An Introduction to Combinatorial Species
An Introduction to Combinatorial Species Ira M. Gessel Department of Mathematics Brandeis University Summer School on Algebraic Combinatorics Korea Institute for Advanced Study Seoul, Korea June 14, 2016 The main reference for the theory of combinatorial species is the book Combinatorial Species and Tree-Like Structures by François Bergeron, Gilbert Labelle, and Pierre Leroux. What are combinatorial species? The theory of combinatorial species, introduced by André Joyal in 1980, is a method for counting labeled structures, such as graphs. What are combinatorial species? The theory of combinatorial species, introduced by André Joyal in 1980, is a method for counting labeled structures, such as graphs. The main reference for the theory of combinatorial species is the book Combinatorial Species and Tree-Like Structures by François Bergeron, Gilbert Labelle, and Pierre Leroux. If a structure has label set A and we have a bijection f : A B then we can replace each label a A with its image f (b) in!B. 2 1 c 1 c 7! 2 2 a a 7! 3 b 3 7! b More interestingly, it allows us to count unlabeled versions of labeled structures (unlabeled structures). If we have a bijection A A then we also get a bijection from the set of structures with! label set A to itself, so we have an action of the symmetric group on A acting on these structures. The orbits of these structures are the unlabeled structures. What are species good for? The theory of species allows us to count labeled structures, using exponential generating functions. What are species good for? The theory of species allows us to count labeled structures, using exponential generating functions.
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