Annihilators of permutation modules

Abstract

Permutation modules are fundamental in the representation theory of symmetric groups $\Sym_n$ and their corresponding Iwahori--Hecke algebras $\He = \He(\Sym_n)$. We find an explicit combinatorial basis for the annihilator of a permutation module in the "integral" case -- showing that it is a cell ideal in G.E. Murphy's cell structure of $\He$. The same result holds whenever $\He$ is semisimple, but may fail in the non-semisimple case.