Rational Combinatorics

We propose a categorical setting for the study of the combinatorics of rational numbers. We find combinatorial interpretation for the Bernoulli and Euler numbers and polynomials.Comment: Adv. in Appl. Math. (2007), doi:10.1016/j.aam.2006.12.00

Alexander Duality and Rational Associahedra

A recent pair of papers of Armstrong, Loehr, and Warrington and Armstrong, Williams, and the author initiated the systematic study of {\em rational Catalan combinatorics} which is a generalization of Fuss-Catalan combinatorics (which is in turn a generalization of classical Catalan combinatorics). The latter paper gave two possible models for a rational analog of the associahedron which attach simplicial complexes to any pair of coprime positive integers a < b. These complexes coincide up to the Fuss-Catalan level of generality, but in general one may be a strict subcomplex of the other. Verifying a conjecture of Armstrong, Williams, and the author, we prove that these complexes agree up to homotopy and, in fact, that one complex collapses onto the other. This reconciles the two competing models for rational associahedra. As a corollary, we get that the involution (a < b) \longleftrightarrow (b-a < b) on pairs of coprime positive integers manifests itself topologically as Alexander duality of rational associahedra. This collapsing and Alexander duality are new features of rational Catalan combinatorics which are invisible at the Fuss-Catalan level of generality.Comment: 23 page

Unimodality Problems in Ehrhart Theory

Ehrhart theory is the study of sequences recording the number of integer points in non-negative integral dilates of rational polytopes. For a given lattice polytope, this sequence is encoded in a finite vector called the Ehrhart $h^*$-vector. Ehrhart $h^*$-vectors have connections to many areas of mathematics, including commutative algebra and enumerative combinatorics. In this survey we discuss what is known about unimodality for Ehrhart $h^*$-vectors and highlight open questions and problems.Comment: Published in Recent Trends in Combinatorics, Beveridge, A., et al. (eds), Springer, 2016, pp 687-711, doi 10.1007/978-3-319-24298-9_27. This version updated October 2017 to correct an error in the original versio

Combinatorics of rational functions and Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt expansions of the canonical U(n-)-valued differential form

We study the canonical U(n-)-valued differential form, whose projections to different Kac-Moody algebras are key ingredients of the hypergeometric integral solutions of KZ-type differential equations and Bethe ansatz constructions. We explicitly determine the coefficients of the projections in the simple Lie albegras A_r, B_r, C_r, D_r in a conviniently chosen Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt basis. As a byproduct we obtain results on the combinatorics of rational functions, namely non-trivial identities are proved between certain rational functions with partial symmetries.Comment: More typos correcte

Rational Dyck Paths in the Non Relatively Prime Case

We study the relationship between rational slope Dyck paths and invariant subsets of $\mathbb Z,$ extending the work of the first two authors in the relatively prime case. We also find a bijection between $(dn,dm)$--Dyck paths and $d$-tuples of $(n,m)$-Dyck paths endowed with certain gluing data. These are the first steps towards understanding the relationship between rational slope Catalan combinatorics and the geometry of affine Springer fibers and knot invariants in the non relatively prime case.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure

Application of graph combinatorics to rational identities of type A

To a word $w$, we associate the rational function $\Psi_w = \prod (x_{w_i} - x_{w_{i+1}})^{-1}$. The main object, introduced by C. Greene to generalize identities linked to Murnaghan-Nakayama rule, is a sum of its images by certain permutations of the variables. The sets of permutations that we consider are the linear extensions of oriented graphs. We explain how to compute this rational function, using the combinatorics of the graph $G$. We also establish a link between an algebraic property of the rational function (the factorization of the numerator) and a combinatorial property of the graph (the existence of a disconnecting chain).Comment: This is the complete version of the submitted fpsac paper (2009

Ising n-fold integrals as diagonals of rational functions and integrality of series expansions

We show that the n-fold integrals $\chi^{(n)}$ of the magnetic susceptibility of the Ising model, as well as various other n-fold integrals of the "Ising class", or n-fold integrals from enumerative combinatorics, like lattice Green functions, correspond to a distinguished class of function generalising algebraic functions: they are actually diagonals of rational functions. As a consequence, the power series expansions of the, analytic at x=0, solutions of these linear differential equations "Derived From Geometry" are globally bounded, which means that, after just one rescaling of the expansion variable, they can be cast into series expansions with integer coefficients. We also give several results showing that the unique analytical solution of Calabi-Yau ODEs, and, more generally, Picard-Fuchs linear ODEs, with solutions of maximal weights, are always diagonal of rational functions. Besides, in a more enumerative combinatorics context, generating functions whose coefficients are expressed in terms of nested sums of products of binomial terms can also be shown to be diagonals of rational functions. We finally address the question of the relations between the notion of integrality (series with integer coefficients, or, more generally, globally bounded series) and the modularity of ODEs.Comment: This paper is the short version of the larger (100 pages) version, available as arXiv:1211.6031 , where all the detailed proofs are given and where a much larger set of examples is displaye