We describe an explicit geometric Littlewood-Richardson rule, interpreted as deforming the intersection of two Schubert varieties so that they break into Schubert varieties. There are no restrictions on the base field, and all multiplicities arising are 1; this is important for applications. This rule should be seen as a generalization of Pieri's rule to arbitrary Schubert classes, by way of explicit homotopies. It has a straightforward bijection to other Littlewood-Richardson rules, such as tableaux, and Knutson and Tao's puzzles.
This gives the first geometric proof and interpretation of the Littlewood-Richardson rule. It has a host of geometric consequences, described in the companion paper "Schubert induction". The rule also has an interpretation in K-theory, suggested by Buch, which gives an extension of puzzles to K-theory. The rule suggests a natural approach to the open question of finding a Littlewood-Richardson rule for the flag variety, leading to a conjecture, shown to be true up to dimension 5. Finally, the rule suggests approaches to similar open problems, such as Littlewood-Richardson rules for the symplectic Grassmannian and two-flag varieties.
We give a positive equivariant Littlewood-Richardson rule also discovered independently by Molev. Our proof generalizes a proof by Stembridge of the ordinary Littlewood-Richardson rule. We describe a weight-preserving bijection between our indexing tableaux and the Knutson-Tao puzzles.
We give elementary and short proofs of the Littlewood-Richardson rules for type A Grassmannians and maximal isotropic Grassmannians, based on the corresponding Pieri rules.
We prove a general combinatorial formula yielding the intersection number $c_{u,v}^w$ of three particular $Λ$-minuscule Schubert classes in any Kac-Moody homogeneous space, generalising the Littlewood-Richardson rule. The combinatorics are based on jeu de taquin rectification in a poset defined by the heap of $w$.
This is a companion paper to arXiv:0909.2280. It is mostly expository and focuses on the representation-theoretic and combinatorial aspects of the main problems considered in the other article.
A consequence of work of Klyachko and of Knutson-Tao is the Horn recursion to determine when a Littlewood-Richardson coefficient is non-zero. Briefly, a Littlewood-Richardson coefficient is non-zero if and only if it satisfies a collection of Horn inequalities which are indexed by smaller non-zero Littlewood-Richardson coefficients. There are similar Littlewood-Richardson numbers for Schur P- and Q- functions. Using a mixture of combinatorics of root systems, combinatorial linear algebra in Lie algebras, and the geometry of certain cominuscule flag varieties, we give Horn recursions to determi…
If $α\in S_n$ is a permutation of $\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}$, the inversion set of $α$ is $Φ(α) = \{(i, j) \, | \, 1 \leq i < j \leq n, α(i) > α(j)\}$. We describe all $r$-tuples $α_1, α_2, \ldots, α_r \in S_n$ such that $Δ_n^+ = \{(i, j) \, | \, 1 \leq i < j \leq n\}$ is the disjoint union of $Φ(α_1), Φ(α_2), \ldots, Φ(α_r)$. Using this description we prove that certain faces of the Littlewood-Richardson cone are simplicial and provide an algorithm for writing down their sets of generating rays. We also discuss analogous problems for the Weyl groups of root systems of types $B$, $C$ and $D$ provid…
Let G be a semisimple algebraic group over an algebraically-closed field of characteristic zero. In this note we show that every regular face of the Littlewood-Richardson cone of G gives rise to a reduction rule: a rule which, given a problem "on that face" of computing the multiplicity of an irreducible component in a tensor product, reduces it to a similar problem on a group of smaller rank. In the type A case this result has already been proved by Derksen and Weyman using quivers, and by King, Tollu, and Tomazet using puzzles. The proof here is geometric and type-independent.
We prove that a conjecture of Fomin, Fulton, Li, and Poon, associated to ordered pairs of partitions, holds for many infinite families of such pairs. We also show that the bounded height case can be reduced to checking that the conjecture holds for a finite number of pairs, for any given height. Moreover, we propose a natural generalization of the conjecture to the case of skew shapes.
