arXiv subjects

Jeremy L. Martin

Publications and source records attributed to Jeremy L. Martin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Cuts and flows of cell complexes

We study the vector spaces and integer lattices of cuts and flows associated with an arbitrary finite CW complex, and their relationships to group invariants including the critical group of a complex. Our results extend to higher dimension the theory of cuts and flows in graphs, most notably the work of Bacher, de la Harpe and Nagnibeda. We construct explicit bases for the cut and flow spaces, interpret their coefficients topologically, and give sufficient conditions for them to be integral bases of the cut and flow lattices. Second, we determine the precise relationships between the discriminant groups of the cut and flow lattices and the higher critical and cocritical groups with error terms corresponding to torsion (co)homology. As an application, we generalize a result of Kotani and Sunada to give bounds for the complexity, girth, and connectivity of a complex in terms of Hermite's constant.

math.CO↗

arXiv2014

On the Spectra of Simplicial Rook Graphs

The \emph{simplicial rook graph} SR(d,n) is the graph whose vertices are the lattice points in the $n$th dilate of the standard simplex in $\mathbb{R}^d$, with two vertices adjacent if they differ in exactly two coordinates. We prove that the adjacency and Laplacian matrices of SR(3,n) have integral spectrum for every $n$. The proof proceeds by calculating an explicit eigenbasis. We conjecture that SR(d,n) is integral for all $d$ and $n$, and present evidence in support of this conjecture. For $n<\binom{d}{2}$, the evidence indicates that the smallest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix is $-n$, and that the corresponding eigenspace has dimension given by the Mahonian numbers, which enumerate permutations by number of inversions.

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arXiv2013

Enumerating Colorings, Tensions and Flows in Cell Complexes

We study quasipolynomials enumerating proper colorings, nowhere-zero tensions, and nowhere-zero flows in an arbitrary CW-complex $X$, generalizing the chromatic, tension and flow polynomials of a graph. Our colorings, tensions and flows may be either modular (with values in $\mathbb{Z}/k\mathbb{Z}$ for some $k$) or integral (with values in $\{-k+1,\dots,k-1\}$). We obtain deletion-contraction recurrences and closed formulas for the chromatic, tension and flow quasipolynomials, assuming certain unimodularity conditions. We use geometric methods, specifically Ehrhart theory and inside-out polytopes, to obtain reciprocity theorems for all of the aforementioned quasipolynomials, giving combinatorial interpretations of their values at negative integers as well as formulas for the numbers of acyclic and totally cyclic orientations of $X$.

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arXiv2012

The incidence Hopf algebra of graphs

The graph algebra is a commutative, cocommutative, graded, connected incidence Hopf algebra, whose basis elements correspond to finite simple graphs and whose Hopf product and coproduct admit simple combinatorial descriptions. We give a new formula for the antipode in the graph algebra in terms of acyclic orientations; our formula contains many fewer terms than Takeuchi's and Schmitt's more general formulas for the antipode in an incidence Hopf algebra. Applications include several formulas (some old and some new) for evaluations of the Tutte polynomial.

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arXiv2011

Graph Varieties in High Dimension

We study the \emph{picture space} $X^d(G)$ of all embeddings of a finite graph $G$ as point-and-line arrangements in an arbitrary-dimensional projective space, continuing previous work on the planar case. The picture space admits a natural decomposition into smooth quasiprojective subvarieties called \emph{cellules}, indexed by partitions of the vertex set of $G$, and the irreducible components of $X^d(G)$ correspond to cellules that are maximal with respect to a partial order on partitions that is in general weaker than refinement. We study both general properties of this partial order and its characterization for specific graphs. Our results include complete combinatorial descriptions of the irreducible components of the picture spaces of complete graphs and complete multipartite graphs, for any ambient dimension $d$. In addition, we give two graph-theoretic formulas for the minimum ambient dimension in which the directions of edges in an embedding of $G$ are mutually constrained.

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arXiv2011

Critical groups of simplicial complexes

We generalize the theory of critical groups from graphs to simplicial complexes. Specifically, given a simplicial complex, we define a family of abelian groups in terms of combinatorial Laplacian operators, generalizing the construction of the critical group of a graph. We show how to realize these critical groups explicitly as cokernels of reduced Laplacians, and prove that they are finite, with orders given by weighted enumerators of simplicial spanning trees. We describe how the critical groups of a complex represent flow along its faces, and sketch another potential interpretation as analogues of Chow groups.

