We consider a filtration of the symmetric function space given by $Λ^{(k)}_t$, the linear span of Hall-Littlewood polynomials indexed by partitions whose first part is not larger than $k$. We introduce symmetric functions called the $k$-Schur functions, providing an analog for the Schur functions in the subspaces $Λ^{(k)}_t$. We prove several properties for the $k$-Schur functions including that they form a basis for these subspaces that reduces to the Schur basis when $k$ is large. We also show that the connection coefficients for the $k$-Schur function basis with the Macdonald polynomials belonging to $Λ^{(k)}_t$ are polynomials in $q$ and $t$ with integral coefficients. In fact, we conjecture that these integral coefficients are actually positive, and give several other conjectures generalizing Schur function theory.
This paper investigates the tilting modules of the cyclotomic q-Schur algebras, the Young modules of the Ariki-Koike algebras, and the interconnections between them. The main tools used to understand the tilting modules are contragredient duality, and the Specht filtrations and dual Specht filtrations of certain permutation modules. Surprisingly, Weyl filtrations -- which are in general more powerful than Specht filtrations -- play only a secondary role.
We obtain general identities for the product of two Schur functions in the case where one of the functions is indexed by a rectangular partition, and give their t-analogs using vertex operators. We study subspaces forming a filtration for the symmetric function space that lends itself to generalizing the theory of Schur functions and also provides a convenient environment for studying the Macdonald polynomials. We use our identities to prove that the vertex operators leave such subspaces invariant. We finish by showing that these operators act simply on the k-Schur functions, thus leading to a…
We investigate chromatic symmetric functions in the relation to the algebra $Γ$ of symmetric functions generated by Schur $Q$-functions. We construct natural bases of $Γ$ in terms of chromatic symmetric functions. We also consider the $p$-positivity of skew Schur $Q$-functions and find a class of $p$-positive ribbon Schur $Q$-functions, making a conjecture that they are \emph{all}. We include many concrete computational results that support our conjecture.
Symmetric Grothendieck polynomials are analogues of Schur polynomials in the K-theory of Grassmannians. We build dual families of symmetric Grothendieck polynomials using Schur operators. With this approach we prove skew Cauchy identity and then derive various applications: skew Pieri rules, dual filtrations of Young's lattice, generating series and enumerative identities. We also give a new explanation of the finite expansion property for products of Grothendieck polynomials.
We exhibit a weight-preserving bijection between semi-standard Young tableaux and semi-skyline augmented fillings to provide a combinatorial proof that the Schur functions decompose into nonsymmetric functions indexed by compositions. The insertion procedure involved in the proof leads to an analogue of the Robinson-Schensted-Knuth Algorithm for semi-skyline augmented fillings. This procedure commutes with the RSK algorithm, and therefore retains many of its properties.
In 2004 Rosas and Sagan asked whether there was a way to define a basis in the algebra of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables, NCSym, having properties analogous to the classical Schur functions. This was because they had constructed a partial such set that was not a basis. We answer their question by defining Schur functions in noncommuting variables using a noncommutative analogue of the Jacobi-Trudi determinant. Our Schur functions in NCSym map to classical Schur functions under commutation, and a subset of them indexed by set partitions forms a basis for NCSym. Amongst other prop…
We establish Pfaffian analogues of the Cauchy--Binet formula and the Ishikawa--Wakayama minor-summation formula. Each of these Pfaffian analogues expresses a sum of products of subpfaffians of two skew-symmetric matrices in terms of a single Pfaffian. By using these Pfaffian formulas we give new transparent proofs to several identities for Schur Q23 pa-functions.
We prove a Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for the noncommutative Schur functions introduced by Bessenrodt, Luoto and van Willigenburg. In other words, we give an explicit combinatorial formula for expanding the product of a noncommutative power sum symmetric function and a noncommutative Schur function in terms of noncommutative Schur functions. In direct analogy to the classical Murnaghan-Nakayama rule, the summands are computed using a noncommutative analogue of border strips, and have coefficients equal to 1 or -1 determined by the height of these border strips. The rule is proved by interpreting …
We describe a combinatorial formula for the coefficients when the dual immaculate quasisymmetric functions are decomposed into Young quasisymmetric Schur functions. We prove this using an analogue of Schensted insertion. Using this result, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a dual immaculate quasisymmetric function to be symmetric. Moreover, we show that the product of a Schur function and a dual immaculate quasisymmetric function expands positively in the Young quasisymmetric Schur basis. We also discuss the decomposition of the Young noncommutative Schur functions into the immac…
We present a family of analogs of the Hall-Littlewood symmetric functions in the $Q$-function algebra. The change of basis coefficients between this family and Schur's $Q$-functions are $q$-analogs of numbers of marked shifted tableaux. These coefficients exhibit many parallel properties to the Kostka-Foulkes polynomials.
