A Combinatorial Formula for Macdonald Polynomials

We prove a combinatorial formula for the Macdonald polynomial H_mu(x;q,t) which had been conjectured by the first author. Corollaries to our main theorem include the expansion of H_mu(x;q,t) in terms of LLT polynomials, a new proof of the charge formula of Lascoux and Schutzenberger for Hall-Littlewood polynomials, a new proof of Knop and Sahi's combinatorial formula for Jack polynomials as well as a lifting of their formula to integral form Macdonald polynomials, and a new combinatorial rule for the Kostka-Macdonald coefficients K_{lambda,mu}(q,t) in the case that mu is a partition with parts less than or equal to 2.Comment: 29 page

Some combinatorial identities related to commuting varieties and Hilbert schemes

In this article we explore some of the combinatorial consequences of recent results relating the isospectral commuting variety and the Hilbert scheme of points in the plane

A smoother end to the dark ages

Independent lines of evidence suggest that the first stars, which ended the cosmic dark ages, came in pairs, rather than singly. This could change the prevailing view that the early Universe had a Swiss-cheese-like appearance.Comment: Nature News and Views, April 7, 201