Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra

Volume 30 Volume 30 (2015)

Article 11

2015

Orthogonal $*$-basis of relative symmetry classes

of polynomials
Kijti Rodtes
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, kijtir@nu.ac.th

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Rodtes, Kijti. (2015), "Orthogonal $*$-basis of relative symmetry classes of polynomials", Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra, Volume
30.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13001/1081-3810.2843

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Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra ISSN 1081-3810

A publication of the International Linear Algebra Society
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ORTHOGONAL -BASIS OF SYMMETRY

CLASSES OF POLYNOMIALS
KIJTI RODTES

Abstract. In this note, the existence of orthogonal -basis of the symmetry classes of polynomials is discussed. Analogously to the orthogonal -basis of symmetry classes of tensor, some
criteria for the existence of the basis for finite groups are provided. A condition for the existence of
such basis of symmetry classes of polynomials associated to symmetric groups and some irreducible
characters is also investigated.

Key words. Symmetry classes of polynomials, Orthogonal - basis.

AMS subject classifications. 05E05, 15A69.

1. Introduction. One of the classical areas of algebra, the theory of symmetric

polynomials is well-known because of its role in branches of algebra, such as Galois
Theory, representation theory and algebraic combinatorics. For a review of the theory
of symmetric polynomials, one can see the book of Macdonald, [6]. The relative
symmetric polynomials as a generalization of symmetric polynomials are introduced
by M. Shahryari in [11]. In fact, he used the idea of symmetry classes of tensors to
introduce such notions.
One of the most interesting topics about symmetry classes of tensors is the issues
of finding a necessary condition for the existence of an orthogonal -basis for the
symmetry classes of tensors associated with a finite group and an irreducible character. Many researchers pay a lot of attention to investigate condition stated above.
For example, M.R. Pournaki, [8], gave such a necessary condition for the irreducible
constituents of the permutation character of the finite groups in which he extended
a result of R.R. Holmes, [2]. Also, M. Shahryari provided an excellent condition for
the existence of such basis in [10]. Furthermore, the existence of the special basis for
particular groups have been discussed by many authors, see, for example, [3, 4, 13].
Similar questions concerning about the existence of an orthogonal -basis arise in the
context of relative symmetric polynomials as well, see, for example [9, 14, 15]. The
general criterion is still an open problem, [11].
Received

by the editors on December 17, 2014. Accepted for publication on March 29, 2015.
Handling Editor: Tin-Yau Tam.
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, 65000,
Thailand (kijtir@nu.ac.th). Supported by Naresuan University on the project R2558C030.
160

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Orthogonal -Basis of Symmetry Classes of Polynomials

161

In this article, we provide some criteria for the existence of the special basis of
symmetry classes of polynomials for finite groups and some corresponding permutation characters which are parallel to those of M.R. Pournaki in [8], R.R. Holmes in
[2] and M. Shahryari in [10]. We also investigate some condition for the existence of
such basis of symmetry classes of polynomials associated to symmetric groups and
some irreducible characters, which are similar to the results of Y. Zamani in [12].
2. Notations and background. Let G be a subgroup of the full symmetric
group Sm and be an irreducible character of G. Let Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ] be the complex space of homogenous polynomials of degree d with the independent commuting
variables x1 , . . . , xm . Let +
m,d be the set of all m-tuples of non-negative integers
P
m

= (1 , . . . , m ), such that i=1 i = d. For any +

m,d , let X be the monomial
1 2
+

m
x1 x2 x
m . Then the set {X | m,d } is a basis of Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ]. An inner
product on Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ] is defined by
hX , X i = , .

(2.1)

The group G, as a subgroup of the full symmetric group Sm , acts on Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ]

by (for G),
q (x1 , . . . , xm ) = q(x1 (1) , . . . , x1 (m) ).
It also acts on +
m,d by
= ((1) , . . . , (m) ).
Let be a set of representatives of orbits of +
m,d under the action of G. Now consider
the symmetrizer associated with G and
T (G, ) =

(1) X
().
|G|

(2.2)

It is well known that T (G, )2 = T (G, ) and T (G, ) = T (G, ). The image of
Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ] under the map T (G, ) is called the symmetry class of polynomials of
degree d with respect to G and and it is denoted by Hd (G; ).
For any q Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ],
q = T (G, )(q)
is called a symmetrized polynomial with respect to G and . Note that
Hd (G; ) = hX, ; +
m,d i.

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Kijti Rodtes

We write X , instead of X, unless it is necessary to avoid confusion.

Definition 2.1. An orthogonal -basis (o-basis, for short) of a subspace U of
Hd (G; ) is an orthogonal basis of U of the form {X 1 , , X 2 , , . . . , X t , } for some
i +
m,d .
Since the set {T (G, ) : Irr(G)} is a complete set of orthogonal idempotents,
where Irr(G) is the set of irreducible complex characters of G, we have the following
orthogonal direct sum decomposition (cf. Remark 2.3 in [11])
M
Hd (G; ).
(2.3)
Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ] =
Irr(G)

Note that X , is a generator of Hd (G; ) if X , 6= 0, which can be checked from

(, 1)G , where (, )K is the inner product of characters and of an arbitrary
P
1
1
). Namely, (see, [9, 11]),
group K, i.e. (, )K = |K|
K ()(
X , 6= 0 if and only if (, 1)G 6= 0.

Also, for the induced inner product on Hd (G; ), we have (see, [9, 11]).
(
0,
if
/ Orb() ;
1 ,
2 ,
hX
,X
i=
(1) P
1 (),
if

=
,
2 G
|G|

(2.4)

(2.5)

,
where Orb() is the orbit of in +
,
m,d under the action of G. Then the norm of X
with respect to the induced inner product, is given by

k X , k2 = (1)

(, 1)G
.
[G : G ]

(2.6)

According to (2.4), let = { +m,d : (, 1)G 6= 0}. Since

M
Hd [x1 , . . . , xm ] =
hX : Gi,

we have the orthogonal direct sum

Hd (G; ) =

Hd, (),

(2.7)

where = and Hd, () = hX , | Gi. The dimension of Hd, () can be

calculated by using Freeses Theorem (see, e.g. [1], [9])
dim Hd, () = (1)(, 1)G =

(1) X
().
|G |
G

(2.8)

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Orthogonal -Basis of Symmetry Classes of Polynomials

163

As an immediate consequence of (2.7) and (2.8),

dim Hd (G; ) = (1)

(, 1)G .

(2.9)

In particular, if is linear, then the set {X , : } is an orthogonal basis of

Hd (G; ) and dim Hd (G; ) = ||. Thus, the orthogonal -basis for Hd (G; ) exists
for any abelian group G.
3. Main criteria. According to the notations in the previous section, Hd (G; )
denotes the relative symmetry classes of polynomials of degree d with respect to G
and . This class is equipped with the induced inner product as in (2.5). Let be
a set of m elements. Suppose G acts faithfully on . So, we consider {f | G}
as the group G, where f : defined by f () = , for all . Namely,
G can be viewed as a subgroup of Sm in this way. We also denote the permutation
character of G by . It is well known that () = |{ | = }|, for each
G. The similar criterion as in the main theorem of [8] is shown below.
Theorem 3.1. Let G be a finite group and let be a set of m elements, m > 1.
Assume that G acts transitively and faithfully on . Let be an irreducible constituent
of permutation character of G. If (1)(, )G > m
2 , then Hd (G; ) does not have
an orthogonal -basis.
Proof. Suppose Hd (G; ) has an orthogonal -basis. Then, by (2.7), Hd, () has
an o-basis for each . We now consider = (d, 0, 0, . . . , 0) +
m,d and choose
+
to be the set of representatives of orbits of m,d under the action of G in which
. We can assume without loss of generality that = {1, 2, . . . , m} and thus
G = G1 , where G refers to the stabilizer subgroup of (when G acts on +
m,d ) and
G1 refers to the stabilizer subgroup of 1 (when G acts on ). Since G acts transitively
on , (1G )G = (1G1 )G = , by Lemma 5.14 of [5]. Hence, by (2.8) and Frobenius
reciprocity, we have that
X

() = |G |(, 1G )G
= |G |(, (1G )G )G
= |G |(, )G .

