A Combinatorial Interpretation of the Noncommutative Inverse Kostka Matrix

Abstract

We provide a combinatorial formula for the expansion of immaculate noncommutative symmetric functions into complete homogeneous noncommutative symmetric functions. To do this, we introduce generalizations of Ferrers diagrams which we call GBPR diagrams.  A GBPR diagram assigns a color (grey, blue, purple, or red) to each cell of the diagram.  We define tunnel hooks, which play a role similar to that of the special rim hooks appearing in the Eğecioğlu-Remmel formula for the symmetric inverse Kostka matrix. We extend this interpretation to skew shapes and fully generalize to define immaculate functions indexed by integer sequences skewed by integer sequences.  Finally, as an application of our combinatorial formula, we extend Campbell's results on ribbon decompositions of immaculate functions to a larger class of shapes.