Kazhdan-Lusztig Polynomials of Matroids and Their Roots
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Date
2018-10-31
Authors
Gedeon, Katie
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomial of a matroid M, denoted P_M( t ), was recently defined by Elias, Proudfoot, and Wakefield. These polynomials are analogous to the classical Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials associated with Coxeter groups. For example, in both cases there is a purely combinatorial recursive definition. Furthermore, in the classical setting, if the Coxeter group is a Weyl group then the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomial is a Poincare polynomial for the intersection cohomology of a particular variety; in the matroid setting, if M is a realizable matroid then the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomial is also the intersection cohomology Poincare polynomial of a variety corresponding to M. (Though there are several analogies between the two types of polynomials, the theory is quite different.)
Here we compute the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of several graphical matroids, including thagomizer graphs, the complete bipartite graph K_{2,n}, and (conjecturally) fan graphs. Additionally, we investigate a conjecture by the author, Proudfoot, and Young on the real-rootedness for Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of these matroids as well as a conjecture on the interlacing behavior of these roots. We also show that the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials of uniform matroids of rank n − 1 on n elements are real-rooted.
This dissertation includes both previously published and unpublished co-authored material.
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Keywords
Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials, Matroid theory, real-rootedness