On the 80th Birthday of Dmitry Borisovich Fuchs
This article is a collection of several memories for a special issue of SIGMA devoted to Dmitry Borisovich Fuchs.
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arXiv subjects
Valentin Ovsienko
Publications and source records attributed to Valentin Ovsienko.
Lagrangian configurations and symplectic cross-ratios
We consider moduli spaces of cyclic configurations of $N$ lines in a $2n$-dimensional symplectic vector space, such that every set of $n$ consecutive lines generates a Lagrangian subspace. We study geometric and combinatorial problems related to these moduli spaces, and prove that they are isomorphic to quotients of spaces of symmetric linear difference operators with monodromy $-1$. The symplectic cross-ratio is an invariant of two pairs of $1$-dimensional subspaces of a symplectic vector space. For $N = 2n+2$, the moduli space of Lagrangian configurations is parametrized by $n+1$ symplectic cross-ratios. These cross-ratios satisfy a single remarkable relation, related to tridiagonal determinants and continuants, given by the Pfaffian of a Gram matrix.
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$q$-deformed rationals and $q$-continued fractions
We introduce a notion of $q$-deformed rational numbers and $q$-deformed continued fractions. A $q$-deformed rational is encoded by a triangulation of a polygon and can be computed recursively. The recursive formula is analogous to the $q$-deformed Pascal identitiy for the Gaussian binomial coefficients, but the Pascal triangle is replaced by the Farey graph. The coefficients of the polynomials defining the $q$-rational count quiver subrepresentations of the maximal indecomposable representation of the graph dual to the triangulation. Several other properties, such as total positivity properties, $q$-deformation of the Farey graph, matrix presentations and $q$-continuants are given, as well as a relation to the Jones polynomial of rational knots.
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On $q$-deformed real numbers
We associate a formal power series with integer coefficients to a positive real number, we interpret this series as a "$q$-analogue of a real." The construction is based on the notion of $q$-deformed rational number introduced in arXiv:1812.00170. Extending the construction to negative real numbers, we obtain certain Laurent series.
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Cluster algebras with Grassmann variables
We develop a version of cluster algebra extending the ring of Laurent polynomials by adding Grassmann variables. These algebras can be described in terms of `extended quivers' which are oriented hypergraphs. We describe mutations of such objects and define a corresponding commutative superalgebra. Our construction includes the notion of weighted quivers that has already appeared in different contexts. This paper is a step of understanding the notion of cluster superalgebra
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Farey boat I. Continued fractions and triangulations, modular group and polygon dissections
We reformulate several known results about continued fractions in combinatorial terms. Among them the theorem of Conway and Coxeter and that of Series, both relating continued fractions and triangulations. More general polygon dissections appear when extending these theorems for elements of the modular group $PSL(2,\mathbb{Z})$. These polygon dissections are interpreted as walks in the Farey tessellation. The combinatorial model of continued fractions can be further developed to obtain a canonical presentation of elements of $PSL(2,\mathbb{Z})$.
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Partitions of unity in $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb Z)$, negative continued fractions, and dissections of polygons
We characterize sequences of positive integers $(a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_n)$ for which the $2\times2$ matrix $\left( \begin{array}{cc} a_n&-1 1&0 \end{array} \right) \left( \begin{array}{cc} a_{n-1}&-1 1&0 \end{array} \right) \cdots \left( \begin{array}{cc} a_1&-1 1&0 \end{array} \right) $ is either the identity matrix $\mathrm Id$, its negative $-\mathrm Id$, or square root of $-\mathrm Id$. This extends a theorem of Conway and Coxeter that classifies such solutions subject to a total positivity restriction.
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Rotundus: triangulations, Chebyshev polynomials, and Pfaffians
We introduce and study a cyclically invariant polynomial which is an analog of the classical tridiagonal determinant usually called the continuant. We prove that this polynomial can be calculated as the Pfaffian of a skew-symmetric matrix. We consider the corresponding Diophantine equation and prove an analog of a famous result due to Conway and Coxeter. We also observe that Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind arise as Pfaffians.
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On tangent cones of Schubert varieties
We consider tangent cones of Schubert varieties in the complete flag variety, and investigate the problem when the tangent cones of two different Schubert varieties coincide. We give a sufficient condition for such coincidence, and formulate a conjecture that provides a necessary condition. In particular, we show that all Schubert varieties corresponding to the Coxeter elements of the Weyl group have the same tangent cone. Our main tool is the notion of pillar entries in the rank matrix counting the dimensions of the intersections of a given flag with the standard one. This notion is a version of Fulton's essential set. We calculate the dimension of a Schubert variety in terms of the pillar entries of the rank matrix.
