Transitive factorizations in the symmetric group, and combinatorial aspects of singularity theory

DOI10.1006/EUJC.2000.0409MaRDI QIDQ1590215zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors I. P. Goulden, David M. Jackson

Publication date 24 July 2001

Published in European Journal of Combinatorics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9903094

zbMATH Keywords

combinatorial aspects of singularity theorycombinatorics of symmetric groupstransitive factorizations of permutations

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Permutations, words, matrices (05A05) Exact enumeration problems, generating functions (05A15) Symmetric functions and generalizations (05E05) Combinatorial aspects of partitions of integers (05A17) Holomorphic maps on manifolds (58C10)

Abstract: We consider the determination of the number $c_k(alpha)$ of ordered factorisations of an arbitrary permutation on n symbols, with cycle distribution $alpha$, into k-cycles such that the factorisations have minimal length and such that the group generated by the factors acts transitively on the n symbols. The case k=2 corresponds to the celebrated result of Hurwitz on the number of topologically distinct holomorphic functions on the 2-sphere that preserve a given number of elementary branch point singularities. In this case the monodromy group is the alternating group, and this is another case that, in principle, is of considerable interest. We conjecture an explicit form, for arbitrary k, for the generating series for $c_k(alpha)$, and prove that it holds for factorisations of permutations with one, two and three cycles ($alpha$ is a partition with at most three parts). The generating series is naturally expressed in terms of the symmetric functions dual to those introduced by Macdonald for the ``top connection coefficients in the class algebra of the symmetric group. Our approach is to determine a differential equation for the generating series from a combinatorial analysis of the creation and annihilation of cycles in products under the minimality condition.

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Cited in

(7)

• Contents of partitions and the combinatorics of permutation factorizations in genus 0
• Inequivalent factorizations of permutations
• Degree of the \(W\)-operator and noncrossing partitions
• Katriel's operators for products of conjugacy classes of \(\mathfrak S_n\)
• A poset structure on the alternating group generated by 3-cycles
• A formula about W-operator and its application to Hurwitz number
• Transitive Factorizations in the Hyperoctahedral Group

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