We define and study a family of partitions of the wonderful compactification \bar{G} of a semi-simple algebraic group G of adjoint type. The partitions are obtained from subgroups of G \times G associated to triples (A_1, A_2, a), where A_1 and A_2 are subgraphs of the Dynkin graph Γof G and a : A_1 \to A_2 is an isomorphism. The partitions of \bar{G} of Springer and Lusztig correspond respectively to the triples (\emptyset, \emptyset, \id) and (Γ, Γ, \id).
In this paper, we introduce a quantum version of the wonderful compactification of a group as a certain noncommutative projective scheme. Our approach stems from the fact that the wonderful compactification encodes the asymptotics of matrix coefficients, and from its realization as a GIT quotient of the Vinberg semigroup. In order to define the wonderful compactification for a quantum group, we adopt a generalized formalism of $\mathsf{Proj}$ categories in the spirit of Artin and Zhang. Key to our construction is a quantum version of the Vinberg semigroup, which we define as a $q$-deformation …
We look at the centralizer in a semisimple algebraic group $G$ of a regular nilpotent element, and show that its closure in the wonderful compactification is isomorphic to the Peterson variety. It follows that the closure in the wonderful compactification of the centralizer $G^x$ of any regular element $x$ is isomorphic to the closure of a general $G^x$-orbit in the flag variety. We also give a description of the $G^e$-orbit structure of the Peterson variety.
These lecture notes explain the construction and basic properties of the wonderful compactification of a complex semisimple group of adjoint type. An appendix discusses the more general case of a semisimple symmetric space.
By a case-free approach we give a precise description of the closure of a Steinberg fiber within a twisted wonderful compactification of a simple linear algebraic group. In the non-twisted case this description was earlier obtained by the first author.
Let X be the wonderful compactification of a semisimple adjoint algebraic group. Extending the standard monomials on the flag variety, Chirivi and Maffei constructed a basis of the space of global sections on X that is compatible with all closures of GxG-orbits in X. We show that this basis is also compatible with all BxB-orbit closures by defining subsets using only combinatorics of the underlying paths. Furthermore, we construct standard monomials on X that have properties similar to classical standard monomials.
Let $G$ be a connected, simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field. There is a partition of the wonderful compactification $\bar{G}$ of $G$ into finite many $G$-stable pieces, which were introduced by Lusztig. In this paper, we will investigate the closure of any $G$-stable piece in $\bar{G}$. We will show that the closure is a disjoint union of some $G$-stable pieces, which was first conjectured by Lusztig. We will also prove the existence of cellular decomposition if the closure contains finitely many $G$-orbits.
We use geometry of the wonderful compactification to obtain a new proof of the relation between Deligne-Lusztig (or Alvis-Curtis) duality for $p$-adic groups and the homological duality. This provides a new way to introduce an involution on the set of irreducible representations of the group which has been defined by A. Zelevinsky for $G=GL(n)$ by A.-M. Aubert in general (less direct geometric approaches to this duality have been developed earlier by Schneider-Stuhler and by the second author). As a byproduct we obtain a description of the Serre functor for representations of a p-adic group.
De Concini-Procesi introduced varieties known as wonderful compactifications, which are smooth projective compactifications of semisimple adjoint groups $G$. We study the Frobenius pushforwards of invertible sheaves on the wonderful compactifications, and in particular its decomposition into locally free subsheaves. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a specific line bundle to be a direct summand of the Frobenius pushforward of another line bundle, formulated in terms of the weight lattice of $\widetilde{G}$, the universal cover of $G$ (identified with the Picard group of the wonde…
De Concini and Procesi have defined the wonderful compactification of a symmetric space X=G/H with G a semisimple adjoint group and H the subgroup of fixed points of G by an involution s. It is a closed subvariety of a grassmannian of the Lie algebra L of G. In this paper, we prove that, when the rank of X is equal to the rank of G, the variety is defined by linear equations. The set of equations expresses the fact that the invariant alternate trilinear form w on L vanishes on the (-1)-eigenspace of s.
Using the wonderful compactification of a semisimple adjoint affine algebraic group G defined over an algebraically closed field k of arbitrary characteristic, we construct a natural compactification Y of the G-character variety of any finitely generated group F. When F is a free group, we show that this compactification is always simply connected with respect to the étale fundamental group, and when k=C it is also topologically simply connected. For other groups F, we describe conditions for the compactification of the moduli space to be simply connected and give examples when these condition…
In this paper, we consider the diagonal action of a connected semisimple group of adjoint type on its wonderful compactification. We show that the semi-stable locus is a union of the $G$-stable pieces and we calculate the geometric quotient.