We introduce a quasisymmetric generalization of Berele and Regev's hook Schur functions and prove that these new quasisymmetric hook Schur functions decompose the hook Schur functions in a natural way. We examine the combinatorics of the quasisymmetric hook Schur functions, providing a relationship to Gessel's fundamental quasisymmetric functions and an analogue of the Robinson-Schensted-Knuth algorithm. We also prove that the multiplication of quasisymmetric hook Schur functions with hook Schur functions behaves the same as the multiplication of quasisymmetric Schur functions with Schur funct…
The `Weyl symmetric functions' studied here naturally generalize classical symmetric (polynomial) functions, and `Weyl bialternants,' sometimes also called Weyl characters, analogize the Schur functions. For this generalization, the underlying symmetry group is a finite Weyl group. A `splitting poset' for a Weyl bialternant is an edge-colored ranked poset possessing a certain structural property and a natural weighting of its elements so that the weighted sum of poset elements is the given Weyl bialternant. Connected such posets are of combinatorial interest in part because they are rank symme…
We introduce interpolation analogues of Schur Q-functions - the multiparameter Schur Q-functions. We obtain for them several results: a combinatorial formula, generating functions for one-row and two-rows functions, vanishing and characterization properties, a Pieri-type formula, a Nimmo-type formula (a relation of two Pfaffians), a Giambelli-Schur-type Pfaffian formula, a determinantal formula for the transition coefficients between multiparameter Schur Q-functions with different parameters. We write an explicit Pfaffian expression for the dimension of skew shifted Young diagram. This paper i…
Recently a new basis for the Hopf algebra of quasisymmetric functions $QSym$, called quasisymmetric Schur functions, has been introduced by Haglund, Luoto, Mason, van Willigenburg. In this paper we extend the definition of quasisymmetric Schur functions to introduce skew quasisymmetric Schur functions. These functions include both classical skew Schur functions and quasisymmetric Schur functions as examples, and give rise to a new poset $\mathcal{L}_C$ that is analogous to Young's lattice. We also introduce a new basis for the Hopf algebra of noncommutative symmetric functions $NSym$. This bas…
We introduce non-commutative analogues of $k$-Schur functions of Lapointe-Lascoux and Morse. We give an explicit formulas for the expansions of non-commutive functions with one and two parameters in terms of these new functions. These results are similar to the conjectures existing in the commutative case.
In prior work, the authors, along with M. McClard, R. A. Proctor, and N. J. Wildberger, studied certain distributive lattice models for the `Weyl bialternants' (aka `Weyl characters') associated with the rank two root systems/Weyl groups. These distributive lattices were uniformly described as lattices of order ideals taken from certain grid-like posets, although the arguments connecting the lattices to Weyl bialternants were case-by-case depending on the type of the rank two root system. Using this connection with Weyl bialternants, these lattices were shown to be rank symmetric and rank unim…
We prove the Murgnaghan--Nakayama rule for $k$-Schur functions of Lapointe and Morse, that is, we give an explicit formula for the expansion of the product of a power sum symmetric function and a $k$-Schur function in terms of $k$-Schur functions. This is proved using the noncommutative $k$-Schur functions in terms of the nilCoxeter algebra introduced by Lam and the affine analogue of noncommutative symmetric functions of Fomin and Greene.
We obtain a common generalization of two types of Sylvester formulas for compound determinants and its Pfaffian analogue. As applications, we give generalizations of the Giambelli identity to skew Schur functions and the Schur identity to Schur's skew $Q$-functions.
We introduce a new operation on skew diagrams called composition of transpositions, and use it and a Jacobi-Trudi style formula to derive equalities on skew Schur Q-functions whose indexing shifted skew diagram is an ordinary skew diagram. When this skew diagram is a ribbon, we conjecture necessary and sufficient conditions for equality of ribbon Schur Q-functions. Moreover, we determine all relations between ribbon Schur Q-functions; show they supply a Z-basis for skew Schur Q-functions; assert their irreducibility; and show that the non-commutative analogue of ribbon Schur Q-functions is the…
Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of non-negative integers. Haglund, Wilson, and the second author have conjectured that the coefficient of any Schur function $s_λ[X]$ in $Δ_{e_k} e_n[X]$ is a polynomial in $\mathbb{N}[q,t]$. We present four proofs of a stronger statement in the case $k=2$; We show that the coefficient of any Schur function $s_λ[X]$ in $Δ_{e_2} e_n[X]$ has a positive expansion in terms of $q,t$-analogs.
