Avoiding maximal parabolic subgroups of S_k

We find an explicit expression for the generating function of the number of permutations in S_n avoiding a subgroup of S_k generated by all but one simple transpositions. The generating function turns out to be rational, and its denominator is a rook polynomial for a rectangular board

Lower bounds for Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials from patterns

We give a lower bound for the value at q=1 of a Kazhdan-Lustig polynomial in a Weyl group W in terms of "patterns''. This is expressed by a "pattern map" from W to W' for any parabloic subgroup W'. This notion generalizes the concept of patterns and pattern avoidance for permutations to all Weyl groups. The main tool of the proof is a "hyperbolic localization" on intersection cohomology; see the related paper http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/math.AG/0202251Comment: 14 pages; updated references. Final version; will appear in Transformation Groups vol.8, no.

Conjectures about certain parabolic Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials

Irreducibility results for parabolic induction of representations of the general linear group over a local non-archimedean field can be formulated in terms of Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials of type $A$. Spurred by these results and some computer calculations, we conjecture that certain alternating sums of Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials known as parabolic Kazhdan--Lusztig polynomials satisfy properties analogous to those of the ordinary ones.Comment: final versio

Enumerating pattern avoidance for affine permutations

In this paper we study pattern avoidance for affine permutations. In particular, we show that for a given pattern p, there are only finitely many affine permutations in $\widetilde{S}_n$ that avoid p if and only if p avoids the pattern 321. We then count the number of affine permutations that avoid a given pattern p for each p in S_3, as well as give some conjectures for the patterns in S_4.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; fixed typos and proof of Proposition

Existential questions in (relatively) hyperbolic groups {\it and} Finding relative hyperbolic structures

This arXived paper has two independant parts, that are improved and corrected versions of different parts of a single paper once named "On equations in relatively hyperbolic groups". The first part is entitled "Existential questions in (relatively) hyperbolic groups". We study there the existential theory of torsion free hyperbolic and relatively hyperbolic groups, in particular those with virtually abelian parabolic subgroups. We show that the satisfiability of systems of equations and inequations is decidable in these groups. In the second part, called "Finding relative hyperbolic structures", we provide a general algorithm that recognizes the class of groups that are hyperbolic relative to abelian subgroups.Comment: Two independant parts 23p + 9p, revised. To appear separately in Israel J. Math, and Bull. London Math. Soc. respectivel

On the boundary and intersection motives of genus 2 Hilbert-Siegel varieties

We study genus 2 Hilbert-Siegel varieties, i.e. Shimura varieties $S_K$ corresponding to the group \mbox{GSp}_{4,F} over a totally real field $F$, along with the relative Chow motives $^\lambda \mathcal{V}$ of abelian type over $S_K$ obtained from irreducible representations $V_{\lambda}$ of \mbox{GSp}_{4,F}. We analyse the weight filtration on the degeneration of such motives at the boundary of the Baily-Borel compactification and we find a criterion on the highest weight $\lambda$ which characterises the absence of the middle weights 0 and 1 in the corresponding degeneration. Thanks to Wildeshaus' theory, the absence of these weights allows us to construct Hecke-equivariant Chow motives over $\mathbb{Q}$, whose realizations equal interior (or intersection) cohomology of $S_K$ with $V_{\lambda}$-coefficients. We give applications to the construction of motives associated to automorphic representations.Comment: 39 pages; comments very welcome! (v2): some typos fixed, minor changes in the text (v3): other typos fixed, some prerequisites shortened (now 36 pages), minor changes in the text (v4) final version, accepted for publication in Documenta Mathematica (40 pages