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The axial distance from label $j$ to label $i$ in a standard Young tableau is the difference of their Young-diagram cell contents. This sign convention makes $c_T(r+1)-c_T(r)$ equal to $+1$ for consecutive entries in a row and $-1$ in a column. The reciprocal distance supplies the diagonal coefficient of Young orthogonal form.

Use the tableau representation supplied by Young seminormal form, stated explicitly in Question 5, or its normalized Young orthogonal form. It constructs the complex Specht module $S^{\lambda }$ with one basis vector for each standard Young tableau of shape $\lambda$. Its adjacent-transposition matrices imply the content eigenvalues directly.

Indeed, start with $X_1=0$ and use $X_{i+1}=s_i{X}_i{s}_i+s_i$. On an admissible pair $T,R=s_{i}T$, set $a=c_T(i)$, $b=c_T(i+1)$, $d=b-a$, and $q=\sqrt{1-d^{-2}}$. In the orthogonal basis, $X_i$ is $\mathrm{diag}(a,b)$ andMultiplication givesFor a nonadmissible swap, $s_i=\pm 1$ and the next content differs by the same $\pm 1$, giving the same conclusion. Induction therefore proves $X_i{w}_T=c_T(i)w_T$. Every content vector of a standard Young tableau, reconstructed as a standard Young tableau in part (iv), is consequently a spectral weight. Together with the reverse inclusion,

An admissible adjacent swap has nonzero off-diagonal coefficient in Young orthogonal form, and the local spectral calculation in part (i) keeps it inside one irreducible representation. Thus $\alpha \approx \beta$ implies $\alpha \sim \beta$.

Two standard Young tableaux of one shape are connected by admissible swaps. Regard each as a linear extension of a partially ordered set of cells. Move the first cell of the desired extension to the front of the other extension: every cell it crosses is incomparable with it, since otherwise their order would be forced in both extensions. Repeat after fixing that first cell. Each step swaps consecutive labels in incomparable cells. Such cells lie strictly northeast and southwest of each other, so their contents differ by at least $2$ in absolute value. These are exactly admissible swaps.

This also establishes irreducibility of the constructed tableau representations. A submodule is invariant under the commuting $X_j$ and hence under their joint spectral projections; since their weights are distinct, it is a sum of tableau lines. A nonzero off-diagonal coefficient propagates any included line along every admissible edge, and connectivity then includes all lines. Different shapes give nonisomorphic modules, since their content-vector sets are disjoint and content reconstruction determines the shape. Finally, the Robinson–Schensted correspondence gives ${\sum }_{\lambda ⊢n}{f}_{\lambda }^2=n!$, and the sum of squares of irreducible degrees leaves room for no other irreducible representations.

Thus within each irreducible module the weights are exactly the tableaux of one shape, so $\alpha \sim \beta$ implies $\alpha \approx \beta$. Hence the two equivalence relations coincide.

Assume $n\ge 2$. The standard Young tableaux of shape $(n-1,1)$ are $T_k$, for $2\le k\le n$: the sole second-row entry is $k$, and the first row isThis lists all of them, since $1$ must occupy the first box and the rest of the first row is forced to increase. Their contents areWrite $w_k=w_{T_k}$. The only nontrivial adjacent swaps exchange the lower entry with $k-1$ or $k+1$. Substituting the content differences into Young orthogonal form yields all generator actions:In the first line at $k=2$, the square-root coefficient is zero and the action is $-w_2$, so no vector $w_1$ is needed. The second line is used only when $k<n$, since the generator $s_n$ does not exist.

The corresponding Specht module is the sum-zero standard representation of the symmetric group:A concrete orthonormal realization isPermuting coordinates gives exactly the actions above, linking this orthogonal tableau basis with the Gelfand–Tsetlin basis found in Question 1. Here the printed $s_j$ are the adjacent Coxeter generators, rather than products of all generators.

For $\lambda =(1^n)$, there is exactly one standard Young tableau, the column with entries $1,2,\dots ,n$ from top to bottom. Its content vector of a standard Young tableau isEvery adjacent distance is $-1$, so Young orthogonal form gives $s_r{w}_T=-w_T$ for every $r$. Thereforethe sign representation.

For a standard Young tableau $T$, let $c_T(r)=j-i$ when its entry $r$ lies in cell $(i,j)$. Its content vector of a standard Young tableau is $C(T)=(c_T(1),\dots ,c_T(n))$. We use the following sign convention for axial distance in a Young tableau:This is the axial distance from $j$ to $i$. In particular, write $d=c_T(r+1)-c_T(r)$ for the adjacent transposition $s_r=(rr+1)$.

Here is Young orthogonal form, with one orthonormal basis vector $w_T$ for each standard Young tableau of a fixed shape:If $s_{r}T$ is not standard, omit that term. In this case $r,r+1$ occupy adjacent cells in one row or column, so $d=1$ or $d=-1$, respectively, and the scalar action is $+1$ or $-1$. On a standard pair $T,R=s_{r}T$, $|d|\ge 2$ and the matrix isThis is a real orthogonal involution.

To prove the formula, explicitly use the permitted Young seminormal form theorem: the Specht module has a tableau basis $v_T$ whose vectors are joint eigenvectors of the Young–Jucys–Murphy elements, and whose actions, on an admissible pair oriented so that tableau length increases from $T$ to $R$, areNonadmissible swaps have the scalar actions just described. The theorem supplies these as one globally consistent representation, not as independently chosen two-dimensional blocks.

