arXiv subjects

Julianna Tymoczko

Publications and source records attributed to Julianna Tymoczko.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Valid plane trees: Combinatorial models for RNA secondary structures with Watson-Crick base pairs

The combinatorics of RNA plays a central role in biology. Mathematical biologists have several commonly-used models for RNA: words in a fixed alphabet (representing the primary sequence of nucleotides) and plane trees (representing the secondary structure, or folding of the RNA sequence). This paper considers an augmented version of the standard model of plane trees, one that incorporates some observed constraints on how the folding can occur. In particular we assume the alphabet consists of complementary pairs, for instance the Watson-Crick pairs A-U and C-G of RNA. Given a word in the alphabet, a valid plane tree is a tree for which, when the word is folded around the tree, each edge matches two complementary letters. Consider the graph whose vertices are valid plane trees for a fixed word and whose edges are given by Condon, Heitsch, and Hoos's local moves. We prove this graph is connected. We give an explicit algorithm to construct a valid plane tree from a primary sequence, assuming that at least one valid plane tree exists. The tree produced by our algorithm has other useful characterizations, including a uniqueness condition defined by local moves. We also study enumerative properties of valid plane trees, analyzing how the number of valid plane trees depends on the choice of sequence length and alphabet size. Finally we show that the proportion of words with at least one valid plane tree goes to zero as the word size increases. We also give some open questions.

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arXiv2016

The geometry and combinatorics of Springer fibers

This survey paper describes Springer fibers, which are used in one of the earliest examples of a geometric representation. We will compare and contrast them with Schubert varieties, another family of subvarieties of the flag variety that play an important role in representation theory and combinatorics, but whose geometry is in many respects simpler. The end of the paper describes a way that Springer fibers and Schubert varieties are related, as well as open questions.

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arXiv2015

Splines in geometry and topology

This survey paper describes the role of splines in geometry and topology, emphasizing both similarities and differences from the classical treatment of splines. The exposition is non-technical and contains many examples, with references to more thorough treatments of the subject.

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arXiv2015

A module isomorphism between $H^_T(G/P)\otimes H^_T(P/B)$ and $H^*_T(G/B)$

We give an explicit (new) morphism of modules between $H^*_T(G/P) \otimes H^*_T(P/B)$ and $H^*_T(G/B)$ and prove (the known result) that the two modules are isomorphic. Our map identifies submodules of the cohomology of the flag variety that are isomorphic to each of $H^*_T(G/P)$ and $H^*_T(P/B)$. With this identification, the map is simply the product within the ring $H^*_T(G/B)$. We use this map in two ways. First we describe module bases for $H^*_T(G/B)$ that are different from traditional Schubert classes and from each other. Second we analyze a $W$-representation on $H^*_T(G/B)$ via restriction to subgroups $W_P$. In particular we show that the character of the Springer representation on $H^*_T(G/B)$ is a multiple of the restricted representation of $W_P$ on $H^*_T(P/B)$.

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arXiv2015

Generalized splines on arbitrary graphs

Let G be a graph whose edges are labeled by ideals of a commutative ring. We introduce a generalized spline, which is a vertex-labeling of G by elements of the ring so that the difference between the labels of any two adjacent vertices lies in the corresponding edge ideal. Generalized splines arise naturally in combinatorics (em algebraic splines of Billera and others) and in algebraic topology (certain equivariant cohomology rings, described by Goresky-Kottwitz-MacPherson and others). The central question of this manuscript asks when an arbitrary edge-labeled graph has nontrivial generalized splines. The answer is `always', and we prove the stronger result that generalized splines contain a free submodule whose rank is the number of vertices in G. We describe all generalized splines when G is a tree, and give several ways to describe the ring of generalized splines as an intersection of generalized splines for simpler subgraphs of G. We also present a new tool which we call the GKM matrix, an analogue of the incidence matrix of a graph, and end with open questions.

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arXiv2015

Splines mod m

Given a graph whose edges are labeled by ideals in a ring, a generalized spline is a labeling of each vertex by a ring element so that adjacent vertices differ by an element of the ideal associated to the edge. We study splines over the ring Z/mZ. Previous work considered splines over domains, in which very different phenomena occur. For instance when the ring is the integers, the elements of bases for spline modules are indexed by the vertices of the graph. However we prove that over Z/mZ spline modules can essentially have any rank between 1 and n. Using the classification of finite Z-modules, we begin the work of classifying splines over Z/mZ and produce minimum generating sets for splines on cycles over Z/mZ. We close with many open questions.

