Hybrid pipe dreams for the lower-upper scheme

Allen Knutson, Paul Zinn-Justin

Published: 2025/9/2

Abstract

In [KU23] were introduced hybrid pipe dreams interpolating between classic and bumpless pipe dreams, each hybridization giving a different formula for double Schubert polynomials. A bijective proof was given (following [GH23]) of the independence of hybridization, but only for nonequivariant Schubert polynomials. In this paper we further generalize to hybrid generic pipe dreams, replacing the bijective proof of hybridization-independence with a Yang-Baxter-based proof that allows one to maintain equivariance. An additional YB-based proof establishes a divided-difference type recurrence for these generic pipe dream polynomials. These polynomials compute something richer than double Schubert polynomials, namely the equivariant classes of the lower-upper varieties introduced in [Knu05]. We give two proofs of this: the easier being a proof that the recurrence relation holds on those classes, the more difficult being a degeneration of the lower-upper variety to a union of quadratic complete intersections (plus, possibly, some embedded components) whose individual classes match those of the generic pipe dreams. One new feature of the generic situation is a definition of the "flux" through an edge of the matrix; the notion of pipe dream itself can then be derived from the equalities among the fluxes.