Since is an irreducible constituent of permutation character of G, (, )G 6= 0 and

P
,
G () 6= 0. Thus . So, Hd () has an o-basis.

By orbit-stabilizer theorem and transitive action of G on , we have that m =

Sm
|| = Orb(1) = [G : G1 ] = [G : G ]. So, G = i=1 i G , where {1 , 2 , . . . , m } is a

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Kijti Rodtes

system of distinct representatives of left cosets of G in G. Let

(1) X
dim Hd, () =
() = (1)(, )G := t.
|G |
G

We can assume that {X 1 , , X 2 , , . . . , X t , } is an o-basis for Hd, (). Define

the m m complex matrix D = [Dij ] by Dij := hX i , , X j , i. Note that D is
idempotent. In fact,
(D)2ij

=
=

m
X

Dik Dkj

k=1
m
X

hX i , , X k , ihX k , , X j , i

k=1

m
X

k=1

(1)
|G|

(1)
()
|G|
1

k G i

1
j G k

m
(1) X X X
(k i1 )(j k1 )
=
|G|2
2

(1)
|G|2

k=1 G G
m
X
X
X

( )

(i1 )(j ).

k=1 k G G 1
k

Now, let = G . Then = 1 and we have

(D)2ij

m
(1)2 X X
=
|G|2

(i1 )(j 1 )

k=1 k G G

(1) X
=
|G|

(1) X
|G|

!
(1) X
1
1
(i )(j )
|G|
G
!
(1) X
1 1
()(j i ) .
|G|
G

By orthogonal relations of irreducible character, we have

(1) X
(j i1 ),
(D)2ij =
|G|
G

which shows that D = D.

P
We note that m = (1) = (1)(, ), where is the set of all irreducible
constituents of the permutation character . Since m > 1, || > 1 and hence m > t.
We can now write D in the form


D1 D2
,
D3 D4

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Orthogonal -Basis of Symmetry Classes of Polynomials

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where D1 , D2 , D3 and D4 are matrices of sizes t t, t (m t), (m t) t and

(m t) (m t) respectively. On the matrix D1 , we have, by (2.5), that, for
1 i, j t,
(
0,
if i 6= j;
(D1 )ij = hX i , , X j , i =
(1) P
(),
if i = j
G
|G|



t
0, if i 6= j;
=
=
,
It
t
m
ij
m , if i = j
where It is the t t identity matrix. So, D =
we get
D2 D3 =
Since t < m,

t
m

t2
m2

t
t2
2
m m

t
m

It

D3


D2
D4

. Now, using D2 = D,

It .

6= 0 and hence D2 D3 is invertible. This means that if

Hd, () has an o-basis, then

t = rank D2 D3 min{rank D2 , rank D3 } min{t, m t} m t.

Therefore, if (1)(, )G = t >
by (2.7).

m
2,

then Hd (G; ) does not have an orthogonal -basis,

We also obtain a similar results of Holmes in [2].

Corollary 3.2. (cf. [2, 8]) Let G be a 2-transitive subgroup of Sm , m > 2. Let
= 1G , where is the permutation character of G. Then Hd (G; ) does not have
an orthogonal -basis.
Proof. Note that G has a canonical transitive an faithful action on the set =
{1, 2, . . . , m}, given by i := (i) for each G Sm and i . Since G acts
2-transitively on with permutation character , by Corollary 5.17 in [5], = 1G
is an irreducible constituent of . We compute that
(1)(, )G = (1)( 1G , )G = (1)[(, )G (, 1G )G ] = (1)[2 1] = m 1.
Since m > 2, m 1 >
result follows.

m
2

and hence (1)(, )G >

m
2.

