Convex Geometries via Hopf Monoids: Combinatorial Invariants, Reciprocity, and Supersolvability

Abstract

We study the Hopf monoid of convex geometries, which contains partial orders as a Hopf submonoid, and investigate the combinatorial invariants arising from canonical characters. Each invariant consists of a pair: a polynomial and a more general quasisymmetric function. We give combinatorial descriptions of the polynomial invariants and prove combinatorial reciprocity theorems for the Edelman-Jamison and Billera-Hsiao-Provan polynomials, which generalize the order and enriched order polynomials, respectively, within a unified framework. For the quasisymmetric invariants, we show that their coefficients enumerate faces of certain simplicial complexes, including subcomplexes of the Coxeter complex and a simplicial sphere structure introduced by Billera, Hsiao, and Provan. We also examine the associated $ab$- and $cd$-indices. We establish an equivalent condition for convex geometries to be supersolvable and use this result to give a geometric interpretation of the $ab$- and $cd$-index coefficients for this class of convex geometries.