Stephanie van Willigenberg (Cornell University)

Zigzags and Algebra

Abstract for the Combinatorics and Number Theory and Algebra Seminars
2001 February 20

Given the numbers 1,2,...,n listed in any order, we can form the ``up-blank zigzag'' shape of the list. It can be seen that given a specific zigzag there is often more than one list from which it could have come. Moreover, if we make a formal sum of all the lists that yield the same zigzag it turns out this forms the basis for a ``zigzag algebra'', which comes complete with an easy-to-use multiplication rule. In this talk we will be introduced to zigzags, the algebra they form, a few of their properties, and where else they arise in mathematics.