We prove the conjectures of Graham-Kumar and Griffeth-Ram concerning the alternation of signs in the structure constants for torus-equivariant K-theory of generalized flag varieties G/P. These results are immediate consequences of an equivariant homo
logical Kleiman transversality principle for the Borel mixing spaces of homogeneous spaces, and their subvarieties, under a natural group action with finitely many orbits. The computation of the coefficients in the expansion of the equivariant K-class of a subvariety in terms of Schubert classes is reduced to an Euler characteristic using the homological transversality theorem for non-transitive group actions due to S. Sierra. A vanishing theorem, when the subvariety has rational singularities, shows that the Euler characteristic is a sum of at most one term--the top one--with a well-defined sign. The vanishing is proved by suitably modifying a geometric argument due to M. Brion in ordinary K-theory that brings Kawamata-Viehweg vanishing to bear.
In previous work, we employed a geometric method of Kazarian to prove Pfaffian formulas for a certain class of degeneracy loci in types B, C, and D. Here we refine that approach to obtain formulas for more general loci, including those coming from al
l isotropic Grassmannians. In these cases, the formulas recover the remarkable theta- and eta-polynomials of Buch, Kresch, Tamvakis, and Wilson. The streamlined geometric approch yields simple and direct proofs, which proceed in parallel for all four classical types. In an appendix, we develop some foundational algebra and prove several Pfaffian identities. Another appendix establishes a basic formula for classes in quadric bundles.
We define degeneracy loci for vector bundles with structure group $G_2$, and give formulas for their cohomology (or Chow) classes in terms of the Chern classes of the bundles involved. When the base is a point, such formulas are part of the theory fo
r rational homogeneous spaces developed by Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand and Demazure. This has been extended to the setting of general algebraic geometry by Giambelli-Thom-Porteous, Kempf-Laksov, and Fulton in classical types; the present work carries out the analogous program in type $G_2$. We include explicit descriptions of the $G_2$ flag variety and its Schubert varieties, and several computations, including one that answers a question of W. Graham. In appendices, we collect some facts from representation theory and compute the Chow rings of quadric bundles, clarifying a previous computation of Edidin and Graham.
Regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties are a family of subvarieties of the flag variety that arise in number theory, numerical analysis, representation theory, algebraic geometry, and combinatorics. We give a Giambelli formula expressing the classes
of regular semisimple Hessenberg varieties in terms of Chern classes. In fact, we show that the cohomology class of each regular semisimple Hessenberg variety is the specialization of a certain double Schubert polynomial, giving a natural geometric interpretation to such specializations. We also decompose such classes in terms of the Schubert basis for the cohomology ring of the flag variety. The coefficients obtained are nonnegative, and we give closed combinatorial formulas for the coefficients in many cases. We introduce a closely related family of schemes called regular nilpotent Hessenberg schemes, and use our results to determine when such schemes are reduced.
We give a short, geometric proof of Grahams theorem on positivity in the equivariant cohomology of a flag variety, based on a transversality argument.
