Pattern avoidance and the Bruhat order on involutions

Abstract

We show that the principal order ideal below an element w in the Bruhat order on involutions in a symmetric group is a Boolean lattice if and only if w avoids the patterns 4321, 45312 and 456123. Similar criteria for signed permutations are also stated. Involutions with this property are enumerated with respect to natural statistics. In this context, a bijective correspondence with certain Motzkin paths is demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure