A Schur function identity related to the (-1)-enumeration of self-complementary plane partitions

We give another proof for the (-1)-enumeration of self-complementary plane partitions with at least one odd side-length by specializing a certain Schur function identity. The proof is analogous to Stanley's proof for the ordinary enumeration. In addition, we obtain enumerations of 180-degree symmetric rhombus tilings of hexagons with a barrier of arbitrary length along the central line.Comment: AMSLatex, 14 pages, Parity conditions in Theorem 3 corrected and an additional case adde

Domino tilings with barriers

In this paper, we continue the study of domino-tilings of Aztec diamonds. In particular, we look at certain ways of placing ``barriers'' in the Aztec diamond, with the constraint that no domino may cross a barrier. Remarkably, the number of constrained tilings is independent of the placement of the barriers. We do not know of a combinatorial explanation of this fact; our proof uses the Jacobi-Trudi identity.Comment: 5 pages (two-column format), 1 figur

Bijective proofs for Schur function identities which imply Dodgson's condensation formula and Pl\"ucker relations

We present a ``method'' for bijective proofs for determinant identities, which is based on translating determinants to Schur functions by the Jacobi--Trudi identity. We illustrate this ``method'' by generalizing a bijective construction (which was first used by Goulden) to a class of Schur function identities, from which we shall obtain bijective proofs for Dodgson's condensation formula, Pl\"ucker relations and a recent identity of the second author.Comment: Co-author Michael Kleber added a new proof of his theorem by inclusion-exclusio

Spin invariant theory for the symmetric group

We formulate a theory of invariants for the spin symmetric group in some suitable modules which involve the polynomial and exterior algebras. We solve the corresponding graded multiplicity problem in terms of specializations of the Schur Q-functions and a shifted q-hook formula. In addition, we provide a bijective proof for a formula of the principal specialization of the Schur Q-functions.Comment: v2, 17 pages, modified Introduction and updated references. v3, correction of typos, final versio