The rank and minimal border strip decompositions of a skew partition (Q1865400)

For a partition \(\lambda=(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,\ldots)\) of \(n\), \(\lambda_1\geq \lambda_2\geq\cdots\geq 0\), \(\sum\lambda_i=n\), the Durfee or Frobenius rank is defined as the length of the main diagonal, i.e. the largest integer \(i\) with \(\lambda_i\geq i\). \textit{M. Nazarov} and \textit{V. Tarasov} [Duke Math. J. 112, 343-378 (2002; Zbl 1027.17013)] defined a generalizion of the rank to skew partitions (or skew diagrams) \(\lambda/\mu\). Identifying the skew partition with its Young diagram, and regarding the points of the diagram as squares, \((i,j)\) is an outside top corner of \(\lambda/\mu\), if \((i,j)\in\lambda/\mu\) and \((i-1,j),(i,j-1)\not\in\lambda/\mu\). An outside diagonal is a diagonal starting from an outside top corner. Similarly, one defines an inside top corner and an inside diagonal. Nazarov and Tarasov defined \(\text{rank}(\lambda/\mu)\) as the difference between the total number of boxes belonging to outside diagonals and to inside diagonals. In the paper under review the author gives several equivalent definitions of the rank of a skew partition. In particular, \(\text{rank}(\lambda/\mu)\) is equal to the least integer \(r\) such that \(\lambda/\mu\) is a disjoint union of \(r\) border strips. (The border strips are also called ribbons or rim hooks.) Another characterization involves the Jacobi-Trudi matrix for the skew Schur function \(s_{\lambda/\mu}=\det(h_{\lambda_i-\mu_j-i+j})_{i,j=1}^n\), where \(h_k\) is the complete homogeneous symmetric function of degree \(k\) and \(\lambda\) has at most \(n\) parts. Then \(\text{rank}(\lambda/\mu)\) is equal to the number of rows of the Jacobi-Trudi matrix which do not contain a 1. Another characterization expresses \(\text{rank}(\lambda/\mu)\) in terms of the Comét code of a shape generalized to skew shapes (two sequences of 0's and 1's encoding the direction (vertical or horizontal) of the edges of the lower and upper envelops of \(\lambda/\mu\)). Replacing \(t\) of the variables in \(s_{\lambda/\mu}\) with 1, and the other with 0, one obtains a polynomial \(s_{\lambda/\mu}(1^t)\) in the variable \(t\). The author states the open problem whether the largest power of \(t\) dividing \(s_{\lambda/\mu}(1^t)\) is equal to \(\text{rank}(\lambda/\mu)\) and establishes this fact in the case of ordinary partitions, when \(\mu=\emptyset\), and in the case when every row of the Jacobi-Trudi matrix which contains a 0, also contains a 1. As a consequence the author shows that the number of minimal border strip decompositions is a perfect square. He applies the results for evaluation of certain values of irreducible characters of the symmetric groups.