arXiv subjects

Tom Braden

Publications and source records attributed to Tom Braden.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Intersection cohomology without spaces

We survey three settings in which dimensions of intersection cohomology groups of algebraic varieties provide deep combinatorial and representation-theoretic information, and computations of the groups themselves have been made using combinatorial sheaves on finite posets. These settings are (1) intersection cohomology of Schubert varieties, the associated Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials and their realizations via moment graph sheaves and Soergel bimodules; (2) intersection cohomology of toric varieties, the associated g-polynomials of convex polytopes, and their realization via the theory of intersection cohomology of fans; and (3) intersection cohomology of arrangement Schubert varieties, the associated Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of matroids, and their realization via intersection cohomology of matroids. In all three settings these constructions are valid in more general situations where the variety does not exist, leading to "intersection cohomology without spaces." We give parallel presentations of these three stories, highlighting applications to KLS-polynomials.

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arXiv2025

Inverse Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of matroids under deletion

We provide a deletion formula for the inverse Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomial and the inverse $Z$-polynomial of a matroid. Our formulas provide analogues to the deletion formulas of Braden--Vysogorets for Kazhdan--Lusztig and $Z$-polynomials. We discuss several consequences, which include closed formulas and recursions for these invariants on uniform matroids, projective geometries, glued cycles, and arbitrary matroids of corank $2$. As a relevant application of our deletion formula, we show the existence of a matroid of rank $19$ which disproves a conjecture of Xie and Zhang concerning a real-rootedness property of inverse Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials.

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arXiv2024

Perverse sheaves on symmetric products of the plane

For any field $k$, we give an algebraic description of the category $\mathrm{Perv}_\mathscr{S}(S^n (\mathbb{C}^2),k)$ of perverse sheaves on the $n$-fold symmetric product of the plane $S^n(\mathbb{C}^2)$ constructible with respect to its natural stratification and with coefficients in $k$. In particular, we show that it is equivalent to the category of modules over a new algebra that is closely related to the Schur algebra. As part of our description we obtain an analogue of modular Springer theory for the Hilbert scheme $\mathrm{Hilb}^n(\mathbb{C}^2)$ of $n$ points in the plane with its Hilbert-Chow morphism.

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arXiv2023

Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of matroids under deletion

We present a formula which relates the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomial of a matroid $M$, as defined by Elias, Proudfoot and Wakefield, to the Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials of the matroid obtained by deleting an element, and various contractions and localizations of $M$. We give a number of applications of our formula to Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials of graphic matroids, including a simple formula for the Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomial of a parallel connection graph.

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arXiv2022

Quantizations of conical symplectic resolutions I: local and global structure

We re-examine some topics in representation theory of Lie algebras and Springer theory in a more general context, viewing the universal enveloping algebra as an example of the section ring of a quantization of a conical symplectic resolution. While some modification from this classical context is necessary, many familiar features survive. These include a version of the Beilinson-Bernstein localization theorem, a theory of Harish-Chandra bimodules and their relationship to convolution operators on cohomology, and a discrete group action on the derived category of representations, generalizing the braid group action on category O via twisting functors. Our primary goal is to apply these results to other quantized symplectic resolutions, including quiver varieties and hypertoric varieties. This provides a new context for known results about Lie algebras, Cherednik algebras, finite W-algebras, and hypertoric enveloping algebras, while also pointing to the study of new algebras arising from more general resolutions.

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arXiv2022

Quantizations of conical symplectic resolutions II: category $\mathcal O$ and symplectic duality

We define and study category $\mathcal O$ for a symplectic resolution, generalizing the classical BGG category $\mathcal O$, which is associated with the Springer resolution. This includes the development of intrinsic properties parallelling the BGG case, such as a highest weight structure and analogues of twisting and shuffling functors, along with an extensive discussion of individual examples. We observe that category $\mathcal O$ is often Koszul, and its Koszul dual is often equivalent to category $\mathcal O$ for a different symplectic resolution. This leads us to define the notion of a symplectic duality between symplectic resolutions, which is a collection of isomorphisms between representation theoretic and geometric structures, including a Koszul duality between the two categories. This duality has various cohomological consequences, including (conjecturally) an identification of two geometric realizations, due to Nakajima and Ginzburg/Mirković-Vilonen, of weight spaces of simple representations of simply-laced simple algebraic groups. An appendix by Ivan Losev establishes a key step in the proof that $\mathcal O$ is highest weight.

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arXiv2022

Hypertoric category O

We study the representation theory of the invariant subalgebra of the Weyl algebra under a torus action, which we call a "hypertoric enveloping algebra." We define an analogue of BGG category O for this algebra, and identify it with a certain category of sheaves on a hypertoric variety. We prove that a regular block of this category is highest weight and Koszul, identify its Koszul dual, compute its center, and study its cell structure. We also consider a collection of derived auto-equivalences analogous to the shuffling and twisting functors for BGG category O.

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arXiv2020

A semi-small decomposition of the Chow ring of a matroid

We give a semi-small orthogonal decomposition of the Chow ring of a matroid M. The decomposition is used to give simple proofs of Poincaré duality, the hard Lefschetz theorem, and the Hodge-Riemann relations for the Chow ring, recovering the main result of [AHK18]. We also show that a similar semi-small orthogonal decomposition holds for the augmented Chow ring of M.

math.AG↗

arXiv2020

Singular Hodge theory for combinatorial geometries

We introduce the intersection cohomology module of a matroid and prove that it satisfies Poincar\'e duality, the hard Lefschetz theorem, and the Hodge-Riemann relations. As applications, we obtain proofs of Dowling and Wilson's Top-Heavy conjecture and the nonnegativity of the coefficients of Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials for all matroids.

