Asymptotics of degrees of some \(S_n\)-sub regular representations (Q1961337)

Let \(d_{\lambda/\mu}\) be the number of standard tableaux of skew shape \(\lambda/\mu\), \(\lambda\vdash n\), \(\mu\vdash k\), \(\mu\subseteq\lambda\). Easy arguments give that \(d_{\lambda}=\sum_{j\geq 0}d_{\lambda/(2,1^j)}\). The purpose of the paper under review is to study the sum \(r_{\lambda}=\sum_{j\geq 1}d_{\lambda/(2,1^{2j-1})}\), \(\lambda_1\geq 2\) and \(r_{(1^n)}=(1+(-1)^n)/2\). These \(r_{\lambda}\)'s arise naturally in enumeration of various objects and have been studied intensively e.g. in \textit{J. Desarmenien} and \textit{M. Wachs} [Descentes sur les derangements et mots circulaires, in Actes 19e Seminaire Lotharingien, 361/S19, IRMA, Strasburg, 13-21 (1988)] and \textit{I. M. Gessel} and \textit{C. Reutenauer} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 64, No. 2, 189-215 (1993; Zbl 0793.05004)]. In spite of the close similarity in the definition of \(d_{\lambda}\) and \(r_{\lambda}\), and the effective formulas like the Young-Frobenius and the hook formula for \(d_{\lambda}\), no such formulas are known for \(r_{\lambda}\). The first of the main results in the paper under review is the determination of the exact behaviour of the \(r_{\lambda}\)'s. If \(\alpha_1\geq\alpha_2\geq\ldots\geq 0\), \(\beta_1\geq\beta_2\geq\ldots\geq 0\) are real sequences such that \(\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}(\alpha_k+\beta_k)=1-\gamma\) for some \(\gamma\geq 0\), and \(\lambda(n)\vdash n\) is a sequence of partitions, then \(\lim_{n\to\infty}\lambda_k(n)/n=\alpha_k\) and \(\lim_{n\to\infty}(\lambda(n))'_k/n=\beta_k\) for all \(k=1,2,\ldots\) implies that \[ \lim_{n\to\infty}{r_{\lambda}(n)\over d_{\lambda}(n)}= e^{-\gamma}\prod_{k=1}^{\infty}{1-\alpha_k\over 1+\beta_k}. \] The author gives also an analogue of the branching theorem for the \(r_{\lambda}\)'s: If \(\Lambda\) is a partition of \(n+1\), then \(r_{\Lambda}\) is equal to the sum of all \(r_{\lambda}\) with \(\lambda\vdash n\) and \(\lambda\subset\Lambda\). Then he describes different combinatorial and ring theoretical objects related with the \(r_{\lambda}\)'s. First, it turns out that \(r_{\lambda}\) is equal to the number of standard \(\lambda\)-tableaux \(T\) with \(T_{12}\) odd. Surprizingly, the asymptotic estimate gives that the probability for a standard tableau \(T\) to have \(T_{12}\) an odd number in the ``generic'' case is nearly \(1/e\) (and not \(1/2\)). Two important applications are related with free associative and Lie algebras and with the Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt theorem. It is known that the vector space \(\Gamma_n\) of all multilinear polynomials of degree \(n\) in the free associative algebra which are linear combinations of products of higher commutators \([x_{i_1},\dots]\cdots[\ldots,x_{i_n}]\) plays a crucial role in the study of algebras with polynomial identities. Under the natural action of the symmetric group, \(\Gamma_n\) is a left \(S_n\)-module and the author establishes for the \(S_n\)-character of \(\Gamma_n\) that \(\chi_{S_n}(\Gamma_n)=\sum_{\lambda\vdash n}r_{\lambda}\chi_{\lambda}\). He also shows how the \(r_{\lambda}\)'s appear in the superanalogue of \(\Gamma_n\).