Kronecker products and the RSK correspondence. (Q408189)

Let \(\lambda,\mu,\nu\) be partitions of the positive integer \(m\). The Kronecker coefficient \(\kappa(\lambda,\mu,\nu)\) is equal to the multiplicity of the irreducible \(S_m\)-character \(\chi^\nu\) in the Kronecker tensor product \(\chi^\lambda\otimes\chi^\mu\). A long-standing open problem is to give a combinatorial or geometric description of Kronecker coefficients. The multiplicities of extremal (minimal or maximal) components of \(\chi^\lambda\otimes\chi^\mu\) with respect to the dominance order \(\succeq\) of partitions can be described combinatorially. In an earlier paper [\textit{E. Vallejo}, J. Algebr. Comb. 11, No. 1, 79-88 (2000; Zbl 0951.05098)] the second author found a connection, in the language of minimal matrices, between the minimal components of \(\chi^\lambda\otimes\chi^\mu\) and discrete tomography. A matrix \(M\) with nonnegative integer entries is minimal if the nonincreasing sequence \(\nu\) of its entries is \(\succeq\)-minimal among all similar sequences for matrices with given row sum vector \(\lambda\) and column sum vector \(\mu\). The number of minimal matrices \(m_\nu(\lambda,\mu)\) satisfies the identity \[ m_\nu(\lambda,\mu)=\sum_{\alpha\succeq\lambda,\beta\succeq\mu}K_{\alpha\lambda}K_{\beta\mu}\kappa(\alpha,\beta,\nu), \] where \(K_{\alpha\lambda}\) is the Kostka number. The main result of the paper under review is a bijective proof of this identity and a combinatorial description of the Kronecker coefficients appearing in its right side. The bijection follows from a generalization of the dual RSK correspondence to 3-dimensional binary matrices, which the authors state and prove. With the same tools they also obtain a generalization of the RSK correspondence to 3-dimensional integer matrices.