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 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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
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.
We continue the study of root-theoretic Young diagrams (RYDs) from [Searles-Yong '13]. We provide an RYD formula for the $GL_n$ Belkale-Kumar product, after [Knutson-Purbhoo '11], and we give a translation of the indexing set of [Buch-Kresch-Tamvakis '09] for Schubert varieties of non-maximal isotropic Grassmannians into RYDs. We then use this translation to prove that the RYD formulas of [Searles-Yong '13] for Schubert calculus of the classical (co)adjoint varieties agree with the Pieri rules of [Buch-Kresch-Tamvakis '09], which were needed in the proofs of the (co)adjoint formulas.
Fulton and Woodward have recently identified the smallest degree of $q$ that appears in the expansion of the product of two Schubert classes in the (small) quantum cohomology ring of a Grassmannian. We present a combinatorial proof of this result, and provide an alternative characterization of this smallest degree in terms of the rim hook formula for the quantum product.
We describe recent work on positive descriptions of the structure constants of the cohomology of homogeneous spaces such as the Grassmannian, by degenerations and related methods. We give various extensions of these rules, some new and conjectural, to K-theory, equivariant cohomology, equivariant K-theory, and quantum cohomology.
We definitively establish that the theory of symmetric Macdonald polynomials aligns with quantum and affine Schubert calculus using a discovery that distinguished weak chains can be identified by chains in the strong (Bruhat) order poset on the type-$A$ affine Weyl group. We construct two one-parameter families of functions that respectively transition positively with Hall-Littlewood and Macdonald's $P$-functions, and specialize to the representatives for Schubert classes of homology and cohomology of the affine Grassmannian. Our approach leads us to conjecture that all elements in a defining …
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 collect Atiyah-Bott Combinatorial Dreams (A.B.C.Ds) in Schubert calculus. One result relates equivariant structure coefficients for two isotropic flag manifolds, with consequences to the thesis of C. Monical. We contextualize using work of N. Bergeron-F. Sottile, S. Billey-M. Haiman, P. Pragacz, and T. Ikeda-L. Mihalcea-I. Naruse. The relation complements a theorem of A. Kresch-H. Tamvakis in quantum cohomology. Results of A. Buch-V. Ravikumar rule out a similar correspondence in K-theory.
In this tutorial, we provide an overview of many of the established combinatorial and algebraic tools of Schubert calculus, the modern area of enumerative geometry that encapsulates a wide variety of topics involving intersections of linear spaces. It is intended as a guide for readers with a combinatorial bent to understand and appreciate the geometric and topological aspects of Schubert calculus, and conversely for geometric-minded readers to gain familiarity with the relevant combinatorial tools in this area. We lead the reader through a tour of three variations on a theme: Grassmannians, f…
We study the back stable Schubert calculus of the infinite flag variety. Our main results are: 1) a formula for back stable (double) Schubert classes expressing them in terms of a symmetric function part and a finite part; 2) a novel definition of double and triple Stanley symmetric functions; 3) a proof of the positivity of double Edelman-Greene coefficients generalizing the results of Edelman-Greene and Lascoux-Schutzenberger; 4) the definition of a new class of bumpless pipedreams, giving new formulae for double Schubert polynomials, back stable double Schubert polynomials, and a new form o…
Let $LG_n$ denote the Lagrangian Grassmannian parametrizing maximal isotropic (Lagrangian) subspaces of a fixed symplectic vector space of dimension $2n.$ For each strict partition $λ=(λ_1,...,λ_k)$ with $λ_1\leq n$ there is a Schubert variety $X(λ).$ Let $T$ denote a maximal torus of the symplectic group acting on $LG_n.$ Consider the $T$-equivariant cohomology of $LG_n$ and the $T$-equivariant fundamental class $σ(λ)$ of $X(λ).$ The main result of the present paper is an explicit formula for the restriction of the class $σ(λ)$ to any torus fixed point. The formula is written in terms of fact…
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 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.
