Schubert polynomials of types A--D

Schubert polynomials of type B, C, and D have been described first by S. Billey and M. Haiman [BH] using a combinatorial method. In this paper we give a unified algebraic treatment of Schubert polynomials of types A–D in the style of the Lascoux–Schützenberger theory in type A, i.e. Schubert polynomials are generated by the application of sequences of divided difference operators to “top polynomials”. The use of the creation operators for Q-Schur and P-Schur functions allows us to give: (1) simple and natural forms of the “top polynomials”, (2) formulas for the easy computation with all divided differences, (3) recursive structures, and (4) simplified derivations of basic properties. Received: 23 July 1998     

Stable Grothendieck polynomials and <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>-theoretic factor sequences

We formulate a nonrecursive combinatorial rule for the expansion of the stable Grothendieck polynomials of Fomin and Kirillov (Proc Formal Power Series Alg Comb, 1994) in the basis of stable Grothendieck polynomials for partitions. This gives a common generalization, as well as new proofs of the rule of Fomin and Greene (Discret Math 193:565–596, 1998) for the expansion of the stable Schubert polynomials into Schur polynomials, and the K-theoretic Grassmannian Littlewood–Richardson rule of Buch (Acta Math 189(1):37–78, 2002). The proof is based on a generalization of the Robinson–Schensted and Edelman–Greene insertion algorithms. Our results are applied to prove a number of new formulas and properties for K-theoretic quiver polynomials, and the Grothendieck polynomials of Lascoux and Schützenberger (C R Acad Sci Paris Ser I Math 294(13):447–450, 1982). In particular, we provide the first K-theoretic analogue of the factor sequence formula of Buch and Fulton (Invent Math 135(3):665–687, 1999) for the cohomological quiver polynomials.     

Relations between the Clausen and Kazhdan-Lusztig representations of the symmetric group

We use Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials and subspaces of the polynomial ring C[x_1,1,…,x_n,n] to give a new construction of the Kazhdan-Lusztig representations of S_n. This construction produces exactly the same modules as those which Clausen constructed using a different basis in [M. Clausen, Multivariate polynomials, standard tableaux, and representations of symmetric groups, J. Symbolic Comput. (11), 5-6 (1991) 483-522. Invariant-theoretic algorithms in geometry (Minneapolis, MN, 1987)], and does not employ the Kazhdan-Lusztig preorders. We show that the two resulting matrix representations are related by a unitriangular transition matrix. This provides a C[x_1,1,…,x_n,n]-analog of results due to Garsia and McLarnan, and McDonough and Pallikaros, who related the Kazhdan-Lusztig representations to Young’s natural representations.     

Stable base loci, movable curves, and small modifications, for toric varieties

We show that the dual of the cone of divisors on a complete -factorial toric variety X whose stable base loci have dimension less than k is generated by curves on small modifications of X that move in families sweeping out the birational transforms of k-dimensional subvarieties of X. We give an example showing that it does not suffice to consider curves on X itself. Supported by a Graduate Research Fellowship from the NSF     

Generalized Jones traces and Kazhdan-Lusztig bases

We develop some applications of certain algebraic and combinatorial conditions on the elements of Coxeter groups, such as elementary proofs of the positivity of certain structure constants for the associated Kazhdan-Lusztig basis. We also explore some consequences of the existence of a Jones-type trace on the Hecke algebra of a Coxeter group, such as simple procedures for computing leading terms of certain Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials.     

On the dual canonical and Kazhdan-Lusztig bases and 3412-, 4231-avoiding permutations

Using Du’s characterization of the dual canonical basis of the coordinate ring O(GL(n,C)), we express all elements of this basis in terms of immanants. We then give a new factorization of permutations w avoiding the patterns 3412 and 4231, which in turn yields a factorization of the corresponding Kazhdan-Lusztig basis elements of the Hecke algebra H_n(q). Using the immanant and factorization results, we show that for every totally nonnegative immanant and its expansion with respect to the basis of Kazhdan-Lusztig immanants, the coefficient d_w must be nonnegative when w avoids the patterns 3412 and 4231.     

