Skew Schubert functions and the Pieri formula for flag manifolds

We show the equivalence of the Pieri formula for flag manifolds and certain identities among the structure constants, giving new proofs of both the Pieri formula and of these identities. A key step is the association of a symmetric function to a finite poset with labeled Hasse diagram satisfying a symmetry condition. This gives a unified definition of skew Schur functions, Stanley symmetric function, and skew Schubert functions (defined here). We also use algebraic geometry to show the coefficient of a monomial in a Schubert polynomial counts certain chains in the Bruhat order, obtaining a new combinatorial construction of Schubert polynomials.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX 2e, with epsf.st

A Monoid for the Universal K-Bruhat Order

Structure constants for the multiplication of Schubert polynomials by Schur symmetric polynomials are known to be related to the enumeration of chains in a new partial order on S_\infty, which we call the universal k-Bruhat order. Here we present a monoid M for this order and show that $M$ is analogous to the nil-Coxeter monoid for the weak order on S_\infty. For this, we develop a theory of reduced sequences for M. We use these sequences to give a combinatorial description of the structure constants above. We also give combinatorial proofs of some of the symmetry relations satisfied by these structure constants.Comment: LaTeX-2e, 21 pages, 3 figures, uses epsf.st

q and q,t-Analogs of Non-commutative Symmetric Functions

We introduce two families of non-commutative symmetric functions that have analogous properties to the Hall-Littlewood and Macdonald symmetric functions.Comment: Different from analogues in math.CO/0106191 - v2: 26 pages - added a definition in terms of triangularity/scalar product relations - to be submitted FPSAC'0

Fomin-Greene monoids and Pieri operations

We explore monoids generated by operators on certain infinite partial orders. Our starting point is the work of Fomin and Greene on monoids satisfying the relations $(\u{r}+\u{r+1})\u{r+1}\u{r}=\u{r+1}\u{r}(\u{r}+\u{r+1})$ and $\u{r}\u{t}=\u{s}\u{r}$ if $|r-t|>1.$ Given such a monoid, the non-commutative functions in the variables $\u{}$ are shown to commute. Symmetric functions in these operators often encode interesting structure constants. Our aim is to introduce similar results for more general monoids not satisfying the relations of Fomin and Greene. This paper is an extension of a talk by the second author at the workshop on algebraic monoids, group embeddings and algebraic combinatorics at The Fields Institute in 2012.Comment: 33 pages, this is a paper expanding on a talk given at Fields Institute in 201

A combinatorial basis for the free Lie algebra of the labelled rooted trees

The pre-Lie operad can be realized as a space T of labelled rooted trees. A result of F. Chapoton shows that the pre-Lie operad is a free twisted Lie algebra. That is, the S-module T is obtained as the plethysm of the S-module Lie with an S-module F. In the context of species, we construct an explicit basis of F. This allows us to give a new proof of Chapoton's results. Moreover it permits us to show that F forms a sub nonsymmetric operad of the pre-Lie operad T.Comment: 12 pages, uses xypi

A Pieri-type formula for isotropic flag manifolds

We give the formula for multiplying a Schubert class on an odd orthogonal or symplectic flag manifold by a special Schubert class pulled back from a Grassmannian of maximal isotropic subspaces. This is also the formula for multiplying a type $B$ (respectively, type $C$) Schubert polynomial by the Schur $P$-polynomial $p_m$ (respectively, the Schur $Q$-polynomial $q_m$). Geometric constructions and intermediate results allow us to ultimately deduce this from formulas for the classical flag manifold. These intermediate results are concerned with the Bruhat order of the Coxeter group ${\mathcal B}_\infty$, identities of the structure constants for the Schubert basis of cohomology, and intersections of Schubert varieties. We show these identities follow from the Pieri-type formula, except some `hidden symmetries' of the structure constants. Our analysis leads to a new partial order on the Coxeter group ${\mathcal B}_\infty$ and formulas for many of these structure constants