We study the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients of double Grothendieck polynomials indexed by Grassmannian permutations. Geometrically, these are the structure constants of the equivariant $K$-theory ring of Grassmannians. Representing the double Grothendieck polynomials as partition functions of an integrable vertex model, we use its Yang-Baxter equation to derive a series of product rules for the former polynomials and their duals. The Littlewood-Richardson coefficients that arise can all be expressed in terms of puzzles without gashes, which generalize previous puzzles obtained by Knutson-T…
In his 1951 book "Infinite Abelian Groups", Kaplansky gives a combinatorial characterization of the isomorphism types of embeddings of a cyclic subgroup in a finite abelian group. In this paper we first use partial maps on Littlewood-Richardson tableaux to generalize this result to finite direct sums of such embeddings. We then focus on an application to invariant subspaces of nilpotent linear operators. We develop a criterion to decide if two irreducible components in the representation space are in the boundary partial order.
We develop the Littlewood-Richardson homotopy algorithm, which uses numerical continuation to compute solutions to Schubert problems on Grassmannians and is based on the geometric Littlewood-Richardson rule. One key ingredient of this algorithm is our new optimal formulation of Schubert problems in local Stiefel coordinates as systems of equations. Our implementation can solve problem instances with tens of thousands of solutions.
We introduce a family of rings of symmetric functions depending on an infinite sequence of parameters. A distinguished basis of such a ring is comprised by analogues of the Schur functions. The corresponding structure coefficients are polynomials in the parameters which we call the Littlewood-Richardson polynomials. We give a combinatorial rule for their calculation by modifying an earlier result of B. Sagan and the author. The new rule provides a formula for these polynomials which is manifestly positive in the sense of W. Graham. We apply this formula for the calculation of the product of eq…
The Kronecker coefficients and the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients are nonnegative integers depending on three partitions. By definition, these coefficients are the multiplicities of the tensor product decomposition of two irreducible representations of symmetric groups (resp. linear groups). By a classical Littlewood-Murnaghan's result the Kronecker coefficients extend the Littlewood-Richardson ones.The nonvanishing of a Littlewood-Richardson coefficient implies linear inequalities on the triple of partitions, called Horn inequalities. In thispaper, we extend the essential Horn inequalitie…
I prove that the full Fock-Goncharov conjecture holds for $\mathrm{Conf}_3^\times(\widetilde{\mathcal{F}\hspace{-1.6pt}\ell})$-- the configuration space of triples of decorated flags in generic position. As a key ingredient of this proof, I exhibit a maximal green sequence for the quiver of the initial seed. I compute the Landau-Ginzburg potential $W$ on $\mathrm{Conf}_3^\times(\widetilde{\mathcal{F}\hspace{-1.6pt}\ell})^\vee$ associated to the partial minimal model $\mathrm{Conf}_3^\times(\widetilde{\mathcal{F}\hspace{-1.6pt}\ell}) \subset \mathrm{Conf}_3(\widetilde{\mathcal{F}\hspace{-1.6pt}…
We prove an explicit combinatorial formula for the structure constants of the Grothendieck ring of a Grassmann variety with respect to its basis of Schubert structure sheaves. We furthermore relate K-theory of Grassmannians to a bialgebra of stable Grothendieck polynomials, which is a K-theory parallel of the ring of symmetric functions.
The Littlewood-Richardson coefficients $c^ν_{λ,μ}$ are the multiplicities in the tensor product decomposition of two irreducible representations of the general linear group GL$(n, {\mathbb C})$. They are parametrized by the triples of partitions $(λ, μ, ν)$ of length at most $n$. By the so-called Fulton conjecture, if $c^ν_{λ,μ}=1$ then $c^{kν}_{kλ,kμ}= 1$, for any $k \geq 0$. Similarly, as proved by Ikenmeyer or Sherman, if $c^ν_{λ,μ}=2$ then $c^{kν}_{kλ,kμ} = k + 1$, for any $k\geq 0$. Here, given a partition $λ$, we set $λ(p, q) = p(qλ')'$ , where prime denotes the conjugate partition. We o…
We characterize the relationship between the singular values of a complex Hermitian (resp., real symmetric, complex symmetric) matrix and the singular values of its off-diagonal block. We also characterize the eigenvalues of an Hermitian (or real symmetric) matrix C=A+B in terms of the combined list of eigenvalues of A and B. The answers are given by Horn-type linear inequalities. The proofs depend on a new inequality among Littlewood-Richardson coefficients.
We study the T-equivariant quantum cohomology of the Grassmannian. We prove the vanishing of a certain class of equivariant quantum Littlewood-Richardson coefficients, which implies an equivariant quantum Pieri rule. As in the equivariant case, this implies an algorithm to compute the equivariant quantum Littlewood-Richardson coefficients.
