A matroid-friendly basis for the quasisymmetric functions

A new Z-basis for the space of quasisymmetric functions (QSym, for short) is presented. It is shown to have nonnegative structure constants, and several interesting properties relative to the space of quasisymmetric functions associated to matroids by the Hopf algebra morphism (F) of Billera, Jia, and Reiner. In particular, for loopless matroids, this basis reflects the grading by matroid rank, as well as by the size of the ground set. It is shown that the morphism F is injective on the set of rank two matroids, and that decomposability of the quasisymmetric function of a rank two matroid mirrors the decomposability of its base polytope. An affirmative answer is given to the Hilbert basis question raised by Billera, Jia, and Reiner.Comment: 25 pages; exposition tightened, typos corrected; to appear in the Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series

Super quasi-symmetric functions via Young diagrams

We consider the multivariate generating series $F_P$ of $P$-partitions in infinitely many variables $x_1, x_2 , \dots$. For some family of ranked posets $P$, it is natural to consider an analog $N_P$ with two infinite alphabets. When we collapse these two alphabets, we trivially recover $F_P$. Our main result is the converse, that is, the explicit construction of a map sending back $F_P$ onto $N_P$. We also give a noncommutative analog of the latter. An application is the construction of a basis of WQSym with a non-negative multiplication table, which lifts a basis of QSym introduced by K. Luoto.Comment: 12 pages, extended abstract of arXiv:1312.2727, presented at FPSAC conference. The presentation of the results is quite different from the long versio

Cyclic inclusion-exclusion and the kernel of P -partitions

International audienceFollowing the lead of Stanley and Gessel, we consider a linear map which associates to an acyclic directed graph (or a poset) a quasi-symmetric function. The latter is naturally defined as multivariate generating series of non-decreasing functions on the graph (or of P -partitions of the poset).We describe the kernel of this linear map, using a simple combinatorial operation that we call cyclic inclusion- exclusion. Our result also holds for the natural non-commutative analog and for the commutative and non-commutative restrictions to bipartite graphs

Comparing skew Schur functions: a quasisymmetric perspective

Reiner, Shaw and van Willigenburg showed that if two skew Schur functions s_A and s_B are equal, then the skew shapes A and B must have the same "row overlap partitions." Here we show that these row overlap equalities are also implied by a much weaker condition than skew Schur equality: that s_A and s_B have the same support when expanded in the fundamental quasisymmetric basis F. Surprisingly, there is significant evidence supporting a conjecture that the converse is also true. In fact, we work in terms of inequalities, showing that if the F-support of s_A contains that of s_B, then the row overlap partitions of A are dominated by those of B, and again conjecture that the converse also holds. Our evidence in favor of these conjectures includes their consistency with a complete determination of all F-support containment relations for F-multiplicity-free skew Schur functions. We conclude with a consideration of how some other quasisymmetric bases fit into our framework.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures. J. Combin., to appear. Version 2 includes a new subsection (5.3) on a possible skew version of the Saturation Theore

Super quasi-symmetric functions via Young diagrams

We consider the multivariate generating series $F_P$ of $P-$partitions in infinitely many variables $x_1, x_2, \ldots$ . For some family of ranked posets $P$, it is natural to consider an analog $N_P$ with two infinite alphabets. When we collapse these two alphabets, we trivially recover $F_P$. Our main result is the converse, that is, the explicit construction of a map sending back $F_P$ onto $N_P$. We also give a noncommutative analog of the latter. An application is the construction of a basis of $\mathbf{WQSym}$ with a non-negative multiplication table, which lifts a basis of $\textit{QSym}$ introduced by K. Luoto

Cyclic inclusion-exclusion

Following the lead of Stanley and Gessel, we consider a morphism which associates to an acyclic directed graph (or a poset) a quasi-symmetric function. The latter is naturally defined as multivariate generating series of non-decreasing functions on the graph. We describe the kernel of this morphism, using a simple combinatorial operation that we call cyclic inclusion-exclusion. Our result also holds for the natural noncommutative analog and for the commutative and noncommutative restrictions to bipartite graphs. An application to the theory of Kerov character polynomials is given.Comment: comments welcom

Cyclic inclusion-exclusion and the kernel of P -partitions

Following the lead of Stanley and Gessel, we consider a linear map which associates to an acyclic directed graph (or a poset) a quasi-symmetric function. The latter is naturally defined as multivariate generating series of non-decreasing functions on the graph (or of P -partitions of the poset).We describe the kernel of this linear map, using a simple combinatorial operation that we call cyclic inclusion- exclusion. Our result also holds for the natural non-commutative analog and for the commutative and non-commutative restrictions to bipartite graphs

Quasi-symmetric functions as polynomial functions on Young diagrams

We determine the most general form of a smooth function on Young diagrams, that is, a polynomial in the interlacing or multirectangular coordinates whose value depends only on the shape of the diagram. We prove that the algebra of such functions is isomorphic to quasi-symmetric functions, and give a noncommutative analog of this result.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, version including minor modifications suggested by referee