Symmetric Functions In Noncommuting Variables Research Articles

Schur functions in noncommuting variables

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 properties, Schur functions in NCSym also satisfy a noncommutative analogue of the product rule for classical Schur functions in terms of skew Schur functions.We also show how Schur functions in NCSym are related to Specht modules, and naturally refine the Rosas-Sagan Schur functions. Moreover, by generalizing Rosas-Sagan Schur functions to skew Schur functions in the natural way, we prove noncommutative analogues of the Littlewood-Richardson rule and coproduct rule for them. Finally, we relate our functions to noncommutative symmetric functions by proving a subset of our functions are natural extensions of noncommutative ribbon Schur functions, and immaculate functions indexed by integer partitions.

Pattern groups and a poset based Hopf monoid

The supercharacter theory of algebra groups gave us a representation theoretic realization of the Hopf algebra of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. The underlying representation theoretic framework comes equipped with two canonical bases, one of which was completely new in terms of symmetric functions. This paper simultaneously generalizes this Hopf structure by considering a larger class of groups while also restricting the representation theory to a more combinatorially tractable one. Using the normal lattice supercharacter theory of pattern groups, we not only gain a third canonical basis, but also are able to compute numerous structure constants in the corresponding Hopf monoid, including coproducts and antipodes for the new bases.

Chromatic symmetric functions in noncommuting variables revisited

In 1995 Stanley introduced a generalization of the chromatic polynomial of a graph G, called the chromatic symmetric function, XG, which was generalized to noncommuting variables, YG, by Gebhard-Sagan in 2001. Recently there has been a renaissance in the study of XG, in particular in classifying when XG is a positive linear combination of elementary symmetric or Schur functions.We extend this study from XG to YG, including establishing the multiplicativity of YG, and showing YG satisfies the k-deletion property. Moreover, we completely classify when YG is a positive linear combination of elementary symmetric functions in noncommuting variables, and similarly for Schur functions in noncommuting variables, in the sense of Bergeron-Hohlweg-Rosas-Zabrocki. We further establish the natural multiplicative generalization of the fundamental theorem of symmetric functions, now in noncommuting variables, and obtain numerous new bases for this algebra whose generators are chromatic symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. Finally, we show that of all known symmetric functions in noncommuting variables, only all elementary and specified Schur ones can be realized as YG for some G.

The monomial basis and the $$Q$$ Q -basis of the Hopf algebra of parking functions

Consider the vector space $\mathbb{K}\mathcal{P}$ spanned by parking functions. By representing parking functions as labeled digraphs, Hivert, Novelli and Thibon constructed a cocommutative Hopf algebra PQSym$^{*}$ on $\mathbb{K}\mathcal{P}$. The product and coproduct of PQSym$^{*}$ are analogous to the product and coproduct of the Hopf algebra NCSym of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables defined in terms of the power sum basis. In this paper, we view a parking function as a word. We shall construct a Hopf algebra PFSym on $\mathbb{K}\mathcal{P}$ with a formal basis $\{M_a\}$ analogous to the monomial basis of NCSym. By introducing a partial order on parking functions, we transform the basis $\{M_a\}$ to another basis $\{Q_a\}$ via the M\"{o}bius inversion. We prove the freeness of PFSym by finding two free generating sets in terms of the $M$-basis and the $Q$-basis, and we show that PFSym is isomorphic to the Hopf algebra PQSym$^{*}$. It turns out that our construction, when restricted to permutations and non-increasing parking functions, leads to a new way to approach the Grossman-Larson Hopf algebras of ordered trees and heap-ordered trees.

The antipode and primitive elements in the Hopf monoid of supercharacters

From a recent paper, we recall the Hopf monoid structure on the supercharacters of the unipotent uppertriangular groups over a finite field. We give cancelation free formula for the antipode applied to the bases of class functions and power sum functions, giving new cancelation free formulae for the standard Hopf algebra of supercharacters and symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. We also give partial results for the antipode on the supercharacter basis, and explicitly describe the primitives of this Hopf monoid.

