Insertion Algorithms and Littlewood-Richardson Rules

The Robin-Schensted-Knuth insertion algorithm provides a bijection between non-negative integer matrices and pairs of semistandard Young tableau. However, by relaxing the conditions on the correspondence, it allows us to define the Poirer-Reutenauer bialgebra, which exactly describes the algebra of symmetric functions viewed as generated by the Schur polynomials. This gives an interesting combinatorial decomposition of symmetric products of Schur polynomials, called a Littlewood Richardson rule, which we will discuss. We will then power through as many generalisations as I have time for: Hecke insertion and stable Grothendieck polynomials, shifted insertion and Schur P-functions, and shifted Hecke insertion and weak shifted stable Grothendieck polynomials