These lecture notes on hyperplane arrangements are based on a lecture series at the Park City Mathematics Institute, July 12-19, 2004. They provide an introduction to hyperplane arrangements, focusing on connections with combinatorics, at the beginning graduate student level. Background material on posets and matroids is included, as well as numerous exercises. After going through these notes a student should be ready to study the deeper algebraic and topological aspects of the theory of hyperplane arrangements. Perhaps someday these notes will be expanded into a textbook on arrangements.
Chapter 1: Basic Definitions, the Intersection Poset and the Characteristic Polynomial (PDF)
1.1. Basic Definitions
1.2. The Intersection Poset
1.3. The Characteristic Polynomial
Chapter 2: Properties of the Intersection Poset and Graphical Arrangements (PDF)
2.1. Properties of the Intersection Poset
2.2. The Number of Regions
2.3. Graphical Arrangements
Chapter 3: Matroids and Geometric Lattices (PDF)
3.1. Matroids
3.2. The Lattice of Flats and Geometric Lattices
Chapter 4: Broken Circuits, Modular Elements, and Supersolvability (PDF)
4.1. Broken Circuits
4.2. Modular Elements
4.3. Supersolvable Lattices
Chapter 5: Finite Fields (PDF)
5.1. The Finite Field Method
5.2. The Shi Arrangement
5.3. Exponential Sequences of Arrangements
5.4. The Catalan Arrangement
5.5. Interval Orders
5.6. Intervals with Generic Lengths
5.7. Other Examples
Chapter 6: Separating Hyperplanes (Preliminary Version) (PDF)
6.1. The Distance Enumerator
6.2. Parking Functions and Tree Inversions
6.3. The Distance Enumerator of the Shi Arrangement
6.4. The Distance Enumerator of a Supersolvable Arrangement
6.5. The Varchenko Matrix
