Alternating sign matrices and domino tilings

We introduce a family of planar regions, called Aztec diamonds, and study the ways in which these regions can be tiled by dominoes. Our main result is a generating function that not only gives the number of domino tilings of the Aztec diamond of order $n$ but also provides information about the orientation of the dominoes (vertical versus horizontal) and the accessibility of one tiling from another by means of local modifications. Several proofs of the formula are given. The problem turns out to have connections with the alternating sign matrices of Mills, Robbins, and Rumsey, as well as the square ice model studied by Lieb

Kasteleyn cokernels

We consider Kasteleyn and Kasteleyn-Percus matrices, which arise in enumerating matchings of planar graphs, up to matrix operations on their rows and columns. If such a matrix is defined over a principal ideal domain, this is equivalent to considering its Smith normal form or its cokernel. Many variations of the enumeration methods result in equivalent matrices. In particular, Gessel-Viennot matrices are equivalent to Kasteleyn-Percus matrices. We apply these ideas to plane partitions and related planar of tilings. We list a number of conjectures, supported by experiments in Maple, about the forms of matrices associated to enumerations of plane partitions and other lozenge tilings of planar regions and their symmetry classes. We focus on the case where the enumerations are round or $q$-round, and we conjecture that cokernels remain round or $q$-round for related ``impossible enumerations'' in which there are no tilings. Our conjectures provide a new view of the topic of enumerating symmetry classes of plane partitions and their generalizations. In particular we conjecture that a $q$-specialization of a Jacobi-Trudi matrix has a Smith normal form. If so it could be an interesting structure associated to the corresponding irreducible representation of \SL(n,\C). Finally we find, with proof, the normal form of the matrix that appears in the enumeration of domino tilings of an Aztec diamond.Comment: 14 pages, 19 in-line figures. Very minor copy correction

Skew Howe duality and limit shapes of Young diagrams

We consider the skew Howe duality for the action of certain dual pairs of Lie groups $(G_1, G_2)$ on the exterior algebra $\bigwedge(\mathbb{C}^{n} \otimes \mathbb{C}^{k})$ as a probability measure on Young diagrams by the decomposition into the sum of irreducible representations. We prove a combinatorial version of this skew Howe for the pairs $(\mathrm{GL}_{n}, \mathrm{GL}_{k})$, $(\mathrm{SO}_{2n+1}, \mathrm{Pin}_{2k})$, $(\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}, \mathrm{Sp}_{2k})$, and $(\mathrm{Or}_{2n}, \mathrm{SO}_{k})$ using crystal bases, which allows us to interpret the skew Howe duality as a natural consequence of lattice paths on lozenge tilings of certain partial hexagonal domains. The $G_1$-representation multiplicity is given as a determinant formula using the Lindstr\"om-Gessel-Viennot lemma and as a product formula using Dodgson condensation. These admit natural $q$-analogs that we show equals the $q$-dimension of a $G_2$-representation (up to an overall factor of $q$), giving a refined version of the combinatorial skew Howe duality. Using these product formulas (at $q =1$), we take the infinite rank limit and prove the diagrams converge uniformly to the limit shape.Comment: 54 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables; v2 fixed typos in Theorem 4.10, 4.14, shorter proof of Theorem 4.6 (thanks to C. Krattenthaler), proved of Conjecture 4.17 in v

Enumerative Combinatorics

Enumerative Combinatorics focusses on the exact and asymptotic counting of combinatorial objects. It is strongly connected to the probabilistic analysis of large combinatorial structures and has fruitful connections to several disciplines, including statistical physics, algebraic combinatorics, graph theory and computer science. This workshop brought together experts from all these various fields, including also computer algebra, with the goal of promoting cooperation and interaction among researchers with largely varying backgrounds

BEYOND AZTEC CASTLES: TORIC CASCADES IN THE \u3ci\u3edP\u3c/i\u3e3 QUIVER

Given one of an infinite class of supersymmetric quiver gauge theories, string theorists can associate a corresponding toric variety (which is a Calabi-Yau 3-fold) as well as an associated combinatorial model known as a brane tiling. In combinatorial language, a brane tiling is a bipartite graph on a torus and its perfect matchings are of interest to both combinatorialists and physicists alike. A cluster algebra may also be associated to such quivers and in this paper we study the generators of this algebra, known as cluster variables, for the quiver associated to the cone over the del Pezzo surface dP3. In particular, mutation sequences involving mutations exclusively at vertices with two in-coming arrows and two out-going arrows are referred to as toric cascades in the string theory literature. Such toric cascades give rise to interesting discrete integrable systems on the level of cluster variable dynamics. We provide an explicit algebraic formula for all cluster variables which are reachable by toric cascades as well as a combinatorial interpretation involving perfect matchings of subgraphs of the dP3 brane tiling for these formulas in most cases

Multiply-refined enumeration of alternating sign matrices

Four natural boundary statistics and two natural bulk statistics are considered for alternating sign matrices (ASMs). Specifically, these statistics are the positions of the 1's in the first and last rows and columns of an ASM, and the numbers of generalized inversions and -1's in an ASM. Previously-known and related results for the exact enumeration of ASMs with prescribed values of some of these statistics are discussed in detail. A quadratic relation which recursively determines the generating function associated with all six statistics is then obtained. This relation also leads to various new identities satisfied by generating functions associated with fewer than six of the statistics. The derivation of the relation involves combining the Desnanot-Jacobi determinant identity with the Izergin-Korepin formula for the partition function of the six-vertex model with domain-wall boundary conditions.Comment: 62 pages; v3 slightly updated relative to published versio