Homotopy of non-modular partitions and the Whitehouse module (Q1301860)

The motivation for the paper under review comes from a general problem: Let \(\Pi\) be a poset and let a group \(G\leq\text{ Aut}(\Pi)\) act on \(\Pi\). Let \(\text{ Alt}(\Pi)\) be the (virtual) Lefschetz module (i.e. the alternating sum of the reduced homology modules of the order complex \(\Delta(\Pi)\)). Evidently, \(\text{ Alt}(\Pi)\) is the \(G\)-module. Now let \(P\) be a subposet of \(\Pi\) such that the same group \(G\) acts also on \(P\). What are relations between the \(G\)-modules \(\text{Alt}(\Pi)\) and \(\text{Alt}(P)\)? The paper under review treats \(\Pi\) as the partition lattice \(\Pi_n\) with the natural action of \(G=S_n\). To convey the flavour of the results, we mention one of them: Let \(P:=P^{n-1}_n\subset\Pi_n\) be obtained by removing all elements with a unique nontrivial block. Then the order complex of \(P^{n-1}_n\) is homotopy equivalent to the order complex of \(\Pi_{n-1}\). Moreover, the \(S_n\)-module structure of the homology of \(P^{n-1}_n\) coincides with a recently discovered lifting of the \(S_{n-1}\) action on the homology of \(\Pi_{n-1}\). This is the Whitehouse representation on Robinson's space of fully-grown trees, see \textit{A. Robinson} and \textit{S. Whitehouse} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 111, No. 1-3, 245-253 (1996; Zbl 0865.55010)]. A short proof of the well-known result that rank-selection in a poset preserves the Cohen-Macaulay property is also presented.