Coproducts and the cd-index (Q1272891)

Given that classes of posets, even well-behaved ones such as Eulerian posets, usually exhibit complex if not confusing behavior when it comes to the computation of interesting invariants for these classes and the posets they contain, it is always of interest when improved interpretation in a suitable setting leads to an extension of technique whence old results acquire new and often better proofs while other new results and insights are obtained as well. This paper falls within the class of papers where all this is accomplished for the \textbf{cd}-index and the \textbf{ab}-index, which is identified as a Newtonian coalgebra map from the linear span of isomorphism classes of posets \(P\) to the algebra of polynomials in noncommuting variables \textbf{a} and \textbf{b} over the same field. In particular, using this approach and the connection between convex polytopes, their face lattices and posets, the authors are able to derive explicit formulas showing how the \textbf{cd}-index changes under pyramid and prism taking, which in specific cases permits the construction of recursion formulas for Boolean algebras and cubical lattices. Besides containing a rich mix of material useful to the poset theorist and algebraic combinatorialist, it is incidentally also of practical interest of those algebraists studying coalgebras in the abstract and in need of very nice examples of meaningful results worked out in rather extensive detail as is done in this substantial paper.