Double Schubert polynomials for the classical groups

For each infinite series of the classical Lie groups of type B, C or D, we construct a family of polynomials parametrized by the elements of the corresponding Weyl group of infinite rank. These polynomials represent the Schubert classes in the equivariant cohomology of the appropriate flag variety. They satisfy a stability property, and are a natural extension of the (single) Schubert polynomials of Billey and Haiman, which represent non-equivariant Schubert classes. They are also positive in a certain sense, and when indexed by maximal Grassmannian elements, or by the longest element in a finite Weyl group, these polynomials can be expressed in terms of the factorial analogues of Schur's Q- or P-functions defined earlier by Ivanov.     

Quadratic degenerations of odd-orthogonal Schubert varieties

This paper is the second in a series leading to a type B_n geometric Littlewood-Richardson rule. The rule will give an interpretation of the B_n Littlewood-Richardson numbers as an intersection of two odd-orthogonal Schubert varieties and will consider a sequence of linear and quadratic deformations of the intersection into a union of odd-orthogonal Schubert varieties. This paper describes the setup for the rule and specifically addresses results for quadratic deformations, including a proof that at each quadratic degeneration, the results occur with multiplicity one. This work is strongly influenced by Vakil’s [14].     

The degree of a Schubert variety

We study integration along Bott-Samelson cycles. As an application the degree of a Schubert variety on a flag manifold G/B is evaluated in terms of certain Cartan numbers of G.     

Toric degenerations of spherical varieties

We prove that any affine, resp. polarized projective, spherical variety admits a flat degeneration to an affine, resp. polarized projective, toric variety. Motivated by mirror symmetry, we give conditions for the limit toric variety to be a Gorenstein Fano, and provide many examples. We also provide an explanation for the limits as boundary points of the moduli space of stable pairs whose existence is predicted by the Minimal Model Program.     

Degree of the divisor of solutions of a differential equation on a projective variety

Using the data schemes from [1] we give a rigorous definition of algebraic differential equations on the complex projective space Pⁿ. For an algebraic subvariety S?Pⁿ, we present an explicit formula for the degree of the divisor of solutions of a differential equation on S and give some examples of applications. We extend the technique and result to the real case.     

Symmetry classes of tensors via semigroup operands

The symmetry of tensors, such as the symmetric or antisymmetric ones (built on a finite-dimensional complex vector space) may be described by a complex-valued homomorphism of the symmetric group with the specification that its action equal scalar multiplication by the value, e.g. by 1 or sign. This condition may be construed as a universalizing operand (over the symmetric group with 0) homomorphism from the unsymmetrized tensors—a restructuring which permits a clearer and more effective treatment of these symmetries; freed from the multilinear setting in which they arose, it also points the way to a development of semigroup symmetries on more general universal algebras.     

High dimensional reducible hyperplane sections with multigenera $\leq$ 1

Let X be an algebraic submanifold of the complex projective space $\mathbb{P}^N$ of dimension $n \geq 5$. We describe those $X \subset \mathbb{P}^N$ whose intersection with some hyperplane is a smooth simply normal crossing divisor $A_{1} + \cdots + A_{r}$ with $r \geq 2$ such that $g(A_{k}, L_{A_k}) \leq 1$ for $k=1,\ldots, r$.Received: 14 December 2001     

Finite lattices as relative congruence lattices of finite algebras

Let A be a finite algebra and a quasivariety. By A is meant the lattice of congruences θ on A with . For any positive integer n, we give conditions on a finite algebra A under which for any n-element lattice L there is a quasivariety such that . The author was supported by INTAS grant 03-51-4110.     

The recursive nature of cominuscule Schubert calculus

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 whose product is non-zero naturally correspond to the integer points in the feasibility polytope, which is defined by inequalities coming from non-vanishing products of Schubert classes on smaller cominuscule flag varieties. While the Grassmannian is cominuscule, our necessary and sufficient inequalities are different than the classical Horn inequalities.