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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How to constructively/combinatorially prove Schur-Weyl duality?
How is Schur-Weyl duality (specifically, the fact that the actions of the group ring $\mathbb{K}\left[ S_{n}\right] $ and the monoid ring
$\mathbb{K}\left[ \left( \operatorname*{End}V,\cdot\...
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What to do now that Lusztig's and James' conjectures have been shown to be false?
Lusztig and James provided conjectures for dimensions of simple modules (or decomposition numbers) for algebraic groups and symmetric groups in characteristic $p$. These conjectures have been ...
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The Simultaneous Conjugacy Problem in the symmetric group $S_N$
We are interested in the following notions in the case $G=S_N$, the symmetric group on
$\{1,\dots,N\}$.
Fix a group $G$ and a number $d$. For $(g_1,\dots,g_d)\in G^d$ and $x\in G$, define
$$(g_1,\...
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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 ...
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What do the stable homotopy groups of spheres say about the combinatorics of finite sets?
The Barratt-Priddy-Quillen(-Segal) theorem says that the following spaces are homotopy equivalent in an (essentially) canonical way:
$\Omega^\infty S^\infty:=\varinjlim~ \Omega^nS^n$
$\mathbb{Z}\...
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A general formula for the number of conjugacy classes of $\mathbb{S}_n \times \mathbb{S}_n$ acted on by $ \mathbb{S}_n$
$\def\S{\mathbb{S}}$ Dear all,
So I have $\S_n$ acting on $\S_n \times \S_n$ via conjugacy. That is:
for $g \in \S_n, (x,y) \in \S_n \times \S_n$: $g(x,y) = (gxg^{-1},gyg^{-1}).$
Is there a general ...
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hooks and contents: Part I
For a cell $\square$ in the Young diagram of a partition $\lambda$, let $h_{\square}$ and $c_{\square}$ denote the hook length and content of $\square$, respectively.
R Stanley proved the following ...
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Roots of permutations
Consider the equation $x^2=x_0$ in the symmetric group $S_n$, where $x_0\in S_n$ is fixed. Is it true that for each integer $n\geq 0$, the maximal number of solutions (the number of square roots of $...
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Has Reifegerste's Theorem on RSK and Knuth relations received a slick proof by now?
For the notations I am using, I refer to the Appendix at the end of this post.
Here is what, for the sake of this post, I consider to be Reifegerste's theorem:
Theorem 1. Let $n\in\mathbb N$ and $i\...
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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$, ...
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Is this sum of cycles invertible in $\mathbb QS_n$?
I am interested the following element of the group algebra $\mathbb{Q}S_n$:
\begin{align}
\phi_n=2e+(1\ 2)+(1\ 2\ 3)+\dotsb+(1\ldots n)
\end{align}
where $e$ is the identity permutation. My question ...
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Easy proof of the uncountability of bijections on natural numbers
Is there an easy proof of the uncountability of bijections on natural numbers?
The proof that I have in mind is as follows -
$\text{Gal }(\overline{\mathbb Q}/\mathbb Q)$ is a proper uncountable ...
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Structure of the adjoint representation of a (finite) group (Hopf algebra) ?
Every group acts on itself by conjugation $h \mapsto g h g^{-1}$. Respectively considering functions on a group we obtain a linear representation.
Question 1: what is known about this representation ...
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Clebsch–Gordan decomposition formula for algebraic groups
$\DeclareMathOperator\SL{SL}$There is a well-known Clebsch–Gordan decomposition formula for irreducible representations of $\SL_2$. If $V_n$ denotes the unique $n+1$-dimensional irreducible ...
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What is natural about the well-known bijection between conjugacy classes and irreps of a symmetric group?
Symmetric groups possess a well-known bijection between conjugacy classes and irreducible representations. More precisely, both sets are indexed by Young diagrams.
Question: To what extent is this ...
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A basic question about Young symmetrizers
This is probably elementary for experts on the representation theory of the symmetric group, but I did not find the answers I need by a cursory look at the usual textbooks (they could be there, but I ...
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Bijective proof for a partition identity
I came across the following cute fact about partitions:
\begin{align}
& |\{\lambda \vdash n \text{ with an even number of even parts}\}| \\[8pt]
& {} - |\{ \lambda \vdash n \text{ with an odd ...
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Necklaces and the generating function for inversions
The problem of Necklaces is well-known, i.e "The number of fixed necklaces of length $n$ composed of $a$ types of beads $N(n,a)$" can be calculated:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Necklace.html
Let us ...