We study the intermediate extension of the character sheaves on an adjoint group to the semi-stable locus of its wonderful compactification. We show that the intermediate extension can be described by a direct image construction. As a consequence, we show that the ``ordinary'' restriction of a character sheaf on the compactification to a boundary piece inside the semi-stable locus is a shift of semisimple perverse sheaf and is closely related to Lusztig's restriction functor (from a character sheaf on a reductive group to a direct sum of character sheaves on a Levi subgroup). We also provide a…
It is shown that there is an order isomorphism $ϕ'$ from the poset $V$ of $B\times B$-orbits on the wonderful compactification of a semi-simple adjoint group $G$ with Weyl group $W$ to an interval in reverse Chevalley-Bruhat order on a non-canonically associated Coxeter group $\hat{W}$ (in general neither finite nor affine). Moreover, $ϕ'$ preserves the corresponding Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials. Springer's (partly conjectural) construction of Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials for the analogues of $V$ for general Coxeter groups $W$ is completed by reducing it by a similar order isomorphism to known r…
Let $G$ be a connected semi-simple algebraic group of adjoint type over an algebraically closed field, and let $\overline{G}$ be the wonderful compactification of $G$. For a fixed pair $(B, B^-)$ of opposite Borel subgroups of $G$, we look at intersections of Lusztig's $G$-stable pieces and the $B^-\times B$-orbits in $\overline{G}$, as well as intersections of $B \times B$-orbits and $B^- \times B^-$-orbits in $\overline{G}$. We give explicit conditions for such intersections to be non-empty, and in each case, we show that every non-empty intersection is smooth and irreducible, that the closu…
We define a class of transversal slices in spaces which are quasi-Poisson for the action of a complex semisimple group G. This is a multiplicative analogue of Whittaker reduction. One example is the multiplicative universal centralizer of G, which is equipped with the usual symplectic structure in this way. We construct a smooth relative compactification by taking the closure of each centralizer fiber in the wonderful compactification of G. By realizing this partial compactification as a transversal in a larger quasi-Poisson variety, we show that it is smooth and log-symplectic.
The wreath product W(r,n) of the cyclic group of order r and the symmetric group S_n acts on the corresponding projective hyperplane complement, and on its wonderful compactification as defined by De Concini and Procesi. We give a formula for the characters of the representations of W(r,n) on the cohomology groups of this compactification, extending the result of Ginzburg and Kapranov in the r=1 case. As a corollary, we get a formula for the Betti numbers which generalizes the result of Yuzvinsky in the r=2 case. Our method involves applying to the nested-set stratification a generalization of…
Let $X$ be the wonderful compactification of a complex adjoint symmetric space $G/K$ such that $rk(G/K)=rk(G)-rk(K)$. We show how to extend equivariant vector bundles on $G/K$ to equivariant vector bundles on $X$, generated by their global sections and having trivial higher cohomology groups. This relies on a geometric construction of equivariant vector bundles in the setting of varieties with reductive group action and ``multiplicity-free'' subvarieties.
In this paper, we describe the category of bi-equivariant vector bundles on a bi-equivariant smooth (partial) compactification of a reductive algebraic group with normal crossing boundary divisors. Our result is a generalization of the description of the category of equivariant vector bundles on toric varieties established by A.A. Klyachko [Math. USSR. Izvestiya, {\bf 35}, No.2 (1990)]. As an application, we prove splitting of equivariant vector bundles of low rank on the wonderful compactification of an adjoint semisimple group in the sense of C. De Concini and C. Procesi [Lecture Note in Mat…
We present a geometric proof of Bernstein's second adjointness for a reductive $p$-adic group. Our approach is based on geometry of the wonderful compactification and related varieties. Considering asymptotic behavior of a function on the group in a neighborhood of a boundary stratum of the compactification, we get a "co-specialization" map between spaces of functions on various varieties with $G\times G$ action. These maps can be viewed as maps of bimodules for the Hecke algebra, and the corresponding natural transformations of functors lead to the second adjointness. We also get a formula fo…
Moduli spaces of complete collineations are wonderful compactifications of spaces of linear maps of maximal rank between two fixed vector spaces. We investigate the birational geometry of moduli spaces of complete collineations and quadrics from the point of view of Mori theory. We compute their effective, nef and movable cones, the generators of their Cox rings, and their groups of pseudo-automorphisms. Furthermore, we give a complete description of both the Mori chamber and stable base locus decompositions of the effective cone of the space of complete collineations of the 3-dimensional proj…
Let $\overline G$ be the wonderful compactification of a simple affine algebraic group $G$ of adjoint type defined over $\mathbb C.$ Let ${\overline T}\subset \overline G$ be the closure of a maximal torus $T\subset G.$ We prove that the group of all automorphisms of the variety $\overline T$ is the semi-direct product $N_G(T)\rtimes D,$ where $N_G(T)$ is the normalizer of $T$ in $G$ and $D$ is the group of all automorphisms of the Dynkin diagram, if $G\not= {\rm PSL}(2,\mathbb{C})$. Note that if $G = {\rm PSL}(2,\mathbb{C})$, then $\overline{T} = {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^1$ and so in this case …
Let $X$ be a complete symmetric variety i.e. the wonderful compactification of a symmetric $G-$homogeneous space (where $G$ is a simply-connected semi-simple linear algebraic group). If $L$ is a line bundle over $X$ and if $C$ is a Bialynicki-Birula cell of codimension $c$ in $X$, then the Lie algebra $\mathfrak g$ of $G$ operates naturally on the cohomology group with support : $H^c_C(L)$. One gives here a necessary condition on the cell $C$ for that $\mathfrak g-$module have a finite dimensional simple subquotient. As applications one calculates the Euler-Poincaré characteristic of $L$ over …
