Let $T$ be a torus acting on $\CC^n$ in such a way that, for all $1\leq k\leq n$, the induced action on the grassmannian $G(k,n)$ has only isolated fixed points. This paper proposes a natural, elementary, explicit description of the corresponding $T$-equivariant Schubert calculus. In a suitable natural basis of the $T$-equivariant cohomology, seen as a module over the $T$-equivariant cohomology of a point, it is formally the same as the ordinary cohomology of a grassmann bundle. The main result, useful for computational purposes, is that the $T$-equivariant cohomology of $G(k,n)$ can be realized as the quotient of a ring generated by derivations on the exterior algebra of a free module of rank $n$ over the $T$-equivariant cohomology of a point.
Traditional formulations of geometric problems from the Schubert calculus, either in Plucker coordinates or in local coordinates provided by Schubert cells, yield systems of polynomials that are typically far from complete intersections and (in local coordinates) typically of degree exceeding two. We present an alternative primal-dual formulation using parametrizations of Schubert cells in the dual Grassmannians in which intersections of Schubert varieties become complete intersections of bilinear equations. This formulation enables the numerical certification of problems in the Schubert calcu…
We show that general isotropic flags for odd-orthogonal and symplectic groups are general for Schubert calculus on the classical Grassmannian in that Schubert cells defined by such flags meet transversally. This strengthens a result of Belkale and Kumar in arXiv:0708.0398.
Many aspects of Schubert calculus are easily modeled on a computer. This enables large-scale experimentation to investigate subtle and ill-understood phenomena in the Schubert calculus. A well-known web of conjectures and results in the real Schubert calculus has been inspired by this continuing experimentation. A similarly rich story concerning intrinsic structure, or Galois groups, of Schubert problems is also beginning to emerge from experimentation. This showcases new possibilities for the use of computers in mathematical research.
We describe a new approach to the Schubert calculus on complete flag varieties using the volume polynomial associated with Gelfand-Zetlin polytopes. This approach allows us to compute the intersection products of Schubert cycles by intersecting faces of a polytope.
We determine the structure of the equivariant cohomology and $K$-theory of Bott towers. By restriction, we obtain similar results for Bott-Samelson varieties. This results allow us to describe more precisely the equivariant cohomology and $K$-theory of the flag variety $X$. We give an expression for the cup product in $H_T^*(X)$.
We previously obtained a congruence modulo four for the number of real solutions to many Schubert problems on a square Grassmannian given by osculating flags. Here, we consider Schubert problems given by more general isotropic flags, and prove this congruence modulo four for the largest class of Schubert problems that could be expected to exhibit this congruence.
A flexible unified framework for both classical and quantum Schubert calculus is proposed. It is based on a natural combinatorial approach relying on the Hasse-Schmidt extension of a certain family of pairwise commuting endomorphisms of an infinite free Z-module M to its exterior algebra.
We prove an analogue of the Mukhin-Tarasov-Varchenko theorem (formerly the Shapiro-Shapiro conjecture) for the maximal type B_n orthogonal Grassmannian OG(n,2n+1).
We describe a large-scale computational experiment to study structure in the numbers of real solutions to osculating instances of Schubert problems. This investigation uncovered Schubert problems whose computed numbers of real solutions variously exhibit nontrivial upper bounds, lower bounds, gaps, and a congruence modulo four. We present a family of Schubert problems, one in each Grassmannian, and prove their osculating instances have the observed lower bounds and gaps.
Quantum Schubert calculus for smooth Schubert divisors of $F\ell_n$
School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University（中山大学数学学院）；Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa（渥太华大学数学与统计系）；Department of Mathematics, The University of Hong Kong（香港大学数学系）
A Newton-Okounkov polytope of a complete flag variety can be turned into a convex geometric model for Schubert calculus. Namely, we can represent Schubert cycles by linear combinations of faces of the polytope so that the intersection product of cycles corresponds to the set-theoretic intersection of faces (whenever the latter are transverse). We explain the general framework and survey particular realizations of this approach in types A, B and C.
