Lorenzo Vecchi (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract: Three decades ago, Stanley and Brenti initiated the study of the Kazhdan–Lusztig–Stanley (KLS) functions, putting on common ground several polynomials appearing in algebraic combinatorics, discrete geometry, and representation theory. In this talk we present a theory that parallels the KLS theory. To each kernel in a given poset, we associate a function in the incidence algebra that we call the Chow function. The Chow function often exhibits remarkable properties, and sometimes encodes the graded dimensions of a cohomology or Chow ring. The framework of Chow functions provides natural polynomial analogs of graded module decompositions that appear in algebraic geometry, but that work for arbitrary posets, even when no graded module decomposition is known to exist. In this general framework, we prove a number of unimodality and positivity results without relying on versions of the Hard Lefschetz theorem. Our framework shows that there is an unexpected relation between positivity and real-rootedness conjectures about chains on face lattices of polytopes by Brenti and Welker, Hilbert–Poincaré series of matroid Chow rings by Huh, and enumerations on Bruhat intervals of Coxeter groups by Billera and Brenti. This is joint work with Luis Ferroni and Jacob Matherne https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.04070.