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arXiv2015

The Robinson-Schensted Correspondence and $A_2$-web Bases

We study natural bases for two constructions of the irreducible representation of the symmetric group corresponding to $[n,n,n]$: the {\em reduced web} basis associated to Kuperberg's combinatorial description of the spider category; and the {\em left cell basis} for the left cell construction of Kazhdan and Lusztig. In the case of $[n,n]$, the spider category is the Temperley-Lieb category; reduced webs correspond to planar matchings, which are equivalent to left cell bases. This paper compares the images of these bases under classical maps: the {\em Robinson-Schensted algorithm} between permutations and Young tableaux and {\em Khovanov-Kuperberg's bijection} between Young tableaux and reduced webs. One main result uses Vogan's generalized $τ$-invariant to uncover a close structural relationship between the web basis and the left cell basis. Intuitively, generalized $τ$-invariants refine the data of the inversion set of a permutation. We define generalized $τ$-invariants intrinsically for Kazhdan-Lusztig left cell basis elements and for webs. We then show that the generalized $τ$-invariant is preserved by these classical maps. Thus, our result allows one to interpret Khovanov-Kuperberg's bijection as an analogue of the Robinson-Schensted correspondence. Despite all of this, our second main result proves that the reduced web and left cell bases are inequivalent; that is, these bijections are not $S_{3n}$-equivariant maps.

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arXiv2013

Affine pavings of regular nilpotent Hessenberg varieties and intersection theory of the Peterson variety

This paper describes a paving by affines for regular nilpotent Hessenberg varieties in all Lie types, namely a kind of cell decomposition that can be used to compute homology despite its weak closure conditions. Precup recently proved a stronger result; we include ours because we use different methods. We then use this paving to prove that the homology of the Peterson variety injects into the homology of the full flag variety. The proof uses intersection theory and expands the class of the Peterson variety in the homology of the flag variety in terms of the basis of Schubert classes. We explicitly identify some of the coefficients of Schubert classes in this expansion, which is a problem of independent interest in Schubert calculus.

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arXiv2012

Generalizing Tanisaki's ideal via ideals of truncated symmetric functions

We define a family of ideals $I_h$ in the polynomial ring $\mathbb{Z}[x_1,...,x_n]$ that are parametrized by Hessenberg functions $h$ (equivalently Dyck paths or ample partitions). The ideals $I_h$ generalize algebraically a family of ideals called the Tanisaki ideal, which is used in a geometric construction of permutation representations called Springer theory. To define $I_h$, we use polynomials in a proper subset of the variables ${x_1,...,x_n}$ that are symmetric under the corresponding permutation subgroup. We call these polynomials {\em truncated symmetric functions} and show combinatorial identities relating different kinds of truncated symmetric polynomials. We then prove several key properties of $I_h$, including that if $h>h'$ in the natural partial order on Dyck paths then $I_{h} \subset I_{h'}$, and explicitly construct a Gröbner basis for $I_h$. We use a second family of ideals $J_h$ for which some of the claims are easier to see, and prove that $I_h = J_h$. The ideals $J_h$ arise in work of Ding, Develin-Martin-Reiner, and Gasharov-Reiner on a family of Schubert varieties called partition varieties. Using earlier work of the first author, the current manuscript proves that the ideals $I_h = J_h$ generalize the Tanisaki ideals both algebraically and geometrically, from Springer varieties to a family of nilpotent Hessenberg varieties.

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arXiv2010

Poset pinball, GKM-compatible subspaces, and Hessenberg varieties

This paper has three main goals. First, we set up a general framework to address the problem of constructing module bases for the equivariant cohomology of certain subspaces of GKM spaces. To this end we introduce the notion of a GKM-compatible subspace of an ambient GKM space. We also discuss poset-upper-triangularity, a key combinatorial notion in both GKM theory and more generally in localization theory in equivariant cohomology. With a view toward other applications, we present parts of our setup in a general algebraic and combinatorial framework. Second, motivated by our central problem of building module bases, we introduce a combinatorial game which we dub poset pinball and illustrate with several examples. Finally, as first applications, we apply the perspective of GKM-compatible subspaces and poset pinball to construct explicit and computationally convenient module bases for the $S^1$-equivariant cohomology of all Peterson varieties of classical Lie type, and subregular Springer varieties of Lie type $A$. In addition, in the Springer case we use our module basis to lift the classical Springer representation on the ordinary cohomology of subregular Springer varieties to $S^1$-equivariant cohomology in Lie type $A$.

