Transitive powers of Young-Jucys-Murphy elements are central

dc.creatorGoulden, I. P.
dc.creatorJackson, D. M.
dc.date2007-04-09
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T07:55:44Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T07:55:44Z
dc.descriptionAlthough powers of the Young-Jucys-Murphya elements X_i = (1 i) + ... +(i-1 i), i = 1, ..., n, in the symmetric group S_n acting on {1, ...,n} do not lie in the centre of the group algebra of S_n, we show that transitive powers, namely the sum of the contributions from elements that act transitively on {1, >...,n}, are central. We determine the coefficients, which we call star factorization numbers, that occur in the resolution of transitive powers with respect to the class basis of the centre of S_n, and show that they have a polynomiality property. These centrality and polynomiality properties have seemingly unrelated consequences. First, they answer a question raised by Pak about reduced decompositions; second, they explain and extend the beautiful symmetry result discovered by Irving and Rattan; and thirdly, we relate the polynomiality to an existing polynomiality result for a class of double Hurwitz numbers associated with branched covers of the sphere, which therefore suggests that there may be an ELSV-type formula associated with the star factorization numbers.
dc.description9 pages
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0704.1100
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0704.1100
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/127073
dc.subjectCombinatorics
dc.subjectAlgebraic Geometry
dc.subject05E99, 14H10
dc.titleTransitive powers of Young-Jucys-Murphy elements are central
dc.typetext

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