We give another proof for the (-1)-enumeration of self-complementary plane partitions with at least one odd side-length by specializing a certain Schur function identity. The proof is analogous to Stanley's proof for the ordinary enumeration. In addition, we obtain enumerations of 180-degree symmetric rhombus tilings of hexagons with a barrier of arbitrary length along the central line.
Lam and Pylyavskyy introduced loop symmetric functions as a generalization of symmetric functions. They defined loop Schur functions as generating functions over semistandard tableaux with respect to a `colored weight,' and they proved a Jacobi--Trudi-style determinantal formula for these generating functions. We prove that loop Schur functions can be expressed as a ratio of `loop alternants,' extending the analogy with Schur functions. As an application, we give a new proof of the loop version of the Murnaghan--Nakayama rule.
LLT polynomials are $q$-analogues of product of Schur functions that are known to be Schur-positive by Grojnowski and Haiman. However, there is no known combinatorial formula for the coefficients in the Schur expansion. Finding such a formula also provides Schur positivity of Macdonald polynomials. On the other hand, Haiman and Hugland conjectured that LLT polynomials for skew partitions lying on $k$ adjacent diagonals are $k$-Schur positive, which is much stronger than Schur positivity. In this paper, we prove the conjecture for $k=2$ by analyzing unicellular LLT polynomials. We first present…
Mason and Remmel introduced a basis for quasisymmetric functions known as the row-strict quasisymmetric Schur functions. This basis is generated combinatorially by fillings of composition diagrams that are analogous to the row-strict tableaux that generate Schur functions. We introduce a modification known as Young row-strict quasisymmetric Schur functions, which are generated by row-strict Young composition fillings. After discussing basic combinatorial properties of these functions, we define a skew Young row-strict quasisymmetric Schur function using the Hopf algebra of quasisymmetric funct…
We give a Pieri-type formula for the sum of $K$-$k$-Schur functions $\sum_{μ\leλ} g^{(k)}_μ$ over a principal order ideal of the poset of $k$-bounded partitions under the strong Bruhat order, which sum we denote by $\widetilde{g}^{(k)}_λ$. As an application of this, we also give a $k$-rectangle factorization formula $\widetilde{g}^{(k)}_{R_t\cupλ}=\widetilde{g}^{(k)}_{R_t} \widetilde{g}^{(k)}_λ$ where $R_t=(t^{k+1-t})$, analogous to that of $k$-Schur functions $s^{(k)}_{R_t\cupλ}=s^{(k)}_{R_t}s^{(k)}_λ$.
We give a simple formula for some determinants, and an analogous formula for pfaffians, both of which are polynomial identities. The second involve some expressions that interpolate between determinants and pfaffians. We give several tableau formulas for difference operators in Types A and C, as well as other operators that appear in the "enriched", or "back-stable" Schubert polynomials. There are also tableau formulas for the enriched Schubert polynomials for vexillary and $321$-avoiding permutations.
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…
The double Schur functions form a distinguished basis of the ring Λ(x||a) which is a multiparameter generalization of the ring of symmetric functions Λ(x). The canonical comultiplication on Λ(x) is extended to Λ(x||a) in a natural way so that the double power sums symmetric functions are primitive elements. We calculate the dual Littlewood-Richardson coefficients in two different ways thus providing comultiplication rules for the double Schur functions. We also prove multiparameter analogues of the Cauchy identity. A new family of Schur type functions plays the role of a dual object in the ide…
We prove Jacobi-Trudi-type determinantal formulas for skew dual Grothendieck polynomials which are $K$-theoretic deformations of Schur polynomials. We also prove a bialternant-type formula analogous to the classical definition of Schur polynomials.
The classical Littlewood-Richardson rule is a rule for computing coefficients in many areas, and comes in many guises. In this paper we prove two Littlewood-Richardson rules for symmetric skew quasisymmetric Schur functions that are analogous to the famed version of the classical Littlewood-Richardson rule involving Yamanouchi words. Furthermore, both our rules contain this classical Littlewood-Richardson rule as a special case. We then apply our rules to combinatorially classify symmetric skew quasisymmetric Schur functions. This answers affirmatively a conjecture of Bessenrodt, Luoto and van…
We introduce two families of symmetric functions generalizing the factorial Schur $P$- and $Q$- functions due to Ivanov. We call them $K$-theoretic analogues of factorial Schur $P$- and $Q$- functions. We prove various combinatorial expressions for these functions, e.g. as a ratio of Pfaffians, and a sum over excited Young diagrams. As a geometric application, we show that these functions represent the Schubert classes in the $K$-theory of torus equivariant coherent sheaves on the maximal isotropic Grassmannians of symplectic and orthogonal types. This generalizes a corresponding result for th…
By considering type B analogs of permutations and tableaux, we extend abstract dual equivalence to type B in two directions. In one direction, we define involutions on signed permutations and shifted tableaux that give a weak dual equivalence, thereby giving another proof of the Schur positivity of Schur Q- and P-functions. In another direction, we define an abstract shifted dual equivalence parallel to dual equivalence and prove that it can be used to establish Schur P-positivity of a function expressed as a sum of shifted fundamental quasisymmetric functions.