Define a ``truncation'' $r_{t}(p)$ of a polynomial $p$ in $\{x_1,x_2,x_3,...\}$ as the polynomial with all but the first $t$ variables set to zero. In certain good cases, the truncation of a Schubert or Grothendieck polynomial may again be a Schubert or Grothendieck polynomial. We use this phenomenon to give subtraction-free formulae for certain Schubert structure constants in $K(Flags({\mathbb C}^n))$, in particular generalizing those from [Kogan '00] in which only cohomology was treated, and from [Buch `02] on the Grassmannian case. The terms of the answer are computed using ``marching'' ope…
We describe a relationship between work of Laksov, Gatto, and their collaborators on realizations of (generalized) Schubert calculus of Grassmannians, and the geometric Satake correspondence of Lusztig, Ginzburg, and Mirković and Vilonen. Along the way we obtain new proofs of equivariant Giambelli formulas for the ordinary and orthogonal Grassmannians, as well as a simple derivation of the "rim-hook" rule for computing in the equivariant quantum cohomology of the Grassmannian.
We develop Pieri type as well as Murnaghan--Nakayama type formulas for equivariant Chern--Schwartz--MacPherson classes of Schubert cells in the classical flag variety. These formulas include as special cases many previously known multiplication formulas for Chern--Schwartz--MacPherson classes or Schubert classes. We apply the equivariant Murnaghan--Nakayama formula to the enumeration of rim hook tableaux.
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.
One approach to Schubert calculus is to realize Schubert classes as concrete combinatorial objects such as Schubert polynomials. Through an identification of the cohomology ring of the type A full flag variety with the polytope ring of the Gelfand-Tsetlin polytopes, Kiritchenko-Smirnov-Timorin realized each Schubert class as a sum of reduced (dual) Kogan faces. In this paper, we explicitly describe string parametrizations of opposite Demazure crystals, which give a natural generalization of reduced dual Kogan faces. We also relate reduced Kogan faces with Demazure crystals using the theory of …
We introduce a theory of jeu de taquin for increasing tableaux, extending fundamental work of [Schützenberger '77] for standard Young tableaux. We apply this to give a new combinatorial rule for the K-theory Schubert calculus of Grassmannians via K-theoretic jeu de taquin, providing an alternative to the rules of [Buch '02] and others. This rule naturally generalizes to give a conjectural root-system uniform rule for any minuscule flag variety G/P, extending [Thomas-Yong '06]. We also present analogues of results of Fomin, Haiman, Schensted and Schützenberger.
Tangent spaces to Schubert varieties of type A were characterized by Lakshmibai and Seshadri. This result was extended to the other classical types by Lakshmibai. We give a uniform characterization of tangent spaces to Schubert varieties in cominuscule G/P. Our results extend beyond cominuscule G/P; they describe the tangent space to any Schubert variety in G/B at a point xB, where x is a cominuscule Weyl group element in the sense of Peterson. Our results also give partial information about the tangent space to any Schubert variety at any point. Our method is to describe the tangent spaces of…
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.
We prove a positivity result in (T-)equivariant quantum cohomology of the homogeneous space G/P, generalizing Graham's positivity in equivariant cohomology.
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 give combinatorial descriptions of the restrictions to T-fixed points of the classes of structure sheaves of Schubert varieties in the T-equivariant K-theory of Grassmannians and of maximal isotropic Grassmannians of orthogonal and symplectic types. We also give formulas, based on these descriptions, for the Hilbert series and Hilbert polynomials at T-fixed points of the corresponding Schubert varieties. These descriptions and formulas are given in terms of two equivalent combinatorial models: excited Young diagrams and set-valued tableaux. The restriction fomulas are positive, in that for …
In this paper we classify the multiplicity-free skew characters of the symmetric group. Furthermore we show that the Schubert calculus is equivalent to that of skew characters in the following sense: If we decompose the product of two Schubert classes we get the same as if we decompose a skew character and replace the irreducible characters by Schubert classes of the `inverse' partitions (Theorem 4.2).
