arXiv subjects

Sebastian Debus

Publications and source records attributed to Sebastian Debus.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Eigenvalues of locally positive semidefinite matrices: Non-convexity and Geometry

A real symmetric matrix is called $d$-locally positive semidefinite if all of its $d \times d$ principal submatrices are positive semidefinite. We investigate the spectral geometry of $d$-locally positive semidefinite matrices. The set of vectors of eigenvalues of $d$-locally positive semidefinite matrices of size $n \times n$ is fully understood and known to be convex when $d \in \{1,n-1,n\}$ \cite{blekherman2022hyperbolic}. In the smallest remaining case $n=4, d=2$, non-convexity of the set of vectors of eigenvalues was proved in \cite{kozhasov2023eigenvalues}, but even in this case the full description was unknown. We provide a basic semialgebraic description of the set of vectors of eigenvalues for $n=4, d=2$ by establishing a Fischer-type inequality for $2$-locally positive semidefinite matrices of size $4 \times 4$ and prove non-convexity for $n \geq 4$ and $d \in \{2, n-2\}$. Non-convexity is established via solving certain non-smooth and non-convex min-max point configuration problems in the complex plane, which could be interesting in themselves. Similar problems were considered in \cite{nesterenko2024submatrices,sengupta2026submatrices} in the context of matrix decomposition and approximation.

math.RA↗

arXiv2026

Any-dimensional Positivstellens\"atze for symmetric functions

Positivstellens\"atze provide certificates of positivity for polynomials. Extending these certificates to symmetric functions, uniformly across all dimensions, presents structural challenges. For instance, the underlying domain is not semialgebraic. In this paper, we prove two Positivstellens\"atze for symmetric functions that are uniformly bounded below by some $\varepsilon > 0$. These are infinite-dimensional analogs of theorems of P\'olya and Reznick. The proof relates evaluations of the (truncated) power sum map $(p_2,p_3,\dots)$ to moments of discrete probability measures on the compact interval $[-1,1]$. This yields a characterization of the closure of the orbit space of the infinite symmetric group on the sphere. Finally, we provide an alternative proof of existing Positivstellens\"atze for normalized symmetric functions.

math.AG↗

arXiv2025

Posets for Specht ideals of essential real reflection groups

Specht ideals are symmetric ideals in the polynomial ring generated by Specht polynomials associated with group representations. These ideals were previously studied for reflection groups of types $A$ and $B$, where their inclusion relations and their varieties reflect rich combinatorial structures. In this paper, we extend this theory to type $D$ and the dihedral groups. Our results complete the combinatorial study of Specht ideals across all infinite families of essential real reflection groups.

math.CO↗

arXiv2024

Additive and Multiplicative Coinvariant Spaces of Weyl Groups in the Light of Harmonics and Graded Transfer

The action of a Weyl group on the associated weight lattice induces an additive action on the symmetric algebra and a multiplicative action on the group algebra of the lattice. We show that the coinvariant space of the multiplicative action affords the regular representation and is isomorphic to a space of multiplicative harmonics, which corresponds to existing results for additive coinvariants of reflection groups. We then design an algorithm to compute a multiplicative coinvariant basis from an additive one. The algorithm preserves isotypic decomposition and graded structure and enables the study of multiplicative coinvariants by integrating combinatorial knowledge from the additive setting. We investigate the Weyl groups of type A and C to find new explicit equivariant maps and combinatorial structure.

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

Symmetric nonnegative functions, the tropical Vandermonde cell and superdominance of power sums

We study nonnegative and sums of squares symmetric (and even symmetric) functions of fixed degree. We can think of these as limit cones of symmetric nonnegative polynomials and symmetric sums of squares of fixed degree as the number of variables goes to infinity. We compare these cones, including finding explicit examples of nonnegative polynomials which are not sums of squares for any sufficiently large number of variables, and compute the tropicalizations of their dual cones in the even symmetric case. We find that the tropicalization of the dual cones is naturally understood in terms of the overlooked superdominance order on partitions. The power sum symmetric functions obey this same partial order (analogously to how term-normalized power sums obey the dominance order).