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What is the standard 2-generating set of the symmetric group good for?
I apologize for this question which is obviously not research-level. I've been teaching to master students the standard generating sets of the symmetric and alternating groups and I wasn't able to ...
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Why are Jucys-Murphy elements' eigenvalues whole numbers?
The Jucys-Murphy elements of the group algebra of a finite symmetric group (here's the definition in Wikipedia) are known to correspond to operators diagonal in the Young basis of an irreducible ...
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On an asymptotic formula of Keating and Snaith involving the Riemann zeta function
Keating and Snaith have a famous conjecture on the asymptotics of the
integral $\int_0^T |\zeta(\frac 12+it)|^{2k}\, dt$, where $\zeta$
denotes the Riemann zeta function. See page 510 of the book ...
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An n!-dimensional representation of the symmetric group S_{n+2}
I have come across a sequence of representations $V_n$ of the symmetric group $S_{n+2}$ which has the property that restricting the action $S_n \subset S_{n+2}$ gives the regular representation:
$$ ...
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"Natural" generating sets for symmetric groups
The symmetric group on $n$ letters has
many sets of generators. Some of them are more natural than others, eg the
set $(i,i+1)$ of adjacent transpositions (natural with respect to the type A Weyl ...
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universality of Macdonald polynomials
I have been recently learning a lot about Macdonald polynomials, which have been shown to have probabilistic interpretations, more precisely the eigenfunctions of certain Markov chains on the ...
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Decomposing $(\mathbb C^n)^{\otimes m}$ as a representation of $S_n\times S_m$
$V=\mathbb C^n$ is a $\mathbb CS_n$-module, where $S_n$ is the symmetric group of degree $n$, via the representation sending a permutation to the corresponding permutation matrix. The tensor power $V^...
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Cohomology of configuration space as a representation of the symmetric group
Let $X_n$ be the space of $n$ distinct labeled points in $\mathbb{R}^3$, which is equipped with an action of the symmetric group $S_n$. It is well known that the total cohomology of $X_n$ is ...
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factorization of the regular representation of the symmetric group
Let $\mathbb{C}[S_n]$ be the regular representation of the symmetric group $S_n$, and let $\mathbb{C}^n$ be the vector representation.
Question: Does there exist a representation $V$ (of dimension $(...
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Branching rule from symmetric group $S_{2n}$ to hyperoctahedral group $H_n$
Embed the hyperoctahedral group $H_n$ into the symmetric group $S_{2n}$ as the centralizer of the involution $(1, 2) (3, 4) \cdots (2n-1, 2n)$ (cycle notation). Label representations of $S_{2n}$ by ...
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How ugly is the isomorphism R[GxH] = R[G] (X) R[H] for groups G, H?
Clearly, when $G$ and $H$ are two finite groups, and $V$ and $W$ are two representations of $G$ and $H$, respectively, then $V\otimes W$ is a representation of the group $G\times H$. It is a well-...
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trace and involution permutations: Part I
Let $\operatorname{Inv}(\mathfrak{S}_n):=\{\pi\in\mathfrak{S}_n: \pi^2=1\}$ be the set of involutions in the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$. Denote $I_n:=\#\operatorname{Inv}(\mathfrak{S}_n)$. Let $\...
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Cycle generating function of permutations with only odd cycles
Let $\mathrm{ODD}(n)$ be the set of permutations in $\mathfrak{S}_n$ whose cycle lengths are all odd. It is known that
$$ \#\mathrm{ODD}(n) = \begin{cases} ((n-1)!!)^2 &\textrm{ if $n$ is even}; \\...
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Reference request: The stable Kronecker ring is isomorphic to the ring of symmetric polynomials
Background
For $\lambda$ any partition and $n$ a positive integer, write $\lambda[n]$ for the sequence $(n - |\lambda|, \lambda_1, \lambda_2, \ldots, \lambda_r)$. For $n$ large enough, this is a ...
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Bijective proof of an identity involving number of standard Young tableaux and semistandard tableaux
Question. Can you find a bijective proof of the identity
$$ \operatorname{dim}(S^{\lambda} \mathbb{C}^m)\ \operatorname{dim}(S^{\lambda'} \mathbb{C}^n) \ f^{n^m}
= \dim \Lambda^p (\mathbb{C}^m \...
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Cyclic Permutations - but not what you think
This question is not about elements of $S_n$ that consist of a single $n$-cycle, though naturally it's related.
Instead, consider permutations modulo the action of $(123\ldots n)$. That is, we ...
