Revisiting pattern avoidance and quasisymmetric functions (Q2189561)

This paper is a sequel to [\textit{Z. Hamaker} et al., Algebr. Comb. 3, No. 2, 365--388 (2020; Zbl 1445.05111)]; we thus refer to the review of the latter for the notations we will use. We recall that \(\mathfrak{S}_{n}\) denotes the \(n\)-th symmetric group, and \(\mathfrak{S}_{n}(\Pi)\) denotes the set of all permutations in \(\mathfrak{S}_{n}\) that avoid a certain set \(\Pi\) of permutations; furthermore, \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) denotes the power series \(\sum_{\sigma\in\mathfrak{S}_{n}(\Pi)}F_{n,\operatorname{Des}\sigma}\), where \(F_{n,I}\) are Gessel's fundamental quasisymmetric functions indexed by subsets \(I\subseteq\left[ n-1\right] \). The authors start by characterizing all permutations \(\pi\) with the property that the power series \(Q_{n}\left( \left\{ \pi\right\} \right) \) is symmetric for all \(n\in\mathbb{N}\). These turn out to be the permutations of the form \(12\cdots k\) and \(k\cdots21\) for \(k\in\mathbb{N}\). Two-element sets \(\Pi\) of the form \(\left\{ 12\cdots k,\ell\cdots21\right\} \) (for \(k,\ell \in\mathbb{N}\)) are also shown to lead to symmetric (and Schur-positive) series \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\). Combined with the results of Hamaker et al. [loc. cit.], this completes the characterization of one- and two-element sets \(\Pi\) of permutations for which \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) is symmetric. The authors then proceed to prove a deeper result (Theorem 3.2). Fix two positive integers \(r\) and \(s\), and consider the hook-shaped partition \(\left( r,1^{s-1}\right) \). Filling the first row of its Young diagram with the entries \(1,2,\ldots,r\) and the remaining boxes in the first column with \(r+1,r+2,\ldots,r+s-1\), we obtain a standard tableau \(P\). If \(\Pi\) is the Knuth equivalence class consisting of all permutations in \(\mathfrak{S}_{r+s-1}\) whose (Robinson-Schensted) insertion tableau is this \(P\), then it is shown in the preceding paper that \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) is symmetric and Schur-positive for all \(n\in\mathbb{N}\). The authors now give an explicit expansion of \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) as a linear combination of Schur functions. Another set \(\Pi\) with this property is obtained from shuffles (Theorem 4.1). It can be defined more directly as follows: Fix two nonnegative integers \(a\) and \(b\) with \(a\geq1\) and \(a+b\geq2\). Let \(\Pi\) be the set of all permutations in \(\mathfrak{S}_{a+b}\) in which the entries \(1,2,\ldots,\widehat{a},\ldots,a+b\) (that is, all entries except for \(a\)) appear in order but \(a\) appears out of place. Then, \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) is symmetric and Schur-positive for all \(n\in\mathbb{N}\). The authors then go on to prove more criteria for pattern-Knuth closed classes and briefly discuss an example of a set \(\Pi\subseteq\mathfrak{S}_{5}\) for which \(Q_{n}(\Pi)\) is symmetric and Schur-positive for all \(n\geq7\), but not symmetric for \(n\leq6\).