Markov chains on Weyl groups from the geometry of the flag variety

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Diaconis, Persi, Morton-Ferguson, Calder
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Diaconis, Persi
Morton-Ferguson, Calder
author_facet Diaconis, Persi
Morton-Ferguson, Calder
contents This paper studies a basic Markov chain, the Burnside process, on the space of flags $G/B$ with $G = GL_n(\mathbb{F}_q)$ and $B$ its upper triangular matrices. This gives rise to a shuffling: a Markov chain on the symmetric group realized via the Bruhat decomposition. Actually running and describing this Markov chain requires understanding Springer fibers and the Steinberg variety. The main results give a practical algorithm for all n and q and determine the limiting behavior of the chain when q is large. In describing this behavior, we find interesting connections to the combinatorics of the Robinson-Schensted correspondence and to the geometry of orbital varieties. The construction and description is then carried over to finite Chevalley groups of arbitrary type, describing a new class of Markov chains on Weyl groups.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_02285
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Markov chains on Weyl groups from the geometry of the flag variety
Diaconis, Persi
Morton-Ferguson, Calder
Probability
Combinatorics
Representation Theory
60J10, 14M15 (Primary) 05E10, 05A17, 20G40 (Secondary)
This paper studies a basic Markov chain, the Burnside process, on the space of flags $G/B$ with $G = GL_n(\mathbb{F}_q)$ and $B$ its upper triangular matrices. This gives rise to a shuffling: a Markov chain on the symmetric group realized via the Bruhat decomposition. Actually running and describing this Markov chain requires understanding Springer fibers and the Steinberg variety. The main results give a practical algorithm for all n and q and determine the limiting behavior of the chain when q is large. In describing this behavior, we find interesting connections to the combinatorics of the Robinson-Schensted correspondence and to the geometry of orbital varieties. The construction and description is then carried over to finite Chevalley groups of arbitrary type, describing a new class of Markov chains on Weyl groups.
title Markov chains on Weyl groups from the geometry of the flag variety
topic Probability
Combinatorics
Representation Theory
60J10, 14M15 (Primary) 05E10, 05A17, 20G40 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.02285