Answering a question raised by S. Friedland, we show that the possible eigenvalues of Hermitian matrices (or compact operators) A, B, and C with C <= A + B are given by the same inequalities as in Klyachko's theorem for the case where C = A + B, except that the equality corresponding to tr(C) = tr(A) + tr(B) is replaced by the inequality corresponding to tr(C) <= tr(A) + tr(B). The possible types of finitely generated torsion modules A, B, and C over a discrete valuation ring such that there is an exact sequence B -> C -> A are characterized by the same inequalities.
The set of possible spectra (λ,μ,ν) of zero-sum triples of Hermitian matrices forms a polyhedral cone. We give a complete determination of its facets, finishing a long story with recent highlights by [Helmke-Rosenthal, Klyachko, Belkale]. We introduce_puzzles_, which are new combinatorial gadgets to compute Grassmannian Schubert calculus, and will probably be the main point of interest for many readers. As the proofs indicate, the Hermitian sum problem is very naturally studied using puzzles directly, and their connection to Schubert calculus is quite incidental to our approach. In particular,…
In their 2004 paper, Stretched Littlewood-Richardson and Kostka Coefficients, King, Tollu, and Toumazet conjectured that if a Littlewood-Richardson coefficient of value 2 is stretched by a factor of N, the resulting coefficient has value N+1. A generalization of this is proven using geometric methods and Schubert calculus.
It is well-known that the intersection multiplicities of Schubert classes in the Grassmanian are Littlewood-Richardson coefficients. We generalize this statement in the context of quiver representations. Here the intersection multiplicity of Schubert classes is replaced by the number of subrepresentations of a general quiver reprsentation, and the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients are replaced by the the dimension of a certain space of semiinvariants.
We prove Pieri formulas for the multiplication with special Schubert classes in the K-theory of all cominuscule Grassmannians. For Grassmannians of type A this gives a new proof of a formula of Lenart. Our formula is new for Lagrangian Grassmannians, and for orthogonal Grassmannians it proves a special case of a conjectural Littlewood-Richardson rule of Thomas and Yong. Recent work of Thomas and Yong and of E. Clifford has shown that the full Littlewood-Richardson rule for orthogonal Grassmannians follows from the Pieri case proved here. We describe the K-theoretic Pieri coefficients both as i…
The necessary and sufficient Horn inequalities which determine the non-vanishing Littlewood-Richardson coefficients in the cohomology of a Grassmannian are recursive in that they are naturally indexed by non-vanishing Littlewood-Richardson coefficients on smaller Grassmannians. We show how non-vanishing in the Schubert calculus for cominuscule flag varieties is similarly recursive. For these varieties, the non-vanishing of products of Schubert classes is controlled by the non-vanishing products on smaller cominuscule flag varieties. In particular, we show that the lists of Schubert classes who…
We prove that structure constants related to Hecke algebras at roots of unity are special cases of k-Littlewood-Richardson coefficients associated to a product of k-Schur functions. As a consequence, both the 3-point Gromov-Witten invariants appearing in the quantum cohomology of the Grassmannian, and the fusion coefficients for the WZW conformal field theories associated to \hat{su}(\ell) are shown to be k-Littlewood Richardson coefficients. From this, Mark Shimozono conjectured that the k-Schur functions form the Schubert basis for the homology of the loop Grassmannian, whereas k-Schur copro…
Stretching the parameters of a Littlewood-Richardson coefficient of value 2 by a factor of n results in a coefficient of value n+1. We give a geometric proof of a generalization for representations of quivers.
Richardson varieties play an important role in intersection theory and in the geometric interpretation of the Littlewood-Richardson Rule for flag varieties. We discuss three natural generalizations of Richardson varieties which we call projection varieties, intersection varieties, and rank varieties. In many ways, these varieties are more fundamental than Richardson varieties and are more easily amenable to inductive geometric constructions. In this paper, we study the singularities of each type of generalization. Like Richardson varieties, projection varieties are normal with rational singula…
We give a new geometric proof of a conjecture of Fulton on the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients. This conjecture was firstly proved by Knutson, Tao and Woodward using the Honeycomb theory. A geometric proof was given by Belkale. Our proof is based on the geometry of Horn's cones.