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arXiv2010

A simple bijection between standard (n,n,n) tableaux and irreducible webs for sl_3

Combinatorial spiders are a model for the invariant space of the tensor product of representations. The basic objects, webs, are certain directed planar graphs with boundary; algebraic operations on representations correspond to graph-theoretic operations on webs. Kuperberg developed spiders for rank 2 Lie algebras and sl_2. Building on a result of Kuperberg's, Khovanov-Kuperberg found a recursive algorithm giving a bijection between standard Young tableaux of shape (n,n,n) and irreducible webs for sl_3 whose boundary vertices are all sources. In this paper, we give a simple and explicit map from standard Young tableaux of shape (n,n,n) to irreducible webs for sl_3 whose boundary vertices are all sources, and show that it is the same as Khovanov-Kuperberg's map. Our construction generalizes to some webs with both sources and sinks on the boundary. Moreover, it allows us to extend the correspondence between webs and tableaux in two ways. First, we provide a short, geometric proof of Petersen-Pylyavskyy-Rhoades's recent result that rotation of webs corresponds to jeu-de-taquin promotion on (n,n,n) tableaux. Second, we define another natural operation on tableaux called a shuffle, and show that it corresponds to the join of two webs. Our main tool is an intermediary object between tableaux and webs that we call an m-diagram. The construction of m-diagrams, like many of our results, applies to shapes of tableaux other than (n,n,n).

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arXiv2009

A positive Monk formula in the S^1-equivariant cohomology of type A Peterson varieties

Peterson varieties are a special class of Hessenberg varieties that have been extensively studied e.g. by Peterson, Kostant, and Rietsch, in connection with the quantum cohomology of the flag variety. In this manuscript, we develop a generalized Schubert calculus, and in particular a positive Chevalley-Monk formula, for the ordinary and Borel-equivariant cohomology of the Peterson variety $Y$ in type $A_{n-1}$, with respect to a natural $S^1$-action arising from the standard action of the maximal torus on flag varieties. As far as we know, this is the first example of positive Schubert calculus beyond the realm of Kac-Moody flag varieties $G/P$. Our main results are as follows. First, we identify a computationally convenient basis of $H^*_{S^1}(Y)$, which we call the basis of Peterson Schubert classes. Second, we derive a manifestly positive, integral Chevalley-Monk formula for the product of a cohomology-degree-2 Peterson Schubert class with an arbitrary Peterson Schubert class. Both $H^*_{S^1}(Y)$ and $H^*(Y)$ are generated in degree 2. Finally, by using our Chevalley-Monk formula we give explicit descriptions (via generators and relations) of both the $S^1$-equivariant cohomology ring $H^*_{S^1}(Y)$ and the ordinary cohomology ring $H^*(Y)$ of the type $A_{n-1}$ Peterson variety. Our methods are both directly from and inspired by those of GKM (Goresky-Kottwitz-MacPherson) theory and classical Schubert calculus. We discuss several open questions and directions for future work.

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arXiv2008

Schubert polynomials and classes of Hessenberg varieties

Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties are a family of subvarieties of the flag variety that arise in number theory, numerical analysis, representation theory, algebraic geometry, and combinatorics. We give a "Giambelli formula" expressing the classes of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties in terms of Chern classes. In fact, we show that the cohomology class of each regular semisimple Hessenberg variety is the specialization of a certain double Schubert polynomial, giving a natural geometric interpretation to such specializations. We also decompose such classes in terms of the Schubert basis for the cohomology ring of the flag variety. The coefficients obtained are nonnegative, and we give closed combinatorial formulas for the coefficients in many cases. We introduce a closely related family of schemes called regular nilpotent Hessenberg schemes, and use our results to determine when such schemes are reduced.

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arXiv2004

Exponents for B-stable ideals

Let G be a simple algebraic group over the complex numbers containing a Borel subgroup B. Given a B-stable ideal I in the nilradical of the Lie algebra of B, we define natural numbers $m_1, m_2, ..., m_k$ which we call ideal exponents. We then propose two conjectures where these exponents arise, proving these conjectures in types A_n, B_n, C_n and some other types. When I is zero, we recover the usual exponents of G by Kostant and one of our conjectures reduces to a well-known factorization of the Poincare polynomial of the Weyl group. The other conjecture reduces to a well-known result of Arnold-Brieskorn on the factorization of the characteristic polynomial of the corresponding Coxeter hyperplane arrangement.

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