Zero-one Schubert polynomials

We prove that if $$\sigma \in S_m$$ σ ∈ S m is a pattern of $$w \in S_n$$ w ∈ S n , then we can express the Schubert polynomial $$\mathfrak {S}_w$$ S w as a monomial times $$\mathfrak {S}_\sigma $$ S σ (in reindexed variables) plus a polynomial with nonnegative coefficients. This implies that the set of permutations whose Schubert polynomials have all their coefficients equal to either 0 or 1 is closed under pattern containment. Using Magyar’s orthodontia, we characterize this class by a list of twelve avoided patterns. We also give other equivalent conditions on $$\mathfrak {S}_w$$ S w being zero-one. In this case, the Schubert polynomial $$\mathfrak {S}_w$$ S w is equal to the integer point transform of a generalized permutahedron.

A Formula for the Möbius Function of the Permutation Poset Based on a Topological Decomposition

International audience The poset P of all permutations ordered by pattern containment is a fundamental object of study in the field of permutation patterns. This poset has a very rich and complex topology and an understanding of its Möbius function has proved particularly elusive, although results have been slowly emerging in the last few years. Using a variety of topological techniques we present a two term formula for the Mo ̈bius function of intervals in P. The first term in this formula is, up to sign, the number of so called normal occurrences of one permutation in another. Our definition of normal occurrences is similar to those that have appeared in several variations in the literature on the Möbius function of this and other posets, but simpler than most of them. The second term in the formula is (still) complicated, but we conjecture that it equals zero for a significant proportion of intervals. We present some cases where the second term vanishes and others where it is nonzero. Computing the Möbius function recursively from its definition has exponential complexity, whereas the computation of the first term in our formula is polynomial and the exponential part is isolated to the second term, which seems to often vanish. This is thus the first polynomial time formula for the Möbius function of what appears to be a large proportion of all intervals of P.

Supertrees

A $k$-universal permutation, or $k$-superpermutation, is a permutation that contains all permutations of length $k$ as patterns. The problem of finding the minimum length of a $k$-superpermutation has recently received significant attention in the field of permutation patterns. One can ask analogous questions for other classes of objects. In this paper, we study $k$-supertrees. For each $d\geq 2$, we focus on two types of rooted plane trees called $d$-ary plane trees and $[d]$-trees. Motivated by recent developments in the literature, we consider "contiguous" and "noncontiguous" notions of pattern containment for each type of tree. We obtain both upper and lower bounds on the minimum possible size of a $k$-supertree in three cases; in the fourth, we determine the minimum size exactly. One of our lower bounds makes use of a recent result of Albert, Engen, Pantone, and Vatter on $k$-universal layered permutations.

On the Möbius Function of Permutations with One Descent

The set of all permutations, ordered by pattern containment, is a poset. We give a formula for the Möbius function of intervals $[1,\pi]$ in this poset, for any permutation $\pi$ with at most one descent. We compute the Möbius function as a function of the number and positions of pairs of consecutive letters in $\pi$ that are consecutive in value. As a result of this we show that the Möbius function is unbounded on the poset of all permutations. We show that the Möbius function is zero on any interval $[1,\pi]$ where $\pi$ has a triple of consecutive letters whose values are consecutive and monotone. We also conjecture values of the Möbius function on some other intervals of permutations with at most one descent.

Noncontiguous Pattern Containment in Binary Trees

We consider the enumeration of binary trees containing noncontiguous binary tree patterns. First, we show that any two ℓ-leaf binary trees are contained in the set of all n-leaf trees the same number of times. We give a functional equation for the multivariate generating function for number of n-leaf trees containing a specified number of copies of any path tree, and we analyze tree patterns with at most 4 leaves. The paper concludes with implications for pattern containment in permutations.

The topology of the permutation pattern poset

International audience The set of all permutations, ordered by pattern containment, forms a poset. This extended abstract presents the first explicit major results on the topology of intervals in this poset. We show that almost all (open) intervals in this poset have a disconnected subinterval and are thus not shellable. Nevertheless, there seem to be large classes of intervals that are shellable and thus have the homotopy type of a wedge of spheres. We prove this to be the case for all intervals of layered permutations that have no disconnected subintervals of rank 3 or more. We also characterize in a simple way those intervals of layered permutations that are disconnected. These results carry over to the poset of generalized subword order when the ordering on the underlying alphabet is a rooted forest. We conjecture that the same applies to intervals of separable permutations, that is, that such an interval is shellable if and only if it has no disconnected subinterval of rank 3 or more. We also present a simplified version of the recursive formula for the Möbius function of decomposable permutations given by Burstein et al.

Pattern-avoiding Dyck paths

International audience We introduce the notion of $\textit{pattern}$ in the context of lattice paths, and investigate it in the specific case of Dyck paths. Similarly to the case of permutations, the pattern-containment relation defines a poset structure on the set of all Dyck paths, which we call the $\textit{Dyck pattern poset}$. Given a Dyck path $P$, we determine a formula for the number of Dyck paths covered by $P$, as well as for the number of Dyck paths covering $P$. We then address some typical pattern-avoidance issues, enumerating some classes of pattern-avoiding Dyck paths. Finally, we offer a conjecture concerning the asymptotic behavior of the sequence counting Dyck paths avoiding a generic pattern and we pose a series of open problems regarding the structure of the Dyck pattern poset.

Combinatorial specification of permutation classes

International audience This article presents a methodology that automatically derives a combinatorial specification for the permutation class $\mathcal{C} = Av(B)$, given its basis $B$ of excluded patterns and the set of simple permutations in $\mathcal{C}$, when these sets are both finite. This is achieved considering both pattern avoidance and pattern containment constraints in permutations.The obtained specification yields a system of equations satisfied by the generating function of $\mathcal{C}$, this system being always positive and algebraic. It also yields a uniform random sampler of permutations in $\mathcal{C}$. The method presented is fully algorithmic. Cet article présente une méthodologie qui calcule automatiquement une spécification combinatoire pour la classe de permutations $\mathcal{C} = Av(B)$, étant donnés une base $B$ de motifs interdits et l’ensemble des permutations simples de $\mathcal{C}$, lorsque ces deux ensembles sont finis. Ce résultat est obtenu en considérant à la fois des contraintes de motifs interdits et de motifs obligatoires dans les permutations. La spécification obtenue donne un système d’équations satisfait par la série génératrice de la classe $\mathcal{C}$, système qui est toujours positif et algébrique. Elle fournit aussi un générateur aléatoire uniforme de permutations dans $\mathcal{C}$. La méthode présentée est complètement algorithmique.