We establish a congruence modulo four in the real Schubert calculus on the Grassmannian of m-planes in 2m-space. This congruence holds for fibers of the Wronski map and a generalization to what we call symmetric Schubert problems. This strengthens the usual congruence modulo two for numbers of real solutions to geometric problems. It also gives examples of geometric problems given by fibers of a map whose topological degree is zero but where each fiber contains real points.
In 2006, Belkale and Kumar define a new product on the cohomology of flag varieties and use this new product to give an improved solution to the eigencone problem for complex reductive groups. In this paper, we give a generalization of the Belkale-Kumar product to the branching Schubert calculus setting. The study of Branching Schubert calculus attempts to understand the induced map on cohomology of an equivariant embedding of flag varieties. The main application of our work is a compact formulation of the solution to the branching eigencone problem.
Let HH_{ab}(H) be the equivariant Hilbert scheme parametrizing the zero dimensional subschemes of the affine plane k^2, fixed under the one dimensional torus T_{ab}={(t^{-b},t^a), t\in k^*} and whose Hilbert function is H. This Hilbert scheme admits a natural stratification in Schubert cells which extends the notion of Schubert cells on Grassmannians. However, the incidence relations between the cells become more complicated than in the case of Grassmannians. In this paper, we give a necessary condition for the closure of a cell to meet another cell. In the particular case of Grassmannians, it…
A natural Hasse-Schmidt derivation on the exterior algebra of a free module realizes the (small quantum) cohomology ring of the grassmannian $G_k(\CC^n)$ as a ring of operators on the exterior algebra of a free module of rank $n$. Classical Pieri's formula can be interpreted as Leibniz's rule enjoyed by special Schubert cycles with respect to the wedge product.
The Shapiro conjecture in the real Schubert calculus fails to hold for flag manifolds, but in a very interesting way. In this extended abstract, we give a refinement of that conjecture for the flag manifold and present massive experimentation (over 12 GigaHertz-Years) that supports our refined conjecture. We also establish relationships between different cases of the conjecture and describe some new phenomena uncovered in this experimentation.
We give positive formulas for the restriction of a Schubert Class to a T-fixed point in the equivariant K-theory and equivariant cohomology of the Lagrangian Grassmannian. Our formulas rely on a result of Ghorpade-Raghavan, which gives an equivariant Grobner degeneration of a Schubert variety in the neighborhood of a T-fixed point of the Lagrangian Grassmannian.
In this survey paper we review recent advances in the calculus of Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson, motivic Chern, and elliptic classes of classical Schubert varieties. These three theories are one-parameter ($\hbar$) deformations of the notion of fundamental class in their respective extraordinary cohomology theories. Examining these three classes in conjunction is justified by their relation to Okounkov's stable envelope notion. We review formulas for the $\hbar$-deformed classes originating from Tarasov-Varchenko weight functions, as well as their orthogonality relations. As a consequence, explici…
The Macaulay2 package NumericalSchubertCalculus provides methods for the numerical computation of Schubert problems on Grassmannians. It implements both the Pieri homotopy algorithm and the Littlewood-Richardson homotopy algorithm. Each algorithm has two independent implementations in this package. One is in the scripting language of Macaulay2 using the package NumericalAlgebraicGeometry, and the other is in the compiled code of PHCpack.
We give positive formulas for the restriction of a Schubert Class to a T-fixed point in the equivariant K-theory and equivariant cohomology of the Grassmannian. Our formulas rely on a result of Kodiyalam-Raghavan and Kreiman-Lakshmibai, which gives an equivariant Grobner degeneration of a Schubert variety in the neighborhood of a T-fixed point of the Grassmannian.
We formulate the Secant Conjecture, which is a generalization of the Shapiro Conjecture for Grassmannians. It asserts that an intersection of Schubert varieties in a Grassmannian is transverse with all points real, if the flags defining the Schubert varieties are secant along disjoint intervals of a rational normal curve. We present theoretical evidence for it as well as computational evidence obtained in over one terahertz-year of computing, and we discuss some phenomena we observed in our data.
We prove a positivity result in (T-)equivariant quantum cohomology of the homogeneous space G/P, generalizing Graham's positivity in equivariant cohomology.
The monotone secant conjecture posits a rich class of polynomial systems, all of whose solutions are real. These systems come from the Schubert calculus on flag manifolds, and the monotone secant conjecture is a compelling generalization of the Shapiro conjecture for Grassmannians (Theorem of Mukhin, Tarasov, and Varchenko). We present some theoretical evidence for this conjecture, as well as computational evidence obtained by 1.9 teraHertz-years of computing, and we discuss some of the phenomena we observed in our data.
We describe a general framework for large-scale computational experiments in mathematics using computer resources that are available in most mathematics departments. This framework was developed for an experiment that is helping to formulate and test conjectures in the real Schubert calculus. Largely using machines in instructional computer labs during off-hours and University breaks, it consumed in excess of 350 GigaHertz-years of computing in its first six months of operation, solving over 1.1 billion polynomial systems.
The ({\em classical}, {\em small quantum}, {\em equivariant}) cohomology ring of the grassmannian $G(k,n)$ is generated by certain derivations operating on an exterior algebra of a free module of rank $n$ ({\em Schubert Calculus on a Grassmann Algebra)}. Our main result gives, in a unified way, a presentation of all such cohomology rings in terms of generators and relations. It also provides, by results of Laksov and Thorup, a presentation of the universal splitting algebra of a monic polynomial of degree $n$ into the product of two monic polynomials, one of degree $k$.
The Mukhin-Tarasov-Varchenko Theorem (previously the Shapiro Conjecture) asserts that a Schubert problem has all solutions distinct and real if the Schubert varieties involved osculate a rational normal curve at real points. This sparked interest in real osculating Schubert calculus, and computations played a large role in developing the surrounding theory. We uncover generalizations of the Mukhin-Tarasov-Varchenko Theorem, proving them when possible. We also improve the state of the art of computationally solving Schubert problems, allowing us to more effectively study ill-understood phenomen…
We establish an equivariant quantum Giambelli formula for partial flag varieties. The answer is given in terms of a specialization of universal double Schubert polynomials. Along the way, we give new proofs of the presentation of the equivariant quantum cohomology ring, as well as Graham-positivity of the structure constants in equivariant quantum Schubert calculus.
We give a characteristic-free proof that general codimension-1 Schubert varieties meet transversally in a Grassmannian and in some related varieties. Thus the corresponding intersection numbers computed in the Chow (and quantum Chow) rings of these varieties are enumerative in all characteristics. We show that known transversality results do not apply to these enumerative problems, emphasizing the need for additional theoretical work on transversality. The method of proof also strengthens some results in real enumerative geometry.
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.
The Shapiro conjecture in the real Schubert calculus, while likely true for Grassmannians, fails to hold for flag manifolds, but in a very interesting way. We give a refinement of the Shapiro conjecture for the flag manifold and present massive (15.76 gigahertz-years) computational experimentation in support of this refined conjecture. We also prove the conjecture in some special cases using discriminants and establish relationships between different cases of the conjecture.
We describe the torus-equivariant cohomology ring of isotropic Grassmannians by using a localization map to the torus fixed points. We present two types of formulas for equivariant Schubert classes of these homogeneous spaces. The first formula involves combinatorial objects which we call ``excited Young diagrams'' and the second one is written in terms of factorial Schur $Q$- or $P$-functions. As an application, we give a Giambelli-type formula for the equivariant Schubert classes. We also give combinatorial and Pfaffian formulas for the multiplicity of a singular point in a Schubert variety.