Skew stable Grothendieck polynomials are $K$-theoretic analogues of skew Schur polynomials. We give a free-fermionic presentation of skew stable Grothendieck polynomials and their dual symmetric functions. By using our presentation, we derive a family of determinantal formulas, which are $K$-analogues of the Jacobi-Trudi formula for skew Schur functions. We also introduce a combinatorial method to calculate certain expansions of skew (dual) stable Grothendieck polynomials by using the non-commutative supersymmetric Schur functions.
In this paper, we introduce a family of symmetric polynomials by specializing the factorial Schur polynomials. These polynomials represent the weighted Schubert classes of the cohomology of the weighted Grassmannian introduced by Corti-Reid, and we regard these polynomials as analogue of the Schur polynomials. We show that those twisted Schur polynomials are the characters of certain representations. Thus we give an interpretation of the Schubert structure constants of the weighted Grassmannians as the (rational) multiplicities of tensor products of the representations. Furthermore, we derive …
We study the correlation functions of the Pfaffian Schur process. Borodin and Rains [J. Stat. Phys. 121 (2005), 291-317] introduced the Pfaffian Schur process and derived its correlation functions using a Pfaffian analogue of the Eynard-Mehta theorem. We present here an alternative derivation of the correlation functions using Macdonald difference operators.
We present a set of algebraic relations among Schur functions which are a multi-time generalization of the ``discrete Hirota relations'' known to hold among the Schur functions of rectangular partitions. We prove the relations as an application of a technique for turning Plucker relations into statements about Schur functions and other objects with similar definitions as determinants. We also give a quantum analog of the relations which incorporates spectral parameters. Our proofs are mostly algebraic, but the relations have a clear combinatorial side, which we discuss.
The main purpose of this paper is to show that the multiplication of a Schubert polynomial of finite type $A$ by a Schur function, which we refer to as Schubert vs. Schur problem, can be understood from the multiplication in the space of dual $k$-Schur functions. Using earlier work by the second author, we encode both problems by means of quasisymmetric functions. On the Schubert vs. Schur side, we study the poset given by the Bergeron-Sottile's $r$-Bruhat order, along with certain operators associated to this order. On the other side, we connect this poset with a graph on dual $k$-Schur funct…
In previous work with Mikhail Khovanov and Aaron Lauda we introduced two odd analogues of the Schur functions: one via the combinatorics of Young tableaux (odd Kostka numbers) and one via the odd symmetrization operator. In this paper we introduce a third analogue, the plactic Schur functions. We show they coincide with both previously defined types of Schur function, confirming a conjecture. Using the plactic definition, we establish an odd Littlewood-Richardson rule. We also re-cast this rule in the language of polytopes, via the Knutson-Tao hive model.
The classical Peter-Weyl theorem describes the structure of the space of functions on a semi-simple algebraic group. On the level of characters (in type A) this boils down to the Cauchy identity for the products of Schur polynomials. We formulate and prove the analogue of the Peter-Weyl theorem for the current groups. In particular, in type A the corresponding characters identity is governed by the Cauchy identity for the products of q-Whittaker functions. We also formulate and prove a version of the Schur-Weyl theorem for current groups. The link between the Peter-Weyl and Schur-Weyl theorems…
We consider the problem of embedding the semi-ring of Schur-positive symmetric polynomials into its analogue for the classical types $B/C/D$. If we preserve highest weights and add the additional Lie-theoretic parity assumption that the weights in images of Schur functions lie in a single translate of the root lattice, there are exactly two solutions. These naturally extend the Kirillov--Reshetikhin decompositions of representations of symplectic and orthogonal quantum affine algebras $U_q(\hat{g})$ (some still conjectural, some recently proven).
Schur process is a time-dependent analog of the Schur measure on partitions studied in math.RT/9907127. Our first result is that the correlation functions of the Schur process are determinants with a kernel that has a nice contour integral representation in terms of the parameters of the process. This general result is then applied to a particular specialization of the Schur process, namely to random 3-dimensional Young diagrams. The local geometry of a large random 3-dimensional diagram is described in terms of a determinantal point process on a 2-dimensional lattice with the incomplete beta …
