The positive orthogonal Grassmannian

Yassine El Maazouz, Yelena Mandelshtam

Published 2024-12-18Version 1

The Pl\"ucker positive region $\mathrm{OGr}_+(k,2k)$ of the orthogonal Grassmannian emerged as the positive geometry behind the ABJM scattering amplitudes. In this paper we initiate the study of the positive orthogonal Grassmannian $\mathrm{OGr}_+(k,n)$ for general values of $k$ and $n$. We determine the boundary structure of the quadric $\mathrm{OGr}_+(1,n)$ in $\mathbb{P}_+^{n-1}$ and show that it is a positive geometry. We show that $\mathrm{OGr}_+(k,2k+1)$ is isomorphic to $\mathrm{OGr}_+(k+1,2k+2)$ and connect its combinatorial structure to matchings on $[2k+2]$. Finally, we show that in the case $n > 2k+1$, the positroid cells of $\mathrm{Gr}_+(k,n)$ do not induce a CW cell decomposition of $\mathrm{OGr}_+(k,n)$.