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arXiv2017

Ringel duality for perverse sheaves on hypertoric varieties

Motivated by the polynomial representation theory of the general linear group and the theory of symplectic singularities, we study a category of perverse sheaves with coefficients in a field $k$ on any affine unimodular hypertoric variety. Our main result is that this is a highest weight category whose Ringel dual is the corresponding category for the Gale dual hypertoric variety. On the way to proving our main result, we confirm a conjecture of Finkelberg-Kubrak in the case of hypertoric varieties. We also show that our category is equivalent to representations of a combinatorially-defined algebra, recently introduced in a related paper.

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arXiv2016

Matroidal Schur Algebras

Fix a principal ideal domain $k$. In this article we associate to a (weighted) matroid $M$ a quasi-hereditary algebra $R(M)$ defined over $k$ such that matroid duality corresponds to Ringel duality of quasi-hereditary algebras. The representation theory of these algebras is related to work of Schechtman-Varchenko and Brylawski-Varchenko. In characteristic zero, our algebras are also closely related to work of Kook-Reiner-Stanton and Denham.

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arXiv2014

Localization algebras and deformations of Koszul algebras

We show that the center of a flat graded deformation of a standard Koszul algebra behaves in many ways like the torus-equivariant cohomology ring of an algebraic variety with finite fixed-point set. In particular, the center acts by characters on the deformed standard modules, providing a "localization map." We construct a universal graded deformation, and show that the spectrum of its center is supported on a certain arrangement of hyperplanes which is orthogonal to the arrangement coming the Koszul dual algebra. This is an algebraic version of a duality discovered by Goresky and MacPherson between the equivariant cohomology rings of partial flag varieties and Springer fibers; we recover and generalize their result by showing that the center of the universal deformation for the ring governing a block of parabolic category $\mathcal{O}$ for $\mathfrak{gl}_n$ is isomorphic to the equivariant cohomology of a Spaltenstein variety. We also identify the center of the deformed version of the "category $\mathcal{O}$" of a hyperplane arrangement (defined by the authors in a previous paper) with the equivariant cohomology of a hypertoric variety.

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arXiv2008

Gale duality and Koszul duality

Given an affine hyperplane arrangement with some additional structure, we define two finite-dimensional, noncommutative algebras, both of which are motivated by the geometry of hypertoric varieties. We show that these algebras are Koszul dual to each other, and that the roles of the two algebras are reversed by Gale duality. We also study the centers and representation categories of our algebras, which are in many ways analogous to integral blocks of category O.

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arXiv2008

The hypertoric intersection cohomology ring

We present a functorial computation of the equivariant intersection cohomology of a hypertoric variety, and endow it with a natural ring structure. When the hyperplane arrangement associated with the hypertoric variety is unimodular, we show that this ring structure is induced by a ring structure on the equivariant intersection cohomology sheaf in the equivariant derived category. The computation is given in terms of a localization functor which takes equivariant sheaves on a sufficiently nice stratified space to sheaves on a poset.

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arXiv2007

The Equivariant Chow rings of quot schemes

We give a presentation for the (integral) torus-equivariant Chow ring of the quot scheme, a smooth compactification of the space of rational curves of degree d in the Grassmannian. For this presentation, we refine Evain's extension of the method of Goresky, Kottwitz, and MacPherson to express the torus-equivariant Chow ring in terms of the torus-fixed points and explicit relations coming from the geometry of families of torus-invariant curves. As part of this calculation, we give a complete description of the torus-invariant curves on the quot scheme and show that each family is a product of projective spaces.

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arXiv2006

Remarks on the combinatorial intersection cohomology of fans

We review the theory of combinatorial intersection cohomology of fans developed by Barthel-Brasselet-Fieseler-Kaup, Bressler-Lunts, and Karu. This theory gives a substitute for the intersection cohomology of toric varieties which has all the expected formal properties but makes sense even for non-rational fans, which do not define a toric variety. As a result, a number of interesting results on the toric $g$ and $h$ polynomials have been extended from rational polytopes to general polytopes. We present explicit complexes computing the combinatorial IH in degrees one and two; the degree two complex gives the rigidity complex previously used by Kalai to study $g_2$. We present several new results which follow from these methods, as well as previously unpublished proofs of Kalai that $g_k(P) = 0$ implies $g_k(P^*) = 0$ and $g_{k+1}(P) = 0$.

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arXiv2006

Koszul duality for toric varieties

We show that certain categories of perverse sheaves on a pair of affine toric varieties defined by dual cones are Koszul dual in the sense of Beilinson, Ginzburg and Soergel. The functor expressing this duality is constructed explicitly using a combinatorial model for mixed sheaves on toric varieties.

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arXiv2004

Equivariant-constructible Koszul duality for dual toric varieties

For a pair of affine toric varieties X and Y defined by dual cones, we define an equivalence between two triangulated categories. The first is a mixed version of the equivariant derived category of X and the second is a mixed version of the derived category of sheaves on Y which are locally constant with unipotent monodromy on each orbit. This equivalence satisfies the Koszul duality formalism of Beilinson, Ginzburg, and Soergel. A similar duality was constructed in math.AG/0308216; this new approach is more canonical.

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