UW Combinatorics Seminar

Symmetric and quasi-symmetric functions associated to polymatroids

Harm Derksen

University of Michigan

April 23, 4:00pm
Padelford C-401

refreshments at 3:30pm
Pre-Seminar at 2:30pm in Padelford C-401

ABSTRACT 

Billera, Jia and Reiner defined a quasi-symmetric function invariant for matroids. Although powerful, this invariant does not specialize to the Tutte polynomial. In my talk I will define a quasi-symmetric function for every matroid, or more generally, polymatroid. This invariant will specialize to the Billera-Jia-Reiner quasi-symmetric function, as well as the Tutte polynomial. Like the Billera-Jia-Reiner quasi-symmetric function it has the valuative property for (poly)matroid base decompositions. In fact, I conjecture that my invariant is universal with this property.


Speaker's Contact Info: http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~hderksen/


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Combinatorics Seminar, Mathematics Department, University of Washington, billey@math.washington

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