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

Symmetric Ideals and Invariant Hilbert Schemes

A symmetric ideal is an ideal in a polynomial ring which is stable under all permutations of the variables. In this paper we initiate a global study of zero-dimensional symmetric ideals. By this we mean a geometric study of the invariant Hilbert schemes $\mathrm{Hilb}_{\rho}^{S_n}(\mathbb{C}^n)$ parametrizing symmetric subschemes of $\mathbb{C}^n$ whose coordinate rings, as $S_n$-modules, are isomorphic to a given representation $\rho$. In the case that $\rho = M^\lambda$ is a permutation module corresponding to certain special types of partitions $\lambda$ of $n$, we prove that $\mathrm{Hilb}_{\rho}^{S_n}(\mathbb{C}^n)$ is irreducible or even smooth. We also prove irreducibility whenever $\dim \rho \leq 2n$ and the invariant Hilbert scheme is non-empty. In this same range, we classify all homogeneous symmetric ideals and decide which of these define singular points of $\mathrm{Hilb}_{\rho}^{S_n}(\mathbb{C}^n)$. A central tool is the combinatorial theory of higher Specht polynomials.

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

Slices of Stable Polynomials and Connections to the Grace-Walsh-Szeg\H{o} theorem

Univariate polynomials are called stable with respect to a domain $D$ if all of their roots lie in $D$. We study linear slices of the space of stable univariate polynomials with respect to a half-plane. We show that a linear slice always contains a stable polynomial with only a few distinct roots. Subsequently, we apply these results to symmetric polynomials and varieties. We show that for varieties defined by few multiaffine symmetric polynomials, the existence of a point in $D^n$ with few distinct coordinates is necessary and sufficient for the intersection with $D^n$ to be non-empty. This is at the same time a generalization of the so-called degree principle to stable polynomials and a result similar to Grace-Walsh-Szeg\H{o}'s coincidence theorem.

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

On nonnegative invariant quartics in type A

The equivariant nonnegativity versus sums of squares question has been solved for any infinite series of essential reflection groups but type A. As a first step to a classification, we analyse $A_n$-invariant quartics. We prove that the cones of invariant sums of squares and nonnegative forms are equal if and only if the number of variables is at most 3 or odd.

math.AG↗

arXiv2023

The Wonderful Geometry of the Vandermonde map

We study the geometry of the image of the nonnegative orthant under the power-sum map and the elementary symmetric polynomials map. After analyzing the image in finitely many variables, we concentrate on the limit as the number of variables approaches infinity. We explain how the geometry of the limit plays a crucial role in undecidability results in nonnegativity of symmetric polynomials, deciding validity of trace inequalities in linear algebra, and extremal combinatorics - recently observed by Blekherman, Raymond, and F. Wei. We verify the experimental observation that the image has the combinatorial geometry of a cyclic polytope made by Mel\'anov\'a, Sturmfels, and Winter, and generalize results of Choi, Lam, and Reznick on nonnegative even symmetric polynomials. We also show that undecidability does not hold for the normalized power sum map.

math.AG↗

arXiv2022

The poset of Specht ideals for hyperoctahedral groups

Specht polynomials classically realize the irreducible representations of the symmetric group. The ideals defined by these polynomials provide a strong connection with the combinatorics of Young tableaux and have been intensively studied by several authors. We initiate similar investigations for the ideals defined by the Specht polynomials associated to the hyperoctahedral group $B_n$. We introduce a bidominance order on bipartitions which describes the poset of inclusions of these ideals and study algebraic consequences on general $B_n$-invariant ideals and varieties, which can lead to computational simplifications.

math.CO↗

arXiv2020

Reflection groups and cones of sums of squares

We consider cones of real forms which are sums of squares forms and invariant by a (finite) reflection group. We show how the representation theory of these groups allows to use the symmetry inherent in these cones to give more efficient descriptions. We focus especially on the $A_{n}$, $B_n$, and $D_n$ case where we use so called higher Specht polynomials to give a uniform description of these cones. These descriptions allow us, for example, to study the connection of these cones to non-negative forms. In particular, we give a new proof of a result by Harris who showed that every non-negative ternary even symmetric octic form is a sum of squares.

math.AG↗