The Probabilistic Zeta Function of a Finite Lattice

Abstract

We study Brown's definition of the probabilistic zeta function of a finite lattice as a generalization of that of a finite group. We propose a natural alternative or extension that may be better suited for non-atomistic lattices. The probabilistic zeta function admits a general Dirichlet series expression, which unlike for groups, need not be ordinary. We compute the function for several examples of finite lattices, establishing a connection with the Stirling numbers of the second kind in the case of the divisibility lattice. Furthermore, in the context of moving from groups to lattices, we are interested in lattices with probabilistic zeta function given by ordinary Dirichlet series. In this regard, we focus on partition lattices and $d$-divisible partition lattices. Using the prime number theorem, we show that the probabilistic zeta functions of the latter typically fail to be ordinary Dirichlet series.