Let $Φ$ be a root system. Postnikov introduced and studied the mixed $Φ$-Eulerian numbers. These numbers indicate the mixed volumes of $Φ$-hypersimplices. As specializations of these numbers, one can obtain the usual Eulerian numbers, the Catalan numbers, and the binomial coefficients. Recent work of Berget-Spink-Tseng gave a simple computation for the mixed $Φ$-Eulerian numbers when $Φ$ is of type $A$. In this paper we connect a relation between mixed $Φ$-Eulerian numbers and Peterson Schubert calculus. By using the connection, we provide a combinatorial model for the computation of Berget-Sp…
We construct the Schubert basis of the torus-equivariant K-homology of the affine Grassmannian of a simple algebraic group G, using the K-theoretic NilHecke ring of Kostant and Kumar. This is the K-theoretic analogue of a construction of Peterson in equivariant homology. For the case G = SL_n, the K-homology of the affine Grassmannian is identified with a sub-Hopf algebra of the ring of symmetric functions. The Schubert basis is represented by inhomogeneous symmetric functions, called K-k-Schur functions, whose highest degree term is a k-Schur function. The dual basis in K-cohomology is given …
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 discuss a relationship between Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes for Schubert cells in flag manifolds, Fomin-Kirillov algebra, and the generalized nil-Hecke algebra. We show that nonnegativity conjecture in Fomin-Kirillov algebra implies the nonnegativity of the Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes for Schubert cells in flag manifolds for type A. Motivated by this connection, we also prove that the (equivariant) Chern-Schwartz-MacPherson classes for Schubert cells in flag manifolds are certain summations of the structure constants of the equivariant cohomology of the Bott-Samelson varieties. W…
For any complex reductive connected Lie group G, many of the structure constants of the ordinary cohomology ring H^*(G/B; Z) vanish in the Schubert basis, and the rest are strictly positive. We present a combinatorial game, the ``root game'', which provides some criteria for determining which of the Schubert intersection numbers vanish. The definition of the root game is manifestly invariant under automorphisms of G, and under permutations of the classes intersected. Although these criteria are not proven to cover all cases, in practice they work very well, giving a complete answer to the ques…
We study the equivariant oriented cohomology ring $h_T(G/P)$ of partial flag varieties using the moment map approach. We define the right Hecke action on this cohomology ring, and then prove that the respective Bott-Samelson classes in $h_{T}(G/P)$ can be obtained by applying this action to the fundamental class of the identity point, hence generalizing previously known results by Brion, Knutson, Peterson, Tymoczko and others. We then focus on the equivariant oriented cohomology theory corresponding to the 2-parameter Todd genus. We give a new interpretation of Deodhar's construction of the pa…
Peterson varieties are special nilpotent Hessenberg varieties that have appeared in the study of quantum cohomology, representation theory, and combinatorics. In type $A$, the Peterson variety $Y$ is a subvariety of the complete flag variety $Fl(n; \mathbb C)$, and is invariant under the action of a subgroup $S\cong \mathbb C^*$ of $T$, where $T$ is the standard (noncompact) torus acting on $Fl(n; \mathbb C)$. Using the Peterson Schubert basis introduced by Harada and Tymoczko obtained by restricting a specific set of Schubert classes from $H_T^*(Fl(n; \mathbb C))$ to $H_S^*(Y)$, we describe t…
We present a proof of a Littlewood-Richardson rule for the K-theory of odd orthogonal Grassmannians OG(n,2n+1), as conjectured in [Thomas-Yong '09]. Specifically, we prove that rectification using the jeu de taquin for increasing shifted tableaux introduced there, is well-defined and gives rise to an associative product. Recently, [Buch-Ravikumar '09] proved a Pieri rule for OG(n,2n+1) that [Feigenbaum-Sergel '09] showed confirms a special case of the conjecture. Together, these results imply the aforementioned conjecture.
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.
