Majorization and Spherical Functions

Majorization is a partial order on real vectors which plays an important role in a variety of subjects, ranging from algebra and combinatorics to probability and statistics. In this paper, we consider a generalized notion of majorization associated to an arbitrary root system $\Phi,$ and show that it admits a natural characterization in terms of the values of spherical functions on any Riemannian symmetric space with restricted root system $\Phi.$