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Dual numbers, weighted quivers, and extended Somos and Gale-Robinson sequences
We investigate a general method that allows one to construct new integer sequences extending existing ones. We apply this method to the classic Somos-4 and Somos-5, and the Gale-Robinson sequences, as well as to more general class of sequences introduced by Fordy and Marsh, and produce a great number of new sequences. The method is based on the notion of "weighted quiver", a quiver with a $\mathbb Z$-valued function on the set of vertices that obeys very special rules of mutation.
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A step towards cluster superalgebras
We introduce a class of commutative superalgebras generalizing cluster algebras. A cluster superalgebra is defined by a hypergraph called an "extended quiver", and transformations called mutations. We prove the super analog of the "Laurent phenomenon", i.e., that all elements of a given cluster superalgebra are Laurent polynomials in the initial variables, and find an invariant presymplectic form. Examples of cluster superalgebras are provided by superanalogs of Coxeter's frieze patterns. We apply the Laurent phenomenon to construct a new integer sequence extending the Somos-$4$ sequence.
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Real Clifford algebras and quadratic forms over ${\mathbb F}_2$: two old problems become one
We show equivalence of two old classification theorems: Dickson's classification of quadratic forms over ${\mathbb F}_2$, and Chevalley's classification of real Clifford algebras.
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Introducing supersymmetric frieze patterns and linear difference operators
We introduce a supersymmetric analog of the classical Coxeter frieze patterns. Our approach is based on the relation with linear difference operators. We define supersymmetric analogs of linear difference operators called Hill's operators. The space of these "superfriezes" is an algebraic supervariety, which is isomorphic to the space of supersymmetric second order difference equations, called Hill's equations.
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Higher Trace and Berezinian of Matrices over a Clifford Algebra
We define the notions of trace, determinant and, more generally, Berezinian of matrices over a (Z_2)^n graded commutative associative algebra. The applications include a new approach to the classical theory of matrices with coefficients in a Clifford algebra, in particular of quaternionic matrices. In a special case, we recover the classical Dieudonné determinant of quaternionic matrices, but in general our quaternionic determinant is different. We show that the graded determinant of purely even (Z_2)^n graded matrices of degree 0 is polynomial in its entries. In the case of the algebra of quaternions, we calculate the formula for the Berezinian in terms of a product of quasiminors in the sense of Gelfand, Retakh, and Wilson. The graded trace is related to the graded Berezinian (and determinant) by a (Z_2)^n graded version of Liouville's formula.
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$SL_2(\mathbb{Z})$-tilings of the torus, Coxeter-Conway friezes and Farey triangulations
The notion of $SL_2$-tiling is a generalization of that of classical Coxeter-Conway frieze pattern. We classify doubly antiperiodic $SL_2$-tilings that contain a rectangular domain of positive integers. Every such $SL_2$-tiling corresponds to a pair of frieze patterns and a unimodular $2\times2$-matrix with positive integer coefficients. We relate this notion to triangulated $n$-gons in the Farey graph.
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Extremal set theory, cubic forms on $\mathbb{F}_2^n$ and Hurwitz square identities
We consider a family, $\mathcal{F}$, of subsets of an $n$-set such that the cardinality of the symmetric difference of any two elements $F,F'\in\mathcal{F}$ is not a multiple of 4. We prove that the maximal size of $\mathcal{F}$ is bounded by $2n$, unless $n\equiv{}3\mod4$ when it is bounded by $2n+2$. Our method uses cubic forms on $\mathbb{F}_2^n$ and the Hurwitz-Radon theory of square identities. We also apply this theory to obtain some information about boolean cubic forms and so-called additive quadruples.
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Riemannian Curl in Contact Geometry
We consider a contact manifold with a pseudo-Riemannian metric and define a contact vector field intrinsically associated to this pair of structures. We call this new differential invariant the contact Riemannian curl. On a Riemannian manifold, Killing vector fields are those that annihilate the metric; a Killing $1$-form is obtained from a Killing vector field by lowering indices. We show that the contact Riemannian curl vanishes if the metric is of constant curvature and the contact structure is defined by a Killing $1$-form. We also show that the contact Riemannian curl has a strong similarity with the Schwarzian derivative since it depends only on the projective equivalence class of the metric. For the Laplace-Beltrami operator on a contact manifold, the contact Riemannian curl is proportional to the subsymbol defined in arXiv:1205.6562. We also show that the contact Riemannian curl vanishes on the (co)tangent bundle over a Riemannian manifold. This implies that the corresponding subsymbol of the Laplace-Beltrami operator is identically zero.
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Coxeter's frieze patterns and discretization of the Virasoro orbit
We show that the space of classical Coxeter's frieze patterns can be viewed as a discrete version of a coadjoint orbit of the Virasoro algebra. The canonical (cluster) (pre)symplectic form on the space of frieze patterns is a discretization of the Kirillov symplectic form. We relate a continuous version of frieze patterns to conformal metrics of constant curvature in dimension 2.
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