Shift operators and factorial symmetric functions (Q1344229)

The theory of factorial Schur functions is developed by using standard symmetric function theory. At first there is given a tableau definition for the skew factorial Schur function \(t_{\lambda/\mu}(z)\). (\(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) are partitions of \(n\) into integers \(\lambda_ 1\geq \lambda_ 2\geq\cdots\geq\lambda_ m\geq 0\) and \(\mu_ 1\geq \mu_ 2\geq\cdots\geq\mu_ m\geq 0\), respectively, satisfying \(\lambda_ i\geq \mu_ i\), \(i\geq 1\); one has to consider the squares \(x\) of the Ferrers diagram of the skew partition \(\lambda- \mu\) and all skew tableaux \(T\) of shape \(\lambda- \mu\) and to replace \(z_{T(x)}\) in the definition of the classical skew Schur function \(s_{\lambda/\mu}(z)\) by \(z_{T(x)}- T(x)+ 1- c(x)\), where \(T(x)\) denotes the positive integer in square \(x\) of the Ferrers diagram of the shape of \(T\), and \(c(x)= j- i\) if \(x\) lies in column \(j\) and row \(i\).) Then the factorial Schur function \(t_ \lambda(z)\) is defined by \(t_ \lambda(z):= t_{\lambda/\phi}(z)\). Introducing a shift operator \(S\) by \(S(P(z)):= P(z- 1)\) for \(P\) a polynomial in \(z= (z_ 1,\dots, z_ m)\), the authors succeed in establishing factorial operator versions of the classical complete symmetric functions \(h_ k(z)\) and the classical elementary symmetric functions \(e_ k(z)\), \(k= 0,1,\dots\). The complete symmetric function operators \(w_ k(z, S)\) yield the factorial complete symmetric functions \(w_ k(z)\), and in a natural way the factorial elementary symmetric function operators, called \(u_ k(z, S)\), give rise to new factorial symmetric functions---the factorial elementary symmetric functions \(u_ k(z)\), \(k= 0,1,\dots\). Now, the proofs of the various determinantal identities in the standard theory are extended to the factorial versions (especially, of the Jacobi-Trudi identity and its dual form).