Partition Rank and Partition Lattices

TL;DR

This paper extends the partition rank method for tensors using partition indicators and M"{o}bius inversion, unifying various applications and addressing combinatorial problems over finite fields.

Contribution

It introduces a universal approach combining partition indicators with M"{o}bius inversion, generalizing the partition rank method for non-diagonal tensors and unifying prior applications.

Findings

Unified framework for partition rank method via M"{o}bius inversion.

Generalized Erd ext{"o}s-type finite field results.

Extended bounds for avoiding right k-configurations.

Abstract

We introduce a universal approach for applying the partition rank method, an extension of Tao's slice rank polynomial method, to tensors that are not diagonal. This is accomplished by generalizing Naslund's distinctness indicator to what we call a partition indicator. The advantages of partition indicators are two-fold: they diagonalize tensors that are constant when specified sets of variables are equal, and even in more general settings they can often substantially reduce the partition rank as compared to when a distinctness indicator is applied. The key to our discoveries is integrating the partition rank method with M\"{o}bius inversion on the lattice of partitions of a finite set. Through this we unify disparate applications of the partition rank method in the literature. We then use our theory to address a finite field analogue of a question of Erd\H{o}s, thereby generalizing results of Hart and Iosevich and independently Shparlinski. Furthermore we generalize work of Pach, et al. on bounding sizes of sets avoiding right triangles to bounding sizes of sets avoiding right $k$-configurations.