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arXiv2010

Cellular spanning trees and Laplacians of cubical complexes

We prove a Matrix-Tree Theorem enumerating the spanning trees of a cell complex in terms of the eigenvalues of its cellular Laplacian operators, generalizing a previous result for simplicial complexes. As an application, we obtain explicit formulas for spanning tree enumerators and Laplacian eigenvalues of cubes; the latter are integers. We prove a weighted version of the eigenvalue formula, providing evidence for a conjecture on weighted enumeration of cubical spanning trees. We introduce a cubical analogue of shiftedness, and obtain a recursive formula for the Laplacian eigenvalues of shifted cubical complexes, in particular, these eigenvalues are also integers. Finally, we recover Adin's enumeration of spanning trees of a complete colorful simplicial complex from the cellular Matrix-Tree Theorem together with a result of Kook, Reiner and Stanton.

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arXiv2009

Updown numbers and the initial monomials of the slope variety

Let $I_n$ be the ideal of all algebraic relations on the slopes of the $\binom{n}{2}$ lines formed by placing $n$ points in a plane and connecting each pair of points with a line. Under each of two natural term orders, the initial ideal of $I_n$ is generated by monomials corresponding to permutations satisfying a certain pattern-avoidance condition. We show bijectively that these permutations are enumerated by the updown (or Euler) numbers, thereby obtaining a formula for the number of generators of the initial ideal of $I_n$ in each degree.

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arXiv2008

Simplicial matrix-tree theorems

We generalize the definition and enumeration of spanning trees from the setting of graphs to that of arbitrary-dimensional simplicial complexes $Δ$, extending an idea due to G. Kalai. We prove a simplicial version of the Matrix-Tree Theorem that counts simplicial spanning trees, weighted by the squares of the orders of their top-dimensional integral homology groups, in terms of the Laplacian matrix of $Δ$. As in the graphic case, one can obtain a more finely weighted generating function for simplicial spanning trees by assigning an indeterminate to each vertex of $Δ$ and replacing the entries of the Laplacian with Laurent monomials. When $Δ$ is a shifted complex, we give a combinatorial interpretation of the eigenvalues of its weighted Laplacian and prove that they determine its set of faces uniquely, generalizing known results about threshold graphs and unweighted Laplacian eigenvalues of shifted complexes.

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arXiv2008

Mathematical Models and Biological Meaning: Taking Trees Seriously

We compare three basic kinds of discrete mathematical models used to portray phylogenetic relationships among species and higher taxa: phylogenetic trees, Hennig trees and Nelson cladograms. All three models are trees, as that term is commonly used in mathematics; the difference between them lies in the biological interpretation of their vertices and edges. Phylogenetic trees and Hennig trees carry exactly the same information, and translation between these two kinds of trees can be accomplished by a simple algorithm. On the other hand, evolutionary concepts such as monophyly are represented as different mathematical substructures are represented differently in the two models. For each phylogenetic or Hennig tree, there is a Nelson cladogram carrying the same information, but the requirement that all taxa be represented by leaves necessarily makes the representation less efficient. Moreover, we claim that it is necessary to give some interpretation to the edges and internal vertices of a Nelson cladogram in order to make it useful as a biological model. One possibility is to interpret internal vertices as sets of characters and the edges as statements of inclusion; however, this interpretation carries little more than incomplete phenetic information. We assert that from the standpoint of phylogenetics, one is forced to regard each internal vertex of a Nelson cladogram as an actual (albeit unsampled) species simply to justify the use of synapomorphies rather than symplesiomorphies.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2007

On distinguishing trees by their chromatic symmetric functions

Let $T$ be an unrooted tree. The \emph{chromatic symmetric function} $X_T$, introduced by Stanley, is a sum of monomial symmetric functions corresponding to proper colorings of $T$. The \emph{subtree polynomial} $S_T$, first considered under a different name by Chaudhary and Gordon, is the bivariate generating function for subtrees of $T$ by their numbers of edges and leaves. We prove that $S_T = <Φ,X_T>$, where $<\cdot,\cdot>$ is the Hall inner product on symmetric functions and $Φ$ is a certain symmetric function that does not depend on $T$. Thus the chromatic symmetric function is a stronger isomorphism invariant than the subtree polynomial. As a corollary, the path and degree sequences of a tree can be obtained from its chromatic symmetric function. As another application, we exhibit two infinite families of trees (\emph{spiders} and some \emph{caterpillars}), and one family of unicyclic graphs (\emph{squids}) whose members are determined completely by their chromatic symmetric functions.

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arXiv2006

The slopes determined by n points in the plane

Let $m_{12}$, $m_{13}$, ..., $m_{n-1,n}$ be the slopes of the $\binom{n}{2}$ lines connecting $n$ points in general position in the plane. The ideal $I_n$ of all algebraic relations among the $m_{ij}$ defines a configuration space called the {\em slope variety of the complete graph}. We prove that $I_n$ is reduced and Cohen-Macaulay, give an explicit Gröbner basis for it, and compute its Hilbert series combinatorially. We proceed chiefly by studying the associated Stanley-Reisner simplicial complex, which has an intricate recursive structure. In addition, we are able to answer many questions about the geometry of the slope variety by translating them into purely combinatorial problems concerning enumeration of trees.

