the exponential alphabet, whose elementary symmetric functions are e_n=1/n!. In the case of noncommutative symmetric functions, we recover Schocker's idempotents for derangement numbers [Discr. Math. 269 (2003), 239]. From these idempotents, we construct subalgebras of the descent algebras analogous to the peak algebras and study their representation theory. Th…
Here we give a combinatorial interpretation of Solomon's rule for multiplication in the descent algebra of Weyl groups of type $D$, $ΣD_n$. From here we show that $ΣD_n$ is a homomorphic image of the descent algebra of the hyperoctahedral group, $ΣB_{n-2}$.
We develop a more general view of Stembridge's enriched $P$-partitions and use this theory to outline the structure of peak algebras for the symmetric group and the hyperoctahedral group. Initially we focus on commutative peak algebras, spanned by sums of permutations with the same number of peaks, where we consider several variations on the definition of "peak." Whereas Stembridge's enriched $P$-partitions are related to quasisymmetric functions (the dual coalgebra of Solomon's type A descent algebra), our generalized enriched $P$-partitions are related to type B quasisymmetric functions (the…
Let $G$ be a matroid on ground set \A. The Orlik-Solomon algebra $A(G)$ is the quotient of the exterior algebra \E on \A by the ideal \I generated by circuit boundaries. The quadratic closure $\bar{A}(G)$ of $A(G)$ is the quotient of \E by the ideal generated by the degree-two component of \I. We introduce the notion of \nbb set in $G$, determined by a linear order on \A, and show that the corresponding monomials are linearly independent in the quadratic closure $\bar{A}(G)$. As a consequence, $A(G)$ is a quadratic algebra only if $G$ is line-closed. An example of S.~Yuzvinsky proves the conve…
