We introduce a new basis of the algebra of non-commutative symmetric functions whose images under the forgetful map are Schur functions when indexed by a partition. Dually, we build a basis of the quasi-symmetric functions which expand positively in the fundamental quasi-symmetric functions. We then use the basis to construct a non-commutative lift of the Hall-Littlewood symmetric functions with similar properties to their commutative counterparts.

We introduce a $q,t$-enumeration of Dyck paths that are forced to touch the main diagonal at specific points and forbidden to touch elsewhere and conjecture that it describes the action of the Macdonald theory $\nabla$ operator applied to a Hall--Littlewood polynomial. Our conjecture refines several earlier conjectures concerning the space of diagonal harmonics including the ``shuffle conjecture" (Duke J. Math. $\mathbf {126}$ ($2005$), 195-232) for $\nabla e_n[X]$. We bring to light that certain generalized Hall--Littlewood polynomials indexed by compositions are the building blocks for the algebraic combinatorial theory of $q,t$-Catalan sequences, and we prove a number of identities involving these functions.

A homogeneous real polynomial $p$ is {\em hyperbolic} with respect to a given vector $d$ if the univariate polynomial $t \mapsto p(x-td)$ has all real roots for all vectors $x$. Motivated by partial differential equations, G{\aa}rding proved in 1951 that the largest such root is a convex function of $x$, and showed various ways of constructing new hyperbolic polynomials. We present a powerful new such construction, and use it to generalize G{\aa}rding's result to arbitrary symmetric functions of the roots. Many classical and recent inequalities follow easily. We develop various convex-analytic tools for such symmetric functions, of interest in interior-point methods for optimization problems over related cones.