Uniqueness of the second eigenspace of the interchange process

Abstract

The spectral gap theorem of Caputo, Liggett, and Richthammer states that on any connected weighted graph, the second eigenvalue of the interchange process equals the second eigenvalue of the random walk process. We characterize the corresponding eigenspace in the regular representation of the symmetric group. Except when the graph is a $4$-cycle whose four edge weights are equal, the entire second eigenspace lies in the direct sum of copies of the standard representation and is generated by copies of the second eigenspace of the random-walk Laplacian. The proof refines the octopus induction scheme by isolating the summand of the restricted representation that can support equality, and analyzing it in explicit two-subset and exterior-square coordinates.