We prove a conjecture of Dale Peterson on positivity in the multiplication in the T-equivariant cohomology of the flag variety. The theorem follows from a more general positivity result about the equivariant cohomology of varieties with actions of a solvable group with finitely many orbits. This more general result is an equivariant version of a theorem of Kumar and Nori.
We show that the Schubert calculus of enumerative geometry is real, for special Schubert conditions. That is, for any such enumerative problem, there exist real conditions for which all the a priori complex solutions are real.
We describe the positivity of Thom polynomials of singularities of maps, Lagrangian Thom polynomials and Legendrian Thom polynomials. We show that these positivities come from Schubert calculus.
We give a new proof that three families of polynomials coincide: the double Schubert polynomials of Lascoux and Schützenberger defined by divided difference operators, the pipe dream polynomials of Bergeron and Billey, and the equivariant cohomology classes of matrix Schubert varieties. All three families are shown to satisfy a "co-transition formula" which we explain to be some extent projectively dual to Lascoux' transition formula. We comment on the K-theoretic extensions.
We prove two lemmata about Schubert calculus on generalized flag manifolds G/B, and in the case of the ordinary flag manifold GL_n/B we interpret them combinatorially in terms of descents, and geometrically in terms of missing subspaces. One of them gives a symmetry of Schubert calculus that we christen_descent-cycling_. Computer experiment shows that these lemmata suffice to determine all of GL_n Schubert calculus through n=5, and 99.97%+ at n=6. We use them to give a quick proof of Monk's rule. The lemmata also hold in equivariant (``double'') Schubert calculus for Kac-Moody groups G.
Let $G$ be a compact and $1$--connected Lie group with a maximal torus $T$. Based on Schubert calculus on the flag manifold $G/T$ [15] we construct the integral cohomology ring $H^{\ast}(G)$ uniformly for all $G$.
We prove Newton's binomial formulas for Schubert Calculus to determine numbers of base point free linear series on the projective line with prescribed ramification divisor supported at given distinct points.
We single out some problems of Schubert calculus of subspaces of codimension 2 that have the property that all their solutions are real provided that the data are real. Our arguments explore the connection between subspaces of codimension 2 and rational functions of one variable.
We describe a direct connection between the representation theory of the general linear group and classical Schubert calculus on the Grassmannian, which goes via the Chern-Weil theory of characteristic classes. We also explain why the analogous constructions do not give the same result for other Lie groups.
We investigate double transitivity of Galois groups in the classical Schubert calculus on Grassmannians. We show that all Schubert problems on Grassmannians of 2- and 3-planes have doubly transitive Galois groups, as do all Schubert problems involving only special Schubert conditions. We use these results to give a new proof that Schubert problems on Grassmannians of 2-planes have Galois groups that contain the alternating group. We also investigate the Galois group of every Schubert problem on Gr(4,8), finding that each Galois group either contains the alternating group or is an imprimitive p…
We show a Z^2-filtered algebraic structure and a "quantum to classical" principle on the torus-equivariant quantum cohomology of a complete flag variety of general Lie type, generalizing earlier works of Leung and the second author. We also provide various applications on equivariant quantum Schubert calculus, including an equivariant quantum Pieri rule for any partial flag variety of Lie type A.
We find presentations by generators and relations for the equivariant quantum cohomology rings of the maximal isotropic Grassmannians of types B,C and D, and we find polynomial representatives for the Schubert classes in these rings. These representatives are given in terms of the same Pfaffian formulas which appear in the theory of factorial $P$- and $Q$-Schur functions. After specializing to equivariant cohomology, we interpret the resulting presentations and Pfaffian formulas in terms of Chern classes of tautological bundles.
We give a nonrecursive, combinatorial characterization of multiplicity-free products of Grassmannian Schubert classes. This answers a question of W. Fulton and extends results of J. Stembridge.
