Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / iii / Paper 103 / 3

Use a Gelfand–Tsetlin basis in Young seminormal form.

For a standard Young tableau $T$, put $d=c_T(i+1)-c_T(i)$, using the Content of a Young-diagram cell. Choose the row-reading tableau $T_0$, and let $\ell (T)$ be the Coxeter length of the unique permutation sending $T_0$ to $T$. A Gelfand–Tsetlin basis can be chosen so that, when $R=s_{i}T$ is standard and $\ell (R)=\ell (T)+1$,If $R$ is not standard, the action is $+v_T$ for two consecutive entries in one row, and $-v_T$ for two in one column. This is one usual normalization of the Young seminormal form.

Here is a construction and proof of the normalization. Fix $v_{T_0}\ne 0$, let $P_T$ be the projection onto the tableau line, and defineThe permutation ${\pi }_T$ has a reduced expression consisting entirely of admissible swaps, by the reduced adjacent-swap path between linear extensions. At each swap the off-diagonal coefficient is nonzero. In its expansion, the only term that can reach a tableau at distance $\ell (T)$ uses all $\ell (T)$ swaps; omitting a swap gives a shorter path. Thus $v_T\ne 0$. This also makes its definition independent of a chosen reduced expression, because ${\pi }_T$ itself is fixed.

The relation $s_i{X}_i{s}_i+s_i=X_{i+1}$ forces the coefficient of $v_T$ in $s_i{v}_T$ to be $1/d$, and forces every other component to lie on the swapped line. If length increases, project the identity ${\pi }_R=s_i{\pi }_T$ onto the line for $R$. The shorter terms of ${\pi }_T{v}_{T_0}$ cannot reach $R$ in one step, so the coefficient of $v_R$ is exactly one. Applying $s_i^2=1$ then gives the reverse coefficient $1-d^{-2}$ and diagonal coefficient $-1/d$. In the nonstandard cases the same relation gives $d=\pm 1$ and the asserted scalar action. This proves the theorem rather than merely specifying pairwise scalings.

Assume $n\ge 2$. The place-permutation action on ${\mathbb{C}}^n$ preserves the coefficient-sum kernelIt is the augmentation subrepresentation of a permutation representation. The point action of $S_n$ is two-transitive, so the irreducible augmentation criterion for a transitive group action makes $W$ irreducible. The two-row Young permutation module decomposition of $M^{(n-1,1)}\cong {\mathbb{C}}^n$ identifies its nontrivial summand as $V^{(n-1,1)}$. Hence $W\cong V^{(n-1,1)}$.

All standard Young tableaux of shape $(n-1,1)$ are $T_j$, $2\le j\le n$, with $j$ below the first cell and the remaining entries increasing along the first row. Their content vectors of standard Young tableaux areAn explicit orthonormal basis realizing these tableau lines isThe sums of their coordinates vanish. Their norms are one, and the inner product of $w_j$ with $w_l$, $j<l$, is zero because the coefficients of $w_j$ sum to zero. Directly summing the action of $(ar)$ gives $X_r{w}_j=c_{T_j}(r)w_j$.

For $s_i=(ii+1)$, $s_1{w}_2=-w_2$. For $2\le i\le n-1$, its only nontrivial two-dimensional block isEvery other $w_j$ is fixed, including all $w_j$ with $j>2$ when $i=1$. These formulas follow by swapping coordinates $i,i+1$ in the displayed vectors, and are the Young orthogonal form with axial distance $i$ for $T_i$.

For the cycle-sum identity for Young–Jucys–Murphy elements, let $C_m$ be the sum of all $m$-cycles on $\{1,\dots ,m\}$. Multiplying such a cycle by $(jm+1)$ inserts $m+1$ immediately after $j$ in that cycle, with our composition convention. Every $(m+1)$-cycle has a unique predecessor $j$ of $m+1$, so deleting $m+1$ recovers a unique term of $C_m{X}_{m+1}$. Since $X_2=(12)$, induction givesFor $n=1$ the empty product is the identity, also the unique one-cycle.

For the product assertion in a non-hook shape, ${\lambda }_2\ge 2$, so cell $(2,2)$ is present. Its Content of a Young-diagram cell is zero and its label is at least four. Since $X_r{w}_T=c_T(r)w_T$, that factor in the product vanishes. Therefore

A hook partition $\lambda =(n-k,1^k)$ has cell contentsIn a standard Young tableau, the unique zero-content cell is $(1,1)$ and contains $1$. The other eigenvalues are precisely the remaining contents, in whatever order the tableau supplies. Their product is independent of that order:The scalar is nonzero over the complex numbers. For the single row or single column, one of the factorials is $0!=1$; the formula still gives $(n-1)!$ or $(-1{)}^{n-1}(n-1)!$, respectively.

The Gelfand–Tsetlin basis spans $V^{\lambda }$, and the scalar computed on its vectors depends only on the shape. Thusfor every $w\in V^{\lambda }$. The product is the sum of the $(n-1)!$ permutations in the conjugacy class of an $n$-cycle. Taking traces therefore gives $(n-1)!{\chi }^{\lambda }((n))$ equal to the displayed scalar times $\dim V^{\lambda }$.

For a hook partition, a standard Young tableau is uniquely determined by the choice of its $k$ entries below the top cell, selected from $\{2,\dots ,n\}$. The column and the remaining row are then forced to increase. Hence $\dim V^{(n-k,1^k)}=\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{n-1}{k}\right)$, and cancellation of the factorials yieldsThis uses the central character value of a conjugacy-class sum and tableau counting, without a character rule for removing rim hooks.