Binomial Eulerian polynomials for colored permutations

Binomial Eulerian polynomials first appeared in work of Postnikov, Reiner and Williams on the face enumeration of generalized permutohedra. They are $\gamma$-positive (in particular, palindromic and unimodal) polynomials which can be interpreted as $h$-polynomials of certain flag simplicial polytopes and which admit interesting Schur $\gamma$-positive symmetric function generalizations. This paper introduces analogues of these polynomials for $r$-colored permutations with similar properties and uncovers some new instances of equivariant $\gamma$-positivity in geometric combinatorics.Comment: Final version; minor change

Extended Linial Hyperplane Arrangements for Root Systems and a Conjecture of Postnikov and Stanley

A hyperplane arrangement is said to satisfy the ``Riemann hypothesis'' if all roots of its characteristic polynomial have the same real part. This property was conjectured by Postnikov and Stanley for certain families of arrangements which are defined for any irreducible root system and was proved for the root system $A_{n-1}$. The proof is based on an explicit formula for the characteristic polynomial, which is of independent combinatorial significance. Here our previous derivation of this formula is simplified and extended to similar formulae for all but the exceptional root systems. The conjecture follows in these cases

Some applications of Rees products of posets to equivariant gamma-positivity

The Rees product of partially ordered sets was introduced by Bj\"orner and Welker. Using the theory of lexicographic shellability, Linusson, Shareshian and Wachs proved formulas, of significance in the theory of gamma-positivity, for the dimension of the homology of the Rees product of a graded poset $P$ with a certain $t$-analogue of the chain of the same length as $P$. Equivariant generalizations of these formulas are proven in this paper, when a group of automorphisms acts on $P$, and are applied to establish the Schur gamma-positivity of certain symmetric functions arising in algebraic and geometric combinatorics.Comment: Final version, with a section on type B Coxeter complexes added; to appear in Algebraic Combinatoric

Asymptotic Behavior of Strategies in the Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma Game in the Presence of Errors

We examine the asymptotic behavior of a finite, but error-prone population, whose agents can choose one of ALLD (always defect), ALLC (always cooperate), or Pavlov (repeats the previous action if the opponent cooperated and changes action otherwise) to play the repeated Prisoner's Dilemma. A novelty of the study is that it allows for three types of errors that affect agents' strategies in distinct ways: (a) implementation errors, (b) perception errors of one's own action, and (c) perception errors of the opponent's action. We also derive numerical results based on the payoff matrix used in the tournaments of Axelrod (1984). Strategies' payoffs are monitored as the likelihood of committing errors increases from zero to one, which enables us to provide a taxonomy of best response strategies. We find that for some range of error levels, a unique best response (i.e. a dominant strategy) exists. In all other, the population composition can vary based on the proportion of each strategist's type and/or the payoffs of the matrix. Overall, our results indicate that the emergence of cooperation is considerably weak at most error levels

Piles of Cubes, Monotone Path Polytopes and Hyperplane Arrangements

Monotone path polytopes arise as a special case of the construction of fiber polytopes, introduced by Billera and Sturmfels. A simple example is provided by the permutahedron, which is a monotone path polytope of the standard unit cube. The permutahedron is the zonotope polar to the braid arrangement. We show how the zonotopes polar to the cones of certain deformations of the braid arrangement can be realized as monotone path polytopes. The construction is an extension of that of the permutahedron and yields interesting connections between enumerative combinatorics of hyperplane arrangements and geometry of monotone path polytopes

A survey of subdivisions and local hh-vectors

The enumerative theory of simplicial subdivisions (triangulations) of simplicial complexes was developed by Stanley in order to understand the effect of such subdivisions on the $h$-vector of a simplicial complex. A key role there is played by the concept of a local $h$-vector. This paper surveys some of the highlights of this theory and some recent developments, concerning subdivisions of flag homology spheres and their $\gamma$-vectors. Several interesting examples and open problems are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; minor changes and update