Young Tableaux, Symmetric Polynomials, and Representations
Iordan Ganev
Two common themes in mathematics are (1) the decomposition of objects into simple constituents and (2) the identification and analysis of the symmetries of an object. Young tableaux and symmetric polynomials provide powerful combinatorial tools to address questions of symmetry and decomposition in several mathematical fields, most notably representation theory and geometry. The aim of the talk is to introduce Young tableaux and symmetric polynomials, demonstrate some basic properties and manipulations, and give an idea of their applications to the representation theory of the symmetric group.