Thus, by Theorem 3.1, the

Example 3.1. (cf. [8]) Let G = = A4 be the alternating group of degree 4. We

know that G acts transitively and faithfully on by left multiplication. Then we can
view G as a subgroup of S12 . Note that G has an irreducible character, , of degree 3
and the permutation character of G is regular. Thus is an irreducible constituent
||
of of multiplicity 3. Hence, (1)(, )G = 9 > 12
2 = 2 and then Hd (A4 ; ) does

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not have an orthogonal -basis, by Theorem 3.1. In this example, however, the action
G on is not 2-transitive.
By using the same technique as in the proof of Theorem 3.1, we also obtain an
analogous criterion of Shahryari in [10].
Theorem 3.3. Let G be a permutation group of degree m and be a non-linear
irreducible character of G. If there is +
m,d such that

2
<k X, k< 1,
2

then Hd (G; ) does not have an orthogonal -basis.

Proof. Let +
m,d . Suppose the orbit of under the action of G is Orb() =
{1 , 2 , . . . , r }. Then, by orbit-stabilizer theorem, r = [G : G ] and G =
Sr
i=1 i G is a partition. Now, we construct r r matrix D = [Dij ] by Dij :=
hX i , , X j , i which is idempotent as before. Next, suppose is a non-linear irreducible character of G and and assume also that {X 1 , , X 2 , , . . . , X t , }
is an o-basis for Hd, () in which t < r, where t = dim Hd, (). So, the matrix D
has the block partition form
 t


r It D2
D=
,
D3
D4
where D2 , D3 and D4 are matrices of sizes t (r t), (r t) t and (r t) (r t)
respectively. By the same arguments as in the proof of Theorem 3.1, we reach to the
conclusion that t r t or t 2r . Thus if t < r and t > 2r , then Hd, () does not
have o-basis. Substituting r = [G : G ], t = (1)(, 1)G in the inequality 2r < t < r
and using (2.6) and (2.7), the result follows.
4. Symmetric groups. It is well known that there is a standard one-to-one
correspondence between the complex irreducible characters of the symmetric group
Sm and the partitions of m. Here, a partition of m of length t, denoted by m,
means an unordered collection of t positive integers that sum to m. In this article,
we use the same symbol to denote an irreducible character of Sm and the partition
of m corresponding to it. Typically, we represent the partition by a sequence =
[1 , 2 , . . . , t ] in which 1 2 t > 0. A partition = [1 , 2 , . . . , t ] is
usually represented by a collection of m boxes arranged in t rows such that the number
of boxes of row i is equal to i , for i = 1, 2, . . . , t. This collection is called the Young
diagram associated with and denoted by []. The Young subgroup corresponding
to m is the internal direct product
S = S 1 S 2 S t .

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Orthogonal -Basis of Symmetry Classes of Polynomials

We write 1S = 1 for the principle character of S . Note that 1Sm is a character

of Sm , so there must exist integers K, such that
1Sm =

K, .

