Nonnegative Hall polynomials (Q686971)

The authors show that the Hall polynomial \(g^ \lambda_{\mu \nu}(p)\), which countes the number of subgroups of type \(\mu\) and cotype \(\nu\) of a finite abelian \(p\)-group of type \(\lambda\), has all nonnegative coefficients if and only if no two parts of \(\lambda\) differ by more than one. The main tool is a class of certain order-preserving surjections from the lattice \(L_ \lambda(p)\) of subgroups of a finite abelian \(p\)- group of type \(\lambda\) onto the chain product \([0,\lambda]\), associating to each subgroup a vector dominated componentwise by \(\lambda\). Furthermore, they provide an order-theoretic characterization of those isomorphism types of finite abelian \(p\)-groups whose Hall polynomials have nonnegative coefficients.