Questions tagged [symmetric-groups]

The symmetric group $S_n$ is the group of permutations of the set of integers $\{1,\dots,n\}$. This has $n!$ elements and is generated by the $n-1$ involutions exchanging consecutive integers. The symmetric groups form the simplest family of Coxeter groups.

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Interpretation of "1089-number trick" in terms of symmetric group action on cohomology group?

I tried posting the following on math.stackexchange, but no answers. I can of course delete if inappropriate. The "1089 number trick" (see e.g. here) says that if you take a three-digit ...
mnmse475's user avatar
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Nekrasov-Okounkov hook length formula

I am now reading the paper An explicit expansion formula for the powers of the Euler Product in terms of partition hook lengths by Guo-Niu Han. The author rediscovered what he calls the Nekrasov-...
Dianbin Bao's user avatar
19 votes
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535 views

Large values of characters of the symmetric group

For $g$ an element of a group and $\chi$ an irreducible character, there are two easy bounds for the character value $\chi(g)$: First, the bound $|\chi(g)|\leq \chi(1)$ by the dimension of the ...
Will Sawin's user avatar
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17 votes
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Row of the character table of symmetric group with most negative entries

The row of the character table of $S_n$ corresponding to the trivial representation has all entries positive, and by orthogonality clearly it is the only one like this. Is it true that for $n\gg 0$, ...
Sam Hopkins's user avatar
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13 votes
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Hidden grading on $kS_n$

Brundan and Kleshchev showed that if $k$ is a field of characteristic $p$, then the group ring $kS_n$ of the symmetric group $S_n$ admits an integer grading which is nontrivial in the sense that it is ...
Richard Hepworth's user avatar
12 votes
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317 views

Bijective proof of an identity involving number of standard Young tableaux and semistandard tableaux

Question. Can you find a bijective proof of the identity $$ \operatorname{dim}(S^{\lambda} \mathbb{C}^m)\ \operatorname{dim}(S^{\lambda'} \mathbb{C}^n) \ f^{n^m} = \dim \Lambda^p (\mathbb{C}^m \...
Piotr Śniady's user avatar
12 votes
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246 views

What Is The Minimal Monomial of the Symmetric Group?

In the symmetric group $S_n$ what is the shortest sequence $c_1,\ldots,c_k\in S_n$ such that, for all $x\in S_n$ the following product of conjugates of $x$: $$x^{c_1}x^{c_2}\ldots x^{c_k}$$ equals the ...
Milo Brandt's user avatar
12 votes
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498 views

A $q$-analogue of Foulkes' character related to alternating permutations

My paper "Alternating permutations and symmetric functions" at http://math.mit.edu/~rstan/papers/altenum.pdf enumerates certain classes of alternating permutations, such as those whose inverse is ...
Richard Stanley's user avatar
11 votes
0 answers
248 views

Which irreducible representations of the symmetric group are eigenspaces of class sums?

In the setting of complex representations of finite groups, a class sum $1_C=\sum_{g\in C} g$ acts on an irreducible representation $V$ as $\lambda(C,V)\operatorname{Id}$, where $\lambda(C,V)=|C|\...
Hjalmar Rosengren's user avatar
10 votes
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378 views

Has anyone met this "$q$-character" table for $S_4$?

Is anyone aware of the following $q$-character table for the symmetric group $S_4$? \begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \mathrm{conj}\backslash\mathrm{rep} & 2+1+1 & 3+1 & ...
Jeanne Scott's user avatar
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9 votes
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Smith normal form of conjugacy class actions

This question was inspired by Smith Normal Form of a Cayley Graph of the Symmetric Group. Let $\mathbb{Q}S_n$ denote the group algebra over $\mathbb{Q}$ of the symmetric group $S_n$. Identify a ...
Richard Stanley's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
156 views

An identity for characters of the symmetric group

I am looking for a reference for the identity $$\chi_\lambda(C)=\frac{\dim(V_\lambda)}{|C|}\sum_{p\in P_\lambda,\,q\in Q_\lambda,\,pq\in C}\operatorname{sgn}(q)$$ for the irreducible characters of the ...
Hjalmar Rosengren's user avatar
8 votes
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211 views

