English

Intersecting Families of Permutations

Combinatorics 2017-07-11 v2 Representation Theory

Abstract

A set of permutations ISnI \subset S_n is said to be {\em k-intersecting} if any two permutations in II agree on at least kk points. We show that for any kNk \in \mathbb{N}, if nn is sufficiently large depending on kk, then the largest kk-intersecting subsets of SnS_n are cosets of stabilizers of kk points, proving a conjecture of Deza and Frankl. We also prove a similar result concerning kk-cross-intersecting subsets. Our proofs are based on eigenvalue techniques and the representation theory of the symmetric group.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1011.3342,
  title  = {Intersecting Families of Permutations},
  author = {David Ellis and Ehud Friedgut and Haran Pilpel},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1011.3342},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

'Erratum' section added. Yuval Filmus has recently pointed out that the 'Generalised Birkhoff theorem', Theorem 29, is false for k > 1, and so is Theorem 27 for k > 1. An alternative proof of the equality part of the Deza-Frankl conjecture is referenced, bypassing the need for Theorems 27 and 29

R2 v1 2026-06-21T16:43:48.876Z