The HHMP Decomposition of the Permutohedron and Degenerations of Torus Orbits in Flag Varieties

Abstract Let $Z\subset \operatorname{Fl}(n)$ be the closure of a generic torus orbit in the full flag variety. Anderson–Tymoczko express the cohomology class of $Z$ as a sum of classes of Richardson varieties. Harada–Horiguchi–Masuda–Park give a decomposition of the permutohedron, the moment map image of $Z$, into subpolytopes corresponding to the summands of the Anderson–Tymoczko formula. We construct an explicit toric degeneration inside $\operatorname{Fl}(n)$ of $Z$ into Richardson varieties, whose moment map images coincide with the HHMP decomposition, thereby obtaining a new proof of the Anderson–Tymoczko formula.