Multidimensional permanents of polystochastic matrices

A d-dimensional matrix is called 1-polystochastic if it is non-negative and the sum over each line equals 1. Such a matrix that has a single 1 in each line and zeros elsewhere is called a 1-permutation matrix. A diagonal of a d-dimensional matrix of order n is a choice of n elements, no two in the same hyperplane. The permanent of a d-dimensional matrix is the sum over the diagonals of the product of the elements within the diagonal.

For a given order n and dimension d, the set of 1-polystochastic matrices forms a convex polytope that includes the 1-permutation matrices within its set of vertices. For even n and odd d, we give a construction for a class of 1-permutation matrices with zero permanent. Consequently, we show that the set of 1-polystochastic matrices with zero permanent contains at least nn3/2(1/2-o(1)) 1-permutation matrices and contains a polytope of dimension at least cn for fixed c,d and even n→∞. We also provide counterexamples to a conjecture by Taranenko about the location of local extrema of the permanent.

For odd d, we give a construction of 1-permutation matrices that decompose into a convex linear sum of positive diagonals. These combine with a theorem of Taranenko to provide counterexamples to a conjecture by Dow and Gibson generalising van der Waerden's conjecture to higher dimensions.