Average a positive definite Hermitian inner product over $S_n$. Distinct tableau lines are orthogonal because their commuting self-adjoint Young–Jucys–Murphy elements have distinct joint weights. Also $s_r$ is self-adjoint, so the two seminormal equations implyUpon setting $w_T=v_T/\Vert v_T\Vert$, the coefficient from $w_T$ to $w_R$ becomes $\Vert v_R\Vert /\Vert v_T\Vert =\sqrt{1-d^{-2}}$; the reverse coefficient is the same. All phases are consistent because the seminormal basis was global, and the group relations remain true under this change of basis. This proves Young orthogonal form.

For $\lambda =(n)$, there is exactly one standard Young tableau, the row $1,2,\dots ,n$. Its content vector of a standard Young tableau isEvery adjacent distance is $1$, so $s_r{w}_T=w_T$ for every $r$. Thus $\boxed{S^{(n)}\cong {\mathbb{C}}_{\mathrm{triv}}}$ is the trivial representation.

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 $T_i$.

Put $m=n-k$ and take the subgroup $S_m\times S_k$ permuting the first $m$ and last $k$ letters. Define the skew representation of a symmetric group as the multiplicity spaceThe last-letter copy of $S_k$ commutes with $S_m$, so it acts on a map $f$ by $g\cdot f={\rho }_{\lambda }(g)\circ f$. This gives a genuine $\mathbb{C}{S}_k$-module, without claiming that the whole restricted module is itself the skew representation. Equivalently,

Fix a prefix tableau of shape $\mu$ and complete it to shape $\lambda$. Iterated restriction branching rule for a symmetric group identifies the multiplicity-space orthonormal basis with standard skew Young tableaux, using labels $1,\dots ,k$ for the last $k$ cells. The Young orthogonal form restricts to this basis. When $R=s_{i}T$ is standard and $d=c_T(i+1)-c_T(i)$,An admissible interchange has $|d|\ge 2$, so its off-diagonal coefficient is nonzero. Consequently $w_R$ belongs to the group algebra span of $w_T$. The preceding reduced-path argument reaches every standard skew tableau, so this span is the whole module. Every $w_T$ is a cyclic vector for a group representation. The inherited invariant inner product makes this a unitary representation.

With the usual meaning of totally disconnected skew Young diagram, the assertion in the PDF is false. For example, $\lambda =(3)$ and $\mu =(1)$ give two adjacent cells in one row, so the skew shape is connected, but its sole standard skew Young tableau affords the trivial representation of $S_2$. The multiplicity is one, not zero. The correct criterion is a horizontal strip:If the course uses “totally disconnected” specifically for no repeated column, its terminology must be read as this criterion; it cannot mean disconnected into individual cells.

For necessity, a non-horizontal strip has two vertically adjacent cells. They form a cover in the cell partial order, and some linear extension of a partially ordered set places them consecutively. To justify that assertion, put all predecessors of the lower cell other than the upper cell first, then the upper and lower cells, and complete the order; the cover property prevents any missing intermediate predecessor. The corresponding standard skew Young tableau has consecutive entries in one column. The relevant adjacent transposition acts on its vector by $-1$ in the Young orthogonal form. That vector is cyclic, so the cyclic eigenvector obstruction to invariant vectors excludes invariants.

For sufficiency one can construct an invariant vector explicitly. In a horizontal strip, the occupied column intervals of different rows are disjoint, with every upper interval to the right of every lower interval. Thus an upper-row cell $x$ has content $c(x)$ at least two greater than a lower-row cell $y$ with which it is incomparable. Choose row-reading order as a reference, and for each standard skew Young tableau setOnly pairs in different rows occur in this product; its factors are positive. Put $u={\sum }_T{b}_T{w}_T$. For an admissible swap $R=s_{i}T$ with $d=c_T(i+1)-c_T(i)$, changing the one inversion in the product givesThe two-dimensional Young orthogonal form then fixes $b_T{w}_T+b_R{w}_R$. A nonadmissible swap is within one row and acts by $+1$. Every generator therefore fixes $u\ne 0$, proving existence.

Finally an invariant projection of a cyclic vector generates the invariant subspace, because projection identifies all its translates. That subspace has dimension at most one. This proves the exact multiplicity, including the totally disconnected special case, without asserting the incorrect converse in the PDF.

The conjugate partition is ${\lambda }_j^{\prime }=\#\{i:{\lambda }_i\ge j\}$, obtained by transposing the Young diagram. Transposition sends a standard Young tableau $T$ to a standard tableau $T^{\prime }$ and negates every Content of a Young-diagram cell.

Use the Young orthogonal form. For an admissible pair $R=s_{i}T$ and axial distance $d=c_T(i+1)-c_T(i)$, the action on $(w_T,w_R)$ isIn the transposed pair it is $A_{-d}$, whereas in the tensor product of group representations with the sign representation it is $-A_d$. Their diagonal entries agree, and their off-diagonal entries differ by a sign. Fix a reference tableau and let ${ϵ}_T$ be the sign of the unique label permutation from it to $T$. For every admissible swap ${ϵ}_R=-{ϵ}_T$, sointertwines these two actions. In a nonadmissible pair, transposition exchanges row and column and changes the scalar from $+1$ to $-1$ or conversely, also agreeing with the sign twist. Since adjacent transpositions generate $S_n$, this is an isomorphism:The parity choice is globally well defined because the label permutation is unique; no arbitrary edge-by-edge phase choices are required.

For $|\lambda |=n$, $|\mu |=m$, and $k=n-m$, defineThe copy of $S_k$ acting on the last $k$ letters commutes with $S_m$ and acts on this multiplicity space. Iterated restriction branching rule for a symmetric group supplies a basis indexed by standard skew Young tableaux. Every such basis vector is a cyclic vector for a group representation: admissible swaps connect all tableaux, and their off-diagonal coefficients in the Young orthogonal form are nonzero.