Dissimilarity maps on trees and the representation theory of \(\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{C})\) (Q456378)

Motivated by phylogenetic algorithms from mathematical biology, \textit{L. J. Billera, S. P. Holmes} and \textit{K. Vogtmann} [Adv. Appl. Math. 27, No. 4, 733--767 (2001); erratum ibid. 29, No. 1, 136 (2002; Zbl 0995.92035)] introduced the space \(K_n\) of phylogenetic trees with \(n\) leaves. A point of \(K_n\) is a tree \(\mathcal T\) with \(n\) leaves, together with a length function \(\ell:E(\mathcal T)\to [0,\infty)\). In [\textit{L.\ Pachter} and \textit{D.\ Speyer}, Appl. Math. Lett. 17, No. 6, 615--621 (2004; Zbl 1055.05033)], the \(m\)-dissimilarity vector \(d^m(\mathcal T)\in [0,\infty)^{\binom nm}\) was introduced. When \(\sigma \) is an \(m\)-element subset of the leaves of \(\mathcal T\), the \(\sigma\)-th coordinate of \(d^m(\mathcal T)\) is the sum of lengths of edges in the convex hull of \(\sigma\). It was conjectured by Speyer, Pachter and Cools, and proved by \textit{B.\ Iriarte Giraldo} [Electron. J. Comb. 17, No. 1, Research Paper N6, 7 p. (2010; Zbl 1184.05023)] and, independently, by \textit{C.\ Manon} [J. Algebr. Comb. 33, No. 2, 199--213 (2011; Zbl 1223.14071)] that \(d^m(\mathcal T)\) lies on the tropical Grassamnnian \(\mathrm{tr}(I_{m,n})\), i.e., \(d^m(\mathcal T)\) satisfies all tropicalizations \(tr (f)\), where \(f\) is a polynomial in the Plücker ideal \(I_{m,n}\). In the paper under review, the author gives a different version of this result, using the representation theory of \(\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb C)\) rather than that of \(\mathrm{SL}_m(\mathbb C)\). He constructs a natural map from \(K_{n+1}\) to the tropical varieties of the projective coordinate ring of any line bundle over any flag variety of \(\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb C)\), or indeed of any algebra with a standard tableau generating set. The construction is formulated in the language of branching algebras, branching diagrams and branching valuations.