Alternate proof in Fulton–Harris of representation theoretic version of Littlewood–Richardson rule

$\DeclareMathOperator\Ind{Ind}$Let $d = d_1 + d_2$ with $d_1$, $d_2$ positive integers. Let $\lambda$ be a partition of $d_1$ and $\mu$ a partition of $d_2$, so that the Young symmetrizer construction ...
babu_babu's user avatar
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A question related to Young symmetrizers

Let $T$ be an arbitrary Young tableau (i.e., filling of the diagram of an integer partition $\lambda$ of $n$ by the numbers from $1$ to $n$, each appearing once). Let $R(T)$ be the subgroup of ...
Abdelmalek Abdesselam's user avatar
8 votes
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185 views

Generalized Young symmetrizers, why not?

For $n$ a positive integer, let $[n]=\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$. Consider two set partitions $\mathcal{A}=\{A_1,\ldots,A_p\}$ and $\mathcal{B}=\{B_1,\ldots,B_q\}$ of the set $[n]$. We will denote by $G(\...
Abdelmalek Abdesselam's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
186 views

Non-zero group determinant for symmetric group

Let $G$ be a finite group. Given complex numbers $x=\{x_g: g\in G\}$, one can define a $|G|\times |G|$ matrix $X$, with entries $X_{g,h} = x_{gh^{-1}}$. Let's consider $G$ being the symmetric group $...
gondolier's user avatar
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The quotient of a higher Specht polynomial over the corresponding regular Specht polynomial

I'll need some notation before I can phrase my question, so please bare with me for a little. I'll try to get there as fast as possible (it's also my first MO question...). Let $\lambda$ be a ...
Shaul Zemel's user avatar
7 votes
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Optimizing computations with nilpotents in a group algebra

Of course, I have a very concrete problem at hand, which has been vexing me for about a year now. But let me start with a question that has a better chance of having been answered. Let $G$ be a ...
darij grinberg's user avatar
7 votes
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128 views

Asymptotic character theory of unitary groups via shifted Schur functions

In the paper "Shifted Schur Functions" http://arxiv.org/abs/q-alg/9605042 by Andrei Okounkov and Grigori Olshanski it is said that one of the motivations for that paper was the asymptotic ...
richrow's user avatar
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180 views

Explaining $\left(a-1\right)^n \cdot n! \mid a^{n-1} \prod_{i=1}^n \left(a^i-1\right)$ by a free $S_n$-action

Here is an olympiad-level problem on elementary number theory: Let $a$ be an integer and $n$ a positive integer. Prove that \begin{align} \left(a-1\right)^n \cdot n! \mid a^{n-1} \prod_{i=1}^n \left(...
darij grinberg's user avatar
7 votes
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181 views

Classification of posets that are quotient posets of the Boolean lattice

Quotient posets of the Boolean lattice $B_n$ have interesting properties and are for example discussed in chapter 5 of Stanley's book on algebraic combinatorics. $B_n/G$ for a subgroup $G$ of the ...
Mare's user avatar
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7 votes
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A question regarding an analog of Young symmetrizer: the product row and column preserving subgroups without sign representation

Consider a rectangular Young diagram $\lambda$ with $n = pq$ boxes, with $p$ rows and $q$ columns. If $C$ is the column preserving subgroup of $\lambda$ and $R$ is the row preserving subgroup, then we ...
Sepehrius's user avatar
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Reference for an "elementary" combinatorial fact

This is a question I've been meaning to ask for quite some time. Fact. For $n\in\mathbb N$ consider the set of segments $R=\{[i,j], 1\le i<j\le n\}$. Let a subset $E\subset R$ be nice iff $E$ is ...
Igor Makhlin's user avatar
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Representation theory of symmetric group for dummies

I have to grade a master project on representations of symmetric groups (char $0$) third time in my life and finally I came to a conclusion that I have to get a grasp of the matter. I am aware of ...
aglearner's user avatar
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6 votes
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77 views

The meet of two dominant permutations in weak order of $S_n$

A permutation is called dominant if its Lehmer code is a partition, or equivalently if it avoids the pattern $132$. I can prove that given a permutation $v\in S_n$, there is a unique dominant ...
Matt Samuel's user avatar
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What about Hopf algebra and fusion structures for intertwiner algebras?