Centralizers of the infinite symmetric group

We review and introduce several approaches to the study of centralizer algebras of the infinite symmetric group $S_{\infty}$. Our work is led by the double commutant relationship between finite symmetric groups and partition algebras; in the case of $S_{\infty}$, we obtain centralizer algebras that are contained in partition algebras. In view of the theory of symmetric functions in non-commuting variables, we consider representations of $S_{\infty}$ that are faithful and that contain invariant elements; namely, non-unitary representations on sequence spaces. Nous étudions les algèbres du centralisateur du groupe symétrique infini $S_{\infty}$, passant en revue certaines approches et en introduisant de nouvelles. Notre travail est basé sur la relation du double commutant entre le groupe symétrique fini et les algèbres de partition; dans le cas de $S_{\infty}$, nous obtenons des algèbres du centralisateur contenues dans les algèbres de partition. Compte tenu de la théorie des fonctions symétriques en variables non commutatives, nous considérons les représentations de $S_{\infty}$ qui sont fidèles et contiennent les invariants; c’est-à-dire, les représentations non unitaires sur les espaces de suites.

Hopf monoids from class functions on unitriangular matrices

We build, from the collection of all groups of unitriangular matrices, Hopf monoids in Joyal's category of species. Such structure is carried by the collection of class function spaces on those groups, and also by the collection of superclass function spaces, in the sense of Diaconis and Isaacs. Superclasses of unitriangular matrices admit a simple description from which we deduce a combinatorial model for the Hopf monoid of superclass functions, in terms of the Hadamard product of the Hopf monoids of linear orders and of set partitions. This implies a recent result relating the Hopf algebra of superclass functions on unitriangular matrices to symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. We determine the algebraic structure of the Hopf monoid: it is a free monoid in species, with the canonical Hopf structure. As an application, we derive certain estimates on the number of conjugacy classes of unitriangular matrices.

A SUPERCHARACTER TABLE DECOMPOSITION VIA POWER-SUM SYMMETRIC FUNCTIONS

We give an LU-decomposition of the supercharacter table of the group of n × n unipotent upper triangular matrices over 𝔽q, into a lower-triangular matrix with entries in ℤ[q] and an upper-triangular matrix with entries in ℤ[q-1]. To this end, we introduce a q deformation of a new power-sum basis of the Hopf algebra of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. The decomposition is obtained from the transition matrices between the supercharacter basis, the q-power-sum basis and the superclass basis. This is similar to the decomposition of the character table of the symmetric group Sngiven by the transition matrices between Schur functions, monomials and power-sums. We deduce some combinatorial results associated to this decomposition. In particular, we compute the determinant of the supercharacter table.

Supercharacters, symmetric functions in noncommuting variables, and related Hopf algebras

We identify two seemingly disparate structures: supercharacters, a useful way of doing Fourier analysis on the group of unipotent uppertriangular matrices with coefficients in a finite field, and the ring of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. Each is a Hopf algebra and the two are isomorphic as such. This allows developments in each to be transferred. The identification suggests a rich class of examples for the emerging field of combinatorial Hopf algebras.

The primitives and antipode in the Hopf algebra of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables

We identify a collection of primitive elements generating the Hopf algebra NCSym of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables and give a combinatorial formula for the antipode.

