Rook sums in the symmetric group algebra

Abstract: Let $\mathcal{A}$ be the group algebra $\mathbf{k}[S_n]$ of the $n$-th symmetric group $S_n$ over a commutative ring $\mathbf{k}$. For any two subsets $A$ and $B$ of $[n]$, we define the elements [ \nabla_{B,A}:=\sum_{\substack{w\in S_n;\w\left( A\right) =B}} w \qquad \text{and} \qquad \widetilde{\nabla}{B,A}:=\sum{\substack{w\in S_n;\w\left( A\right) \subseteq B}}w ] of $\mathcal{A}$. We study these elements, showing in particular that their minimal polynomials factor into linear factors (with integer coefficients). We express the product $\nabla_{D,C}\nabla_{B,A}$ as a $\mathbb{Z}$-linear combination of $\nabla_{U,V}$'s. More generally, for any two set compositions (i.e., ordered set partitions) $\mathbf{A}$ and $\mathbf{B}$ of $\left{ 1,2,\ldots,n\right} $, we define $\nabla_{\mathbf{B},\mathbf{A}}\in\mathcal{A}$ to be the sum of all permutations $w\in S_n$ that send each block of $\mathbf{A}$ to the corresponding block of $\mathbf{B}$. This generalizes $\nabla_{B,A}$. The factorization property of minimal polynomials does not extend to the $\nabla_{\mathbf{B},\mathbf{A}}$, but we describe the ideal spanned by the $\nabla_{\mathbf{B},\mathbf{A}}$ and a further ideal complementary to it. These two ideals have a "mutually annihilative" relationship, are free as $\mathbf{k}$-modules, and appear as annihilators of tensor product $S_n$-representations; they are also closely related to Murphy's cellular bases, Specht modules, pattern-avoiding permutations and even some algebras appearing in quantum information theory.