Minimal Transitive Factorizations of Permutations into Cycles

http://dx.doi.org/10.4153/CJM-2009-052-2
Canad. J. Math. 61(2009), 1092-1117

  Published:2009-10-01
 Printed: Oct 2009

We introduce a new approach to an enumerative problem closely linked with the geometry of branched coverings, that is, we study the number $H_{\alpha}(i_2,i_3,\dots)$ of ways a given permutation (with cycles described by the partition $\a$) can be decomposed into a product of exactly $i_2$ 2-cycles, $i_3$ 3-cycles, \emph{etc.}, with certain minimality and transitivity conditions imposed on the factors. The method is to encode such factorizations as planar maps with certain \emph{descent structure} and apply a new combinatorial decomposition to make their enumeration more manageable. We apply our technique to determine $H_{\alpha}(i_2,i_3,\dots)$ when $\a$ has one or two parts, extending earlier work of Goulden and Jackson. We also show how these methods are readily modified to count \emph{inequivalent} factorizations, where equivalence is defined by permitting commutations of adjacent disjoint factors. Our technique permits us to generalize recent work of Goulden, Jackson, and Latour, while allowing for a considerable simplification of their analysis.