Partitions, Rooks, and Symmetric Functions in Noncommuting Variables

Let $\Pi_n$ denote the set of all set partitions of $\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$. We consider two subsets of $\Pi_n$, one connected to rook theory and one associated with symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. Let ${\cal E}_n\subseteq\Pi_n$ be the subset of all partitions corresponding to an extendable rook (placement) on the upper-triangular board, ${\cal T}_{n-1}$. Given $\pi\in\Pi_m$ and $\sigma\in\Pi_n$, define their slash product to be $\pi|\sigma=\pi\cup(\sigma+m)\in\Pi_{m+n}$ where $\sigma+m$ is the partition obtained by adding $m$ to every element of every block of $\sigma$. Call $\tau$ atomic if it can not be written as a nontrivial slash product and let ${\cal A}_n\subseteq\Pi_n$ denote the subset of atomic partitions. Atomic partitions were first defined by Bergeron, Hohlweg, Rosas, and Zabrocki during their study of $NCSym$, the symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. We show that, despite their very different definitions, ${\cal E}_n={\cal A}_n$ for all $n\ge0$. Furthermore, we put an algebra structure on the formal vector space generated by all rook placements on upper triangular boards which makes it isomorphic to $NCSym$. We end with some remarks.

Supercharacters, symmetric functions in noncommuting variables (extended abstract)

We identify two seemingly disparate structures: supercharacters, a useful way of doing Fourier analysis on the group of unipotent uppertriangular matrices with coefficients in a finite field, and the ring of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables. Each is a Hopf algebra and the two are isomorphic as such. This allows developments in each to be transferred. The identification suggests a rich class of examples for the emerging field of combinatorial Hopf algebras. Nous montrons que deux structures en apparence bien différentes peuvent être identifiées: les super-caractères, qui sont un outil commode pour faire de l'analyse de Fourier sur le groupe des matrices unipotentes triangulaires supérieures à coefficients dans un corps fini, et l'anneau des fonctions symétriques en variables non-commutatives. Ces deux structures sont des algèbres de Hopf isomorphes. Cette identification permet de traduire dans une structure les dévelopements conçus pour l'autre, et suggère de nombreux exemples dans le domaine nouveau des algèbres de Hopf combinatoires.

Branching rules in the ring of superclass functions of unipotent upper-triangular matrices

It is becoming increasingly clear that the supercharacter theory of the finite group of unipotent upper-triangular matrices has a rich combinatorial structure built on set-partitions that is analogous to the partition combinatorics of the classical representation theory of the symmetric group. This paper begins by exploring a connection to the ring of symmetric functions in non-commuting variables that mirrors the symmetric group’s relationship with the ring of symmetric functions. It then also investigates some of the representation theoretic structure constants arising from the restriction, tensor products and superinduction of supercharacters in this context.

Branching rules in the ring of superclass functions of unipotent upper-triangular matrices

It is becoming increasingly clear that the supercharacter theory of the finite group of unipotent upper-triangular matrices has a rich combinatorial structure built on set-partitions that is analogous to the partition combinatorics of the classical representation theory of the symmetric group. This paper begins by exploring a connection to the ring of symmetric functions in non-commuting variables that mirrors the symmetric group's relationship with the ring of symmetric functions. It then also investigates some of the representation theoretic structure constants arising from the restriction, tensor products and superinduction of supercharacters.

The Hopf algebra of uniform block permutations

We introduce the Hopf algebra of uniform block permutations and show that it is self-dual, free, and cofree. These results are closely related to the fact that uniform block permutations form a factorizable inverse monoid. This Hopf algebra contains the Hopf algebra of permutations of Malvenuto and Reutenauer and the Hopf algebra of symmetric functions in non-commuting variables of Gebhard, Rosas, and Sagan. These two embeddings correspond to the factorization of a uniform block permutation as a product of an invertible element and an idempotent one.

Symmetric functions in noncommuting variables

Consider the algebra Q >of formal power series in countably many noncommuting variables over the rationals. The subalgebra Π(x 1 , x 2 ,...) of symmetric functions in noncommuting variables consists of all elements invariant under permutation of the variables and of bounded degree. We develop a theory of such functions analogous to the ordinary theory of symmetric functions. In particular, we define analogs of the monomial, power sum, elementary, complete homogeneous, and Schur symmetric functions as well as investigating their properties.