We study Hilbert-Samuel multiplicity for points of Schubert varieties in the complete flag variety, by Groebner degenerations of the Kazhdan-Lusztig ideal. In the covexillary case, we give a positive combinatorial rule for multiplicity by establishing (with a Groebner basis) a reduced and equidimensional limit whose Stanley-Reisner simplicial complex is homeomorphic to a shellable ball or sphere. We show that multiplicity counts the number of facets of this complex. We also obtain a formula for the Hilbert series of the local ring. In particular, our work gives a multiplicity rule for Grassmannian Schubert varieties, providing alternative statements and proofs to formulae of [Lakshmibai-Weyman '90], [Rosenthal-Zelevinsky '01], [Krattenthaler '01], [Kreiman-Lakshmibai '04] and [Woo-Yong '09]. We suggest extensions of our methodology to the general case.
Kazhdan-Lusztig ideals, a family of generalized determinantal ideals investigated in [Woo-Yong '08], provide an explicit choice of coordinates and equations encoding a neighbourhood of a torus-fixed point of a Schubert variety on a type A flag variety. Our main result is a Grobner basis for these ideals. This provides a single geometric setting to transparently explain the naturality of pipe dreams on the Rothe diagram of a permutation, and their appearance in: * combinatorial formulas [Fomin-Kirillov '94] for Schubert and Grothendieck polynomials of [Lascoux-Schutzenberger '82]; * the equivariant K-theory specialization formula of [Buch-Rimanyi '04]; and * a positive combinatorial formula for multiplicities of Schubert varieties in good cases, including those for which the associated Kazhdan-Lusztig ideal is homogeneous under the standard grading. Our results generalize (with alternate proofs) [Knutson-Miller '05]'s Grobner basis theorem for Schubert determinantal ideals and their geometric interpretation of the monomial positivity of Schubert polynomials. We also complement recent work of [Knutson '08,'09] on degenerations of Kazhdan-Lusztig varieties in general Lie type, as well as work of [Goldin '01] on equivariant localization and of [Lakshmibai-Weyman '90], [Rosenthal-Zelevinsky '01], and [Krattenthaler '01] on Grassmannian multiplicity formulas.