On The Möbius Function Of Permutations Under The Pattern Containment Order

We study several aspects of the Möbius function, μ[σ, π], on the poset of permutations under the pattern containment order. First, we consider cases where the lower bound of the poset is indecomposable. We show that μ[σ, π] can be computed by considering just the indecomposable permutations contained in the upper bound. We apply this to the case where the upper bound is an increasing oscillation, and give a method for computing the value of the Möbius function that only involves evaluating simple inequalities. We then consider conditions on an interval which guarantee that the value of the Möbius function is zero. In particular, we show that if a permutation π contains two intervals of length 2, which are not order-isomorphic to one another, then μ[1, π] = 0. This allows us to prove that the proportion of permutations of length n with principal Möbius function equal to zero is asymptotically bounded below by (1−1/e) 2 ≥ 0.3995. This is the first result determining the value of μ[1, π] for an asymptotically positive proportion of permutations π. Following this, we use “2413-balloon” permutations to show that the growth of the principal Möbius function on the permutation poset is exponential. This improves on previous work, which has shown that the growth is at least polynomial. We then generalise 2413-balloon permutations, and find a recursion for the value of the principal Möbius function of these generalisations. Finally, we look back at the results found, and discuss ways to relate the results from each chapter. We then consider further research avenues

Some open problems on permutation patterns

This is a brief survey of some open problems on permutation patterns, with an emphasis on subjects not covered in the recent book by Kitaev, \emph{Patterns in Permutations and words}. I first survey recent developments on the enumeration and asymptotics of the pattern 1324, the last pattern of length 4 whose asymptotic growth is unknown, and related issues such as upper bounds for the number of avoiders of any pattern of length $k$ for any given $k$. Other subjects treated are the M\"obius function, topological properties and other algebraic aspects of the poset of permutations, ordered by containment, and also the study of growth rates of permutation classes, which are containment closed subsets of this poset.Comment: 20 pages. Related to upcoming talk at the British Combinatorial Conference 2013. To appear in London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Serie

2413-balloon permutations and the growth of the Möbius function

We show that the growth of the principal Möbius function on the permutation poset is at least exponential. This improves on previous work, which has shown that the growth is at least polynomial. We define a method of constructing a permutation from a smaller permutation which we call “ballooning”. We show that if β is a 2413-balloon, and π is the 2413-balloon of β, then μ[1, π] = 2μ[1, β]. This allows us to construct a sequence of per-mutations π1, π2, π3 ... with lengths n, n+4, n+8, ... such that μ[1, πi+1] = 2μ[1, πi], and this gives us exponential growth. Further, our construction method gives per-mutations that lie within a hereditary class with finitely many simple permutations. We also find an expression for the value of μ[1, π], where π is a 2413-balloon, with no restriction on the permutation being ballooned

Word Measures on Symmetric Groups

Fix a word $w$ in a free group $F$ on $r$ generators. A $w$-random permutation in the symmetric group $S_N$ is obtained by sampling $r$ independent uniformly random permutations $\sigma_{1},\ldots,\sigma_{r}\in S_{N}$ and evaluating $w\left(\sigma_{1},\ldots,\sigma_{r}\right)$. In [arXiv:1104.3991, arXiv:1202.3269] it was shown that the average number of fixed points in a $w$-random permutation is $1+\theta\left(N^{1-\pi\left(w\right)}\right)$, where $\pi\left(w\right)$ is the smallest rank of a subgroup $H\le F$ containing $w$ as a non-primitive element. We show that $\pi\left(w\right)$ plays a role in estimates of all "natural" families of characters of symmetric groups: those corresponding to "stable" representations. In particular, we show that for all $t\ge2$, the average number of $t$-cycles is $\frac{1}{t}+O\left(N^{-\pi\left(w\right)}\right)$. As an application, we prove that for every $s$, every $\varepsilon>0$ and every large enough $r$, Schreier graphs with $r$ random generators depicting the action of $S_{N}$ on $s$-tuples, have second eigenvalue at most $2\sqrt{2r-1}+\varepsilon$ asymptotically almost surely. An important ingredient in this work is a systematic study of not-necessarily connected Stallings core graphs.Comment: 50 pages, 2 figures. Extended abstract accepted to FPSAC 2020. Added new Appendix A. Improved introductio