In this article, the comodule structure of Chow rings of Flag manifolds $\operatorname{CH}(G/B)$ is described by Schubert cells. Its equivariant version gives rise to a Hopf structure of the equivariant cohomology of flag manifolds $H^*_B(G/B)$. We get two identities of generalized Schubert polynomials as explanations of the geometric facts.
The cohomology of the affine flag variety of a complex reductive group is a comodule over the cohomology of the affine Grassmannian. We give positive formulae for the coproduct of an affine Schubert class in terms of affine Stanley classes and finite Schubert classes, in (torus-equivariant) cohomology and K-theory. As an application, we deduce monomial positivity for the affine Schubert polynomials of the second author.
We apply the previous calculations of Chow-Witt rings of Grassmannians to develop an oriented analogue of the classical Schubert calculus. As a result, we get complete diagrammatic descriptions of the ring structure in Chow-Witt rings and twisted Witt groups. In the resulting arithmetic refinements of Schubert calculus, the multiplicity of a solution subspace is a quadratic form encoding additional orientation information. We also discuss a couple of applications, such as a Chow-Witt version of the signed count of balanced subspaces of Fehér and Matszangosz.
We address the problem of defining Schubert classes independently of a reduced word in equivariant elliptic cohomology, based on the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis of a corresponding Hecke algebra. We study some basic properties of these classes, and make two important conjectures about them: a positivity conjecture, and the agreement with the topologically defined Schubert classes in the smooth case. We prove some special cases of these conjectures.
This chapter concerns edge labeled Young tableaux, introduced by H. Thomas and the third author. It is used to model equivariant Schubert calculus of Grassmannians. We survey results, problems, conjectures, together with their influences from combinatorics, algebraic and symplectic geometry, linear algebra, and computational complexity. We report on a new shifted analogue of edge labeled tableaux. Conjecturally, this gives a Littlewood-Richardson rule for the structure constants of the D. Anderson-W. Fulton ring, which is related to the equivariant cohomology of isotropic Grassmannians.
The Murnaghan-Nakayama rule expresses the product of a Schur function with a Newton power sum in the basis of Schur functions. We establish a version of the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for Schubert polynomials and a version for the quantum cohomology ring of the Grassmannian. These rules compute all intersections of Schubert cycles with tautological classes coming from the Chern character.
This book is an exposition of the current state of research of affine Schubert calculus and $k$-Schur functions. This text is based on a series of lectures given at a workshop titled "Affine Schubert Calculus" that took place in July 2010 at the Fields Institute in Toronto, Ontario. The story of this research is told in three parts: 1. Primer on $k$-Schur Functions 2. Stanley symmetric functions and Peterson algebras 3. Affine Schubert calculus
In [MV], some correspondences were defined between critical points of master functions associated to sl_{N+1} and subspaces of C[x] with given ramification properties. In this paper we show that these correspondences are in fact scheme theoretic isomorphisms of appropriate schemes. This gives relations between multiplicities of critical point loci of the relevant master functions and multiplicities in Schubert calculus.
The quantum double Schubert polynomials studied by Kirillov and Maeno, and by Ciocan-Fontanine and Fulton, are shown to represent Schubert classes in Kim's presentation of the equivariant quantum cohomology of the flag variety. We define parabolic analogues of quantum double Schubert polynomials, and show that they represent Schubert classes in the equivariant quantum cohomology of partial flag varieties. For complete flags Anderson and Chen have announced a proof with different methods.
In this paper, we study the T_w-equivariant cohomology of the weighted Grassmannians wGr(d,n) introduced by Corti-Reid where T_w is the n-dimensional torus that naturally acts on wGr(d,n). We introduce the equivariant weighted Schubert classes and, after we show that they form a basis of the equivariant cohomology, we give an explicit formula for the structure constants with respect to this Schubert basis. We also find a linearly independent subset {wu_1,...,wu_n} of Lie(T_w)^* such that those structure constants are polynomials in wu_i's with non-negative coefficients, up to a permutation on …
