arXiv subjects

John Irving

Publications and source records attributed to John Irving.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fence Posets, Good Gradings and Frobenius Maximal Parabolics

Let $\mathfrak L$ be a Frobenius maximal parabolic subalgebra of $\mathfrak{sl}_n$. For any $F\in\mathfrak L^*$ for which the Kirillov form $B_F(x,y)=F([x,y])$ is non-degenerate, let $\widehat F$ denote the associated principal element. We prove that the multiplicities of the eigenvalues of $\operatorname{ad}_{\widehat F}$ on $\mathfrak L$ form a unimodal sequence symmetric about $\frac12$. We also prove that the multiplicities of the eigenvalues of $\operatorname{ad}_{\widehat F}$ on $\mathfrak{gl}_n$ form a unimodal sequence symmetric about $0$. The proof relates the ranked meander associated to $\mathfrak L$ to the order ideals of a related fence poset through Panyushev reduction. The known unimodality of the rank polynomial of the fence poset implies that of the meander, which in turn determines a good grading of $\mathfrak{gl}_n$ in the sense of Elashvili and Kac. We prove that this grading coincides with that induced by the principal element and that the pyramid associated to this grading may be filled in such a way that its good element $e$ lies in $\mathfrak L$. The two unimodality results then follow from the injectivity properties of $\operatorname{ad}_e$ coming from the good grading and the duality induced by the bilinear form $B_F$.

math.RT↗

arXiv2024

Revisiting The R\'{e}dei-Berge Symmetric Functions via Matrix Algebra

We revisit the R\'{e}dei-Berge symmetric function $\mathcal{U}_D$ for digraphs $D$, a specialization of Chow's path-cycle symmetric function. Through the lens of matrix algebra, we consolidate and expand on the work of Chow, Grinberg and Stanley, and Lass concerning the resolution of $\mathcal{U}_D$ in the power sum and Schur bases. Along the way we also revisit various results on Hamiltonian paths in digraphs.

math.CO↗

arXiv2024

A Generalized Burge Correspondence and $k$-measure of Partitions

Let $P$ be the set of integer partitions and $D$ the subset of those with distinct parts. We extend a correspondence of Burge between partitions and binary words to give encodings of both $D$ and $D$ as words over a $k$-ary alphabet, for any fixed $k\geq 2$. These are used to prove refinements of two partition identities involving $k$-measure that were recently derived algebraically by Andrews, Chern and Li. The relationship between our encoding of $D$ and minimum gap-size partition identities (e.g. Schur's Theorem) is also briefly discussed.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

$k$-Factorizations of the full cycle and generalized Mahonian statistics on $k$-forests

We develop direct bijections between the set $F_n^k$ of minimal factorizations of the long cycle $(0\,1\,\cdots\, kn)$ into $(k+1)$-cycle factors and the set $R_n^k$ of rooted labelled forests on vertices $\{1,\ldots,n\}$ with edges coloured with $\{0,1,\ldots,k-1\}$ that map natural statistics on the former to generalized Mahonian statistics on the latter. In particular, we examine the generalized major index on forests $R_n^k$ and show that it has a simple and natural interpretation in the context of factorizations. Our results extend those by the present authors (2021), which treated the case $k=1$ through a different approach, and provide a bijective proof of the equidistribution observed by Yan (1997) between displacement of $k$-parking functions and generalized inversions of $k$-forests.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Trees, Parking Functions and Factorizations of Full Cycles

Parking functions of length $n$ are well known to be in correspondence with both labelled trees on $n+1$ vertices and factorizations of the full cycle $σ_n=(0\,1\,\cdots\,n)$ into $n$ transpositions. In fact, these correspondences can be refined: Kreweras equated the area enumerator of parking functions with the inversion enumerator of labelled trees, while an elegant bijection of Stanley maps the area of parking functions to a natural statistic on factorizations of $σ_n$. We extend these relationships in two principal ways. First, we introduce a bivariate refinement of the inversion enumerator of trees and show that it matches a similarly refined enumerator for factorizations. Secondly, we characterize all full cycles $σ$ such that Stanley's function remains a bijection when the canonical cycle $σ_n$ is replaced by $σ$. We also exhibit a connection between our refined inversion enumerator and Haglund's bounce statistic on parking functions.

math.CO↗

arXiv2015

Inequivalent Factorizations of Permutations

Two factorizations of a permutation into products of cycles are equivalent if one can be obtained from the other by repeatedly interchanging adjacent disjoint factors. This paper studies the enumeration of equivalence classes under this relation. We obtain closed form expressions for generating series of inequivalent minimal transitive factorizations of permutations having up to three cycles, and also of permutations with four cycles when factors are restricted to be transpositions. Our derivations rely on a new correspondence between inequivalent factorizations and acyclic alternating digraphs. Strong similarities between the enumerative results derived here and analogous ones for "ordinary" factorizations suggest that a unified theory remains to be discovered. We also establish connections between inequivalent factorizations and other well-studied classes of permutation factorizations. In particular, a relationship with monotone factorizations allows us to recover an exact counting formula for the latter due to Goulden, Guay-Paquet and Novak.

math.CO↗

arXiv2014

Factorizations of permutations into star transpositions

We give a compact expression for the number of factorizations of any permutation into a minimal number of transpositions of the form $(1 i)$. Our result generalizes earlier work of Pak in which substantial restrictions were placed on the permutation being factored.

math.CO↗

arXiv2006

Minimal transitive factorizations of permutations into cycles

We introduce a new approach to an enumerative problem closely linked with the geometry of branched coverings; that is, we study the number of ways a permutation can be decomposed into a product of a given number of 2-cycles, 3-cycles, etc. with certain minimality and transitivity conditions imposed on the factors. The method is to encode such factorizations as planar maps with certain "descent structure" and apply a new combinatorial decomposition to make their enumeration more manageable. We apply our technique to count factorizations of permutations with one or two parts, extending earlier work of Goulden and Jackson. We also show how these methods are readily modified to count inequivalent factorizations, where equivalence is defined by permitting commutations of adjacent disjoint factors. Our technique permits a substantial generalization of recent work of Goulden, Jackson, and Latour, while allowing for a considerable simplification of their analysis.

math.CO↗

arXiv2005

On the Number of Factorizations of a Full Cycle

We give a new expression for the number of factorizations of a full cycle into an ordered product of permutations of specified cycle types. This is done through purely algebraic means, extending work of Biane. We deduce from our result a formula of Poulalhon and Schaeffer that was previously derived through an intricate combinatorial argument.

math.CO↗