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Generalizing the Fundamental Theorem of Symmetric Polynomials
The fundamental theorem of symmetric polynomials tells us that the ring $\mathbb{Z}[x_1,\ldots,x_n]^{S_n}$ of symmetric polynomials in $n$ variables is generated (without relations) by the elementary ...
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Probability of words summing to $1$ in $S_n$ or $\mathrm{PGL}_2(n)$
$\DeclareMathOperator\PGL{PGL}\DeclareMathOperator\Conj{Conj}$Let $G$ be the symmetric group $S_n$ or the projective general linear group $\PGL_2(n)$.
Let $X$ be a cyclically reduced word in the ...
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Characters of permutation groups
Let $N$ be a fixed positive integer, and denote by $C(m)$ the number of
permutations on an $N$-element set that have exactly $m$ cycles (counting
$1$-cycles). Then it is in the literature that the ...
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Low-dimensional irreducible 2-modular representations of the symmetric group
I apologize if this question is a little too basic for MathOverflow, but it's somewhat outside of my background and I'm frustrated that the answer doesn't seem to be explicit in the literature even ...
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Arbitrarily large finite irreducible matrix groups in odd dimension?
I consider a finite irreducible matrix group $\Gamma\subseteq\mathrm{GL}(\Bbb R^d)$. I am interested in the maximal size of $\Gamma$ depending on $d$. But this question makes only sense if there is an ...
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Number of Permutations?
Edit: This is a modest rephrasing of the question as originally stated below the fold: for $n \geq 3$, let $\sigma \in S_n$ be a fixed-point-free permutation. How many fixed-point-free permutations $\...
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Diameter of the modified bubble-sort graph
The modified bubble-sort graph is the Cayley graph $Cay(S_n,S)$ of $S_n$ generated by $n$ cyclically adjacent transpositions. Thus $S = \{ (1,2),(2,3),\ldots,(n,1)\}$. I was wondering whether the ...
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Restriction of characters of hyperoctahedral groups.
The hyperoctahedral group $H_n$ has several descriptions; as a wreath product; as signed permutation matrices; as the Weyl group of type $B_n$ or $C_n$. In all these descriptions it is apparent that ...
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Littlewood Richardson rule and seminormal basis of Specht modules
Background
Seminormal Basis of Specht modules of $\mathfrak{S}_n$
Let $\lambda$ be a partition of $n$. A $\lambda$-tableau is a
bijection $\mathfrak{t}:\lambda \to \{1,2,...,n\}$. We say a ...
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A product identity for partitions
For a partition $\lambda=(\lambda_1\ge \lambda_2\ge \dots)$, let
$m_\lambda=\prod_i (\lambda_i-\lambda_{i+1})!$ be the product of factorials of consecutive differences and let $v_\lambda=\prod_{i | \...
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A question regarding symmetrizing the tensor product of vectors in two different ways
Let $V = \mathbb{C}^m$, endowed with the standard hermitian inner product which we will denote by $\langle \cdot, \cdot \rangle$, $n$ be a positive integer and $\Sigma_n$ denote the symmetric group on ...
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What is a Specht module?
I'm studying the structure of the Specht module for $S_n$ and I would like to know if there is some generalizations of this structure for Weyls groups or Coxeter groups.
Also, I'm interest to know ...
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Weingarten function for unitary group
Studying integration over unitary group I came across this function, the Weingarten function Wg, such that
$$ \int_{\mathcal{U}(N)} \prod_{k=1}^{n} U_{i_kj_k}
U^*_{m_k r_k} dU=\sum_{\tau,\sigma\in S_n}...
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Decomposition of induced representations in S_n
Let C be a cyclic subgroup of S_n.
How does the representation $Ind_C^{S_n}\rho$, where $\rho$ is some representation of $C$, decompose into irreducible components?
Is there are a way to know which ...
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Is there some sort of formula for $\tau(S_n)$?
Let $G$ be a finite group. Define $\tau(G)$ as the minimal number, such that $\forall X \subset G$ if $|X| > \tau(G)$, then $XXX = \langle X \rangle$.
Is there some sort of formula for $\tau(S_n)$, ...
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A question about homogenous polynomials of degree $\frac{n(n-1)}{2}$
Let $n$ be a positive integer and $S_n$ be the symmetric group on $\{1,2,\ldots,n\}$.
For any $w\in S_n$ and polynomial $f\in \mathbb{R}[x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_n]$, denote $w(f)=f(x_{w(1)},x_{w(2)},\ldots,...
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