Work

A combinatorial formula for the nabla operator

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We find an Lascoux–Leclerc–Thibon (LLT)-type formula for a general power of the nabla operator of [BG99] applied to the Cauchy product for the modified Macdonald polynomials, and use it to deduce a new proof of the generalized shuffle theorem describing $\nabla^k e_n$ [HHL + 05a, CM18, Mel21], and the formula for $(\nabla^k p_1^n,e_n)$ from [EH16, GH22] as corollaries. We give a direct proof of the theorem by verifying that the LLT expansion satisfies the defining properties of $\nabla^k$ , such as triangularity in the dominance order, as well as a geometric proof based on a method for counting bundles on $\mathbb{P}^1$ due to the second author [Mel20]. These formulas are related to an affine paving of the type A unramified affine Springer fiber studied by Goresky, Kottwitz, and MacPherson in [GKM04], and also to Stanley’s chromatic symmetric functions.
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
OpenAlex ID: W4414296244
FWCI:
Cites: 33
Cited by: 1
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