On Schubert varieties of complexity one

Fix a Borel subgroup \(B\subseteq \text{GL}_n({\mathbb C})\), a maximal torus \(T\subseteq B\) and Weyl group \(W=S_n\) (the symmetric group). For the natural actions of \(T\) and \(B\) on the full flag variety \(\text{GL}_n({\mathbb C})/B\), every Schubert variety \(X_w\) is a \(T\)-invariant irreducible subvariety of \(\text{GL}_n({\mathbb C})/B\) and \(X_w\) is of \textit{complexity} \(k\) if a maximal \(T\)-orbit in \(X_w\) has codimension \(k\). For \(k=0\), that is, for toric Schubert varieties, in [\textit{P. Karuppuchamy}, Commun. Algebra 41, No. 4, 1365--1368 (2013; Zbl 1277.14039)] it is proved that \(X(w)\) is a toric variety if and only if a reduced expression for \(w\) has distinct letters and in [\textit{C. K. Fan}, Transform. Groups 3, No. 1, 51--56 (1998; Zbl 0912.20033)] there is a characterization of the elements \(w\in W\) whose reduced expressions avoid certain substrings and a criterion of smoothness of the corresponding Schubert variety. Moreover, in these cases \(X_w\) is isomorphic to a Bott-Samelson variety. \textit{B. E. Tenner} in [Adv. Appl. Math. 49, No. 1, 1--14 (2012; Zbl 1244.05010)] proves that \(w\) has a reduced decomposition with distinct letters if and only if \(w\) avoids the patterns \(321\) and \(3412\). Moreover, in [\textit{B. E. Tenner}, J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 114, No. 5, 888-905 (2007; Zbl 1146.05054)] it is shown that a reduced decomposition of \(w\) consists of distinct letters if and only if the Bruhat interval \([e, w]\) is isomorphic to the Boolean algebra of rank the length of \(w\). A further characterization in terms of the Bruhat interval polytope was obtained by the authors in [\textit{E. Lee} et al., J. Comb. Theory, Ser. A 179, Article ID 105387, 42 p. (2021; Zbl 1467.52017)]. The main results of the paper under review are analog geometrical and combinatorial characterizations of Schubert varieties of complexity one. In this case, the characterizations are given in two theorems, one for the case when \(X_w\) is smooth and the other one when \(X_w\) is singular. In the former case, the authors use [\textit{V. Lakshmibai} and \textit{B. Sandhya}, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Math. Sci. 100, No. 1, 45--52 (1990; Zbl 0714.14033)] characterization of smoothness of Schubert varieties in terms of pattern avoidance, namely: \(X_w\) is smooth if and only if \(w\) avoids the patterns the patterns \(3412\) and \(4321\). From here, the authors prove that \(X_w\) is smooth of complexity one if and only if \(w\) has the pattern \(321\) exactly once and avoids the pattern \(3412\). The corresponding result in the singular case becomes: \(X_w\) is singular of complexity one if and only if \(w\) has the pattern \(3412\) exactly once and avoids the pattern \(321\). Furthermore, using [\textit{D. Daly}, Graphs Comb. 29, No. 2, 173--185 (2013; Zbl 1263.05119)] characterization of certain reduced decompositions, the authors show that \(X_w\) is smooth of complexity one if and only if \(w\) has a reduced decomposition containing \(s_is_{i+1}s_i\) as a factor and no other repetitions, with a similar characterization for the singular case where now \(w\) having a reduced decomposition containing \(s_{i+1}s_is_{i+2}s_{i+1}\) as a factor and no other repetitions. Similarly, but with more involved details, the authors obtain characterizations of Schubert varieties of complexity one, for the smooth or singular case, in terms of generalized Bott-Samelson varieties or in terms of the Bruhat interval and polytope.

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