Let $G$ be a complex, reductive group and let $V_1, \dotsc, V_r$ be a collection of finite dimensional, irreducible complex representations of $G$. Let $\mathcal{A} = \mathrm{End}_G(V_1 \otimes \dotsb ...
Jeanne Scott's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
222 views

Proving the spectrum of the Young-Jucys-Murphy elements by formal computation in the degenerate affine Hecke algebra

This is really a followup to Why are Jucys-Murphy elements' eigenvalues whole numbers? , specifically to Igor Makhlin's beautiful answer. I'm trying to make it even more beautiful by getting rid ...
darij grinberg's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
235 views

What do Macdonald polynomials hint about $\operatorname{Rep}(S_\infty)$?

$\DeclareMathOperator\Rep{Rep}$It is well-known that the Macdonald "$P$" polynomials deform the Jack "$J$" polynomials [1]. The latter have profound relations with representation ...
Student's user avatar
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6 votes
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195 views

Combinatorics of $p$-Kazhdan--lusztig polynomials

When can we (and can we not!) understand the dimensions of simple modules, $D(\lambda)$, of symmetric groups in a combinatorial fashion? Let's assume that I'm going to try to do this using the theory ...
Chris Bowman's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
123 views

Natural maps between Schur functors: understanding the image

Let $V$ be a finite dimensional representation of symmetric group $\mathbb{S}_n.$ Consider a natural map $$\pi \colon \Lambda^2 V \otimes \Lambda^2 V \longrightarrow \Lambda^4 V.$$ Let $[\Lambda^2 V]...
Daniil Rudenko's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
177 views

Permanent of the symmetric group

Let $A$ be the algebra corresponding to a representation-finite block of a Schur algebra. See for example 6.1. of https://arxiv.org/pdf/1607.05965.pdf for quiver and relations and some relevance of ...
Mare's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
191 views

hooks and contents: Part II

This is a 2nd installment to my earlier MO question for which Mark Wildon furnished a clean answer. $\mathcal{O}(\pi)$ and $\mathcal{E}(\pi)$ stand for the number of odd and even cycles of a ...
T. Amdeberhan's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
183 views

A particular proof of the Littlewood Richardson rule

Given $\lambda \subseteq \nu$ we define a tableau of shape $\nu\setminus \lambda$ and weight $\mu$ to be a map ${\sf T}: [\nu\setminus\lambda] \rightarrow \{1,\ldots, r\}$ such that $\mu_c=|\{ x \...
Chris Bowman's user avatar
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6 votes
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220 views

Finding a maximal tableau for a sum of Jucys-Murphy Elements

Let $X \in \mathbb{C}[S_n]$ be an element of the group algebra of $S_n$ expressible as the sum of some Jucys-Murphy elements. Then let $\lambda$ be any irreducible representation of $S_n$, with the ...
Matt Davis's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
193 views

Subgroups of the symmetric group and binary relations

Motivation The following came up in my work recently. (NB this is the motivation, not the question I'm asking. You can skip to the actual question below, which is self-contained, but not self-...
Z. A. K.'s user avatar
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5 votes
0 answers
119 views

Towers of algebras, their 2-step centralizer algebras, and analogues of the degenerate affine Hecke algebra

Let $\, \big( {\frak{F}}_0 \subset {\frak{F}}_1 \subset {\frak{F}}_2 \subset \cdots \big)$ be a tower of semi-simple, finite dimensional, unital, complex algebras starting with ${\frak{F}}_0 \cong \...
Jeanne Scott's user avatar
  • 1,847
5 votes
0 answers
76 views

Finite trees with forests realizing all partitions

Removing interiors of some edges in a tree with $n$ vertices leaves a spanning-forest with $k$ connected components (given by subtrees) having respectively $\lambda_1,\ldots,\lambda_k$ vertices. We ...
Roland Bacher's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
229 views

Narayana numbers as character values?

