The A-like matrices for a hypercube

Abstract

Let $D$ denote a positive integer and let $Q_D$ denote the graph of the $D$-dimensional hypercube. Let $X$ denote the vertex set of $Q_D$ and let $A \in \MX$ denote the adjacency matrix of $Q_D$. A matrix $B \in \MX$ is called $A$-{\em like} whenever both (i) $BA = AB$; (ii) for all $x,y \in X$ that are not equal or adjacent, the $(x,y)$-entry of $B$ is zero. Let $\Al$ denote the subspace of $\MX$ consisting of the $A$-like elements. We decompose $\Al$ into the direct sum of its symmetric part and antisymmetric part. We give a basis for each part. The dimensions of the symmetric part and antisymmetric part are $D+1$ and ${D \choose 2}$, respectively.