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arXiv2005

Random Geometric Graph Diameter in the Unit Ball

The unit ball random geometric graph $G=G^d_p(λ,n)$ has as its vertices $n$ points distributed independently and uniformly in the $d$-dimensional unit ball, with two vertices adjacent if and only if their $l_p$-distance is at most $λ$. Like its cousin the Erdos-Renyi random graph, $G$ has a connectivity threshold: an asymptotic value for $λ$ in terms of $n$, above which $G$ is connected and below which $G$ is disconnected (and in fact has isolated vertices in most cases). In the connected zone, we determine upper and lower bounds for the graph diameter of $G$. Specifically, almost always, $\diam_p(\mathbf{B})(1-o(1))/λ\leq \diam(G) \leq \diam_p(\mathbf{B})(1+O((\ln \ln n/\ln n)^{1/d}))/λ$, where $\diam_p(\mathbf{B})$ is the $\ell_p$-diameter of the unit ball $\mathbf{B}$. We employ a combination of methods from probabilistic combinatorics and stochastic geometry.

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arXiv2005

Rigidity theory for matroids

Combinatorial rigidity theory seeks to describe the rigidity or flexibility of bar-joint frameworks in R^d in terms of the structure of the underlying graph G. The goal of this article is to broaden the foundations of combinatorial rigidity theory by replacing G with an arbitrary representable matroid M. The ideas of rigidity independence and parallel independence, as well as Laman's and Recski's combinatorial characterizations of 2-dimensional rigidity for graphs, can naturally be extended to this winder setting. As we explain, many of these fundamental concepts really depend only on the matroid associated with G (or its Tutte polynomial) and have little to do with the special nature of graphic matroids or the field R. Our main result is a "nesting theorem" relating the various kinds of independence. Immediate corollaries include generalizations of Laman's Theorem, as well as the equality of 2-rigidity and 2-parallel independence. A key tool in our study is the space of photos of M, a natural algebraic variety whose irreducibility is closely related to the notions of rigidity independence and parallel independence. The number of points on this variety, when working over a finite field, turns out to be an interesting Tutte polynomial evaluation.

math.CO↗

arXiv2005

The Mathieu group $M_{12}$ and its pseudogroup extension $M_{13}$

We study a construction of the Mathieu group $M_{12}$ using a game reminiscent of Loyd's ``15-puzzle''. The elements of $M_{12}$ are realized as permutations on~12 of the~13 points of the finite projective plane of order~3. There is a natural extension to a ``pseudogroup'' $M_{13}$ acting on all~13 points, which exhibits a limited form of sextuple transitivity. Another corollary of the construction is a metric, akin to that induced by a Cayley graph, on both $M_{12}$ and $M_{13}$. We develop these results, and extend them to the double covers and automorphism groups of $M_{12}$ and $M_{13}$, using the ternary Golay code and $12 \x 12$ Hadamard matrices. In addition, we use experimental data on the quasi-Cayley metric to gain some insight into the structure of these groups and pseudogroups.

math.GR↗

arXiv2004

Classification of Ding's Schubert varieties: finer rook equivalence

K. Ding studied a class of Schubert varieties X_λin type A partial flag manifolds, corresponding to integer partitions λand in bijection with dominant permutations. He observed that the Schubert cell structure of X_λis indexed by maximal rook placements on the Ferrers board B_λ, and that the integral cohomology groups H^*(X_λ; Zz), H^*(X_μ; Zz) are additively isomorphic exactly when the Ferrers boards B_λ, B_μsatisfy the combinatorial condition of rook-equivalence. We classify the varieties X_λup to isomorphism, distinguishing them by their graded cohomology rings with integer coefficients. The crux of our approach is studying the nilpotence orders of linear forms in the cohomology ring.

math.AG↗

arXiv2004

On the topology of graph picture spaces

We study the space ${\mathcal X}^{d}(G)$ of pictures of a graph $G$ in complex projective $d$-space. The main result is that the homology groups (with integer coefficients) of ${\mathcal X}^{d}(G)$ are completely determined by the Tutte polynomial of $G$. One application is a criterion in terms of the Tutte polynomial for independence in the {\it $d$-parallel matroids} studied in combinatorial rigidity theory. For certain special graphs called \defterm{orchards}, the picture space is smooth and has the structure of an iterated projective bundle. We give a Borel presentation of the cohomology ring of the picture space of an orchard, and use this presentation to develop an analogue of the classical Schubert calculus.

math.CO↗

arXiv2003

Factorizations of some weighted spanning tree enumerators

We give factorizations for weighted spanning tree enumerators of Cartesian products of complete graphs, keeping track of fine weights related to degree sequences and edge directions. Our methods combine Kirchhoff's Matrix-Tree Theorem with the technique of identification of factors.

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