The Catalan numbers show up as character values of the symmetric group: Let $\lambda = (n,n)$, a partition with two parts. Then $\chi^\lambda(1^{2n}) = \frac{1}{n+1}\binom{2n}{n}$, the $n$:th Catalan ...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
254 views

Tabloid Construction of Permutation Representation of Hyperoctahedral Group

For a partition $\lambda \vdash n$, the permutation representation $M^{\lambda}$ of the symmetric group can be constructed in two ways. First, it may be written as the induced representation $M^{\...
Max Hopkins's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
395 views

What are the relation between Rep(G) and Rep(S_n)?

Let G be a finite group. We know it can be written as a subgroup of S_n. On the other hand, people sometimes say Rep(G) --- the category of all finite dimensional representations, are more interesting ...
temp's user avatar
  • 1,980
4 votes
0 answers
142 views

Major indices of standard tableaux of shapes obtained from addable cells of a given Young diagram

I have a "very" indirect proof that the following fact is true for every Young diagram $\lambda \vdash n$ and every $r \in \{0,\dotsc,n\}$: \begin{equation} d_\lambda = \sum_{a \in \mathrm{...
dmitry's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
250 views

What is $\dim D^{\lambda}$ for the symmetric group?

What are the dimensions of the simple modules $D^{\lambda}=S^{\lambda}/S^{\lambda}\cap (S^{\lambda})^{\perp}$ for the modular representation theory of $S_n$, i.e. $\operatorname{char}(k)=p>0$? I ...
Jackson Walters's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
207 views

Detecting symmetries in polynomials that lead to nice geometric properties

If we plot the single variable polynomial $p(x) = (x^2-1)^2$, it is easy to see that it has a nice property: all of its local minima are actually global minima. In particular, it has precisely two ...
谁家的鸡's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
140 views

Words that give rise to an enumeration of elements of the symmetric group

Let $\mathbb{S}_m$ be the symmetric group on $m$ letters. Let $n=m-1$. Let $\mathbf{w}=a_1\cdots a_r$ be a word on the alphabet $\{1,\ldots,n\}$. We say that $\mathbf{w}$ gives rise to an enumeration ...
Christoph Mark's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
109 views

Question about generalizing Cauchy identity

One of the Cauchy identities says that $$\prod_{i,j}(1+x_iy_j) = \sum_\lambda s_\lambda (x_1, \cdots,x_m) s_{\lambda'} (y_1, \cdots,y_n) $$ Where $\lambda$ is a Young diagram, $\lambda'$ is the ...
Sepehrius's user avatar
  • 121
4 votes
0 answers
253 views

Metrics on finite groups and generalizations of central limit theorems for balls volumes (à la Diaconis-Graham)

In wonderful lectures by P. Diaconis "Group representations in probability and statistics, Chapter 6. Metrics on Groups, and Their Statistical Use" metrics on permutation groups are considered and ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
95 views

Ref. request: Enumerating elements of Bruhat cells

Given a field $F$ and a natural number $n$, let $B$ be the group of lower triangular, invertible $n \times n$ matrices over $F$. Then $$GL_n(F) = \biguplus_{\pi \in S_n} B \pi B,$$ where we embed the ...
Dirk's user avatar
  • 809
4 votes
0 answers
203 views

Characterizing the RSK corespondance

The Robinson-Schensted-Knuth correspondence is an algorithm which takes as input a word $w$ on the alphabet $\{1,\dots,n\}$ of length $k$ and returns a pair of a tableau $P(w)$ and a standard tableau $...
Adrien's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
1k views

Permutation-invariant matrix representation

The question guide says that Mathoverflow is for research level mathematics. While I do not perform research in mathematics (I study quantum chemistry), I believe this question is research-level ...
Nick's user avatar
  • 121
4 votes
0 answers
97 views

Name for class of flattening permutations

Let $S_n$ be the symmetric group. For any sequence of numbers $y=[y_1,y_2,\cdots,y_k]$, define the flattening operation as $\mbox{flatt}_{k}(y)$ as a relabeling of $y_1,y_2,\cdots,y_k$ in terms of ...
Alex R.'s user avatar
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