The numbers K, = 1Sm , Sm are called Kostka coefficients. By Corollary 4.54 in
[7], the Kostka coefficient K, = 1 for all m.
For each ordered pair (i, j), 1 i t, 1 j i , there is corresponding a box,
Bij , in Young diagram []. Each Bij determines a unique hook in [] consisting of
Bij itself, all the boxes in row i of [] to the right of Bij and all boxes in column j of
[] below Bij . The hook length,
hij := (i i) + (j j) + 1,
where j := |{k {1, 2, . . . , t}|k j}| (a j part of conjugate partition of ), is
the number of boxes in the hook determined by Bij . By the Frame-Robinson-Thrall
Hook Length Formula (see, e.g., Theorem 4.60 in [7]), if is a partition of m, then
the degree of the irreducible character of Sm corresponding to = [1 , 2 , . . . , t ] is
(1) = Qt

i=1

m!
Qi

j=1

hij

(4.1)

As a consequence of Theorem 3.3, we have an analogous result of Y. Zamani in

[12].
Theorem 4.1. Let be an irreducible character of Sm of the cycle type;
I. = [m l, l], d 0 mod l, d 6= 0 such m 3l, or
II. = [m l, l 1, 1], d r mod l, 0 < r < l, l > 2, d 6= r such m > 3l +

4
l2 .

Then Hd (Sm ; ) does not have an orthogonal -basis.

Proof. For the form I, we set = (0, 0, . . . , 0, k, k, . . . , k ), where k =
| {z } | {z }
ml

d
l.

Then

+
+
m,d . Under the action of Sm on m,d , we choose a system of representatives
such that . Since d 6= 0, k 6= 0 and

(Sm )
= Sml Sl = S ,
where (Sm ) is the stabilizer subgroup of and S is the Young subgroup corre-

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sponding to m. Hence, by Frobenius Reciprocity Theorem,

X


1
() = , 1(Sm ) (S )
m
|(Sm ) |
(Sm )

= (, 1 )S


= , 1Sm Sm

X
= ,
K,
m

Sm

K, (, )Sm

= K, = 1 6= 0.
This yields and, moreover, by (2.8), that
dim Hd, () =

(1)
|(Sm ) |

() = (1).

(Sm )

Now, we compute the product of the hook lengths of [] which we get

i
2 Y
Y

i=1 j=1

hij = (m l + 1)(m l) (m 2l + 2)(m 2l) (2)(1)l(l 1) (2)(1)

=

(m l + 1)!l!
.
(m 2l + 1)

Hence, by (4.1),
dim Hd, () = (1) =

(m 2l + 1)m!
.
(m l + 1)!l!

Now, using (2.6), we have

k X , k2 =

dim Hd, ()
m 2l + 1
=
.
[Sm : (Sm ) ]
ml+1

Hence, 12 <k X , k2 < 1 if and only if m 3l. Thus, the result for the first form
follows from Theorem 3.3.
For the form II, = [m l, l 1, 1], we set = (0, 0, . . . , 0, k, k, . . . , k , k + r),
| {z } | {z }
ml

l1

+
+
where k = dr
l . Then m,d . Under the action of Sm on m,d , we choose a system
of representatives such that . Since d 6= r 6= 0, k 6= 0 and k + r 6= k and
hence

(Sm )
= Sml Sl1 S1 = S .

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Orthogonal -Basis of Symmetry Classes of Polynomials

By the same arguments as the first form, we conclude that dim Hd, () = (1). For
the products of the hook lengths, we compute that
3 Y
i
Y

i=1 j=1

hij = (m l + 2)(m l) (m 2l + 3)(m 2l + 1) (1)l(l 2)(l 3) (1)

=

(m l + 2)!l!
.
(m l + 1)(m 2l + 2)(l 1)

Then
dim Hd, () = (1) =

(m l + 1)(m 2l + 2)(l 1)m!

.
(m l + 2)!l!

Now, using (2.6) again, we have

k X , k2 =

dim Hd, ()
(m 2l + 2)(l 1)
=
.
[Sm : (Sm ) ]
(m l + 2)(l)

It is now easy to show that 21 <k X , k2 < 1 if and only if m > 3l +

l > 2. The result for the second form follows from Theorem 3.3.

4
l2 ,

because

Acknowledgment. The author is grateful to the anonymous referees and Professor Tin-Yau Tam for their recommendations, and would like to thank Naresuan
University for financial support on the project R2558C030.
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