Let G be a special orthogonal group over an algebraically closed field of characteristic exponent p. In this paper we extend certain aspects of the Dynkin-Kostant theory of unipotent elements in G (when p=1) to the general case (including p=2).
We give a uniform description of the decomposition of the unipotent variety of a classical group in arbitrary characteristic into pieces (considered in a non-uniform way in the earlier parts of this paper).
We show the existence of a unitriangular basic set for unipotent blocks simple reductive groups of classical type in bad characteristic with some exceptions. Then,we introduce an algorithm to count irreducible unipotent Brauer characters and we verify that this algorithm is effective for exceptional adjoint groups.
We make a study of unipotent elements in a connected reductive group over an algebraically closed field with emphasis on the case where the characteristic is a bad prime. We try to see how much of the theory of Dynkin-Kostant extends to this case. We also study the variety of Borel subgroups containing a unipotent element and prove a purity property for its cohomology in certain cases in bad characteristic.
We consider the variety of nilpotent elements in the dual of the Lie algebra of a reductive algebraic group over an algebraically closed field. We propose a definition of a partition of this variety into smooth locally closed smooth subvarieties indexed by the unipotent classes in the corresponding group over complex numbers. We obtain explicit results in type A,C and D.
We show that the definition of unipotent (resp. nilpotent) pieces for classical groups given by Lusztig (resp. Lusztig and the author) coincides with the combinatorial definition using closure relations on unipotent classes (resp. nilpotent orbits). Moreover we give a closed formula for a map from the set of unipotent classes (resp. nilpotent orbits) in characteristic 2 to the set of unipotent classes in characteristic 0 such that the fibers are the unipotent (resp. nilpotent) pieces.
These are slides for a talk given by the authors at the conference "Current developments and directions in the Langlands program" held in honor of Robert Langlands at the Northwestern University in May of 2008. The slides can be used as a short introduction to the theory of characters and character sheaves for unipotent groups in positive characteristic, developed by the authors in a series of articles written between 2006 and 2011. We give an overview of the main results of this theory along with a bit of motivation.
It is generally believed (and for the most part is probably true) that Lie theory, in contrast to the characteristic zero case, is insufficient to tackle the representation theory of algebraic groups over prime characteristic fields. However, in this paper we show that, for a large and important class of unipotent algebraic groups (namely the unipotent upper triangular groups $U_n$), and under a certain hypothesis relating the characteristic $p$ to both $n$ and the dimension $d$ of a representation (specifically, $p \geq \text{max}(n,2d)$), Lie theory is completely sufficient to determine the …
In this paper we discuss some of Springer's work on unipotent elements in a reductive groups and on representations of Weyl groups. Among the topics considered are Springer's bijection from the unipotent variety to the nilpotent variety, Springer's example of nonrationality of certain representations of the Hecke algebras associated to a Weyl group and the Springer representation of the Weyl group associated to a unipotent element.
Let G be a semisimple almost simple algebraic group defined and split over a nonarchimedean local field K and let V be a unipotent representation of G(K) (for example, an Iwahori-spherical representation). We calculate the character of V at compact very regular elements of G(K) at compact very regular elements of G(K).
Let $G(q)$ be a Chevalley group over a finite field $F_q$. By Lusztig's and Shoji's work, the problem of computing the values of the unipotent characters of $G(q)$ is solved, in principle, by the theory of character sheaves; one issue in this solution is the determination of certain scalars relating two types of class functions on $G(q)$. We show that this issue can be reduced to the case where $q$ is a prime, which opens the way to use computer algebra methods. Here, and in a sequel to this article, we use this approach to solve a number of cases in groups of exceptional type which seemed hit…
We show that various properties of unipotent elements in a reductive group over the complex numbers can be recovered purely in terms of the affine Weyl group of the dual group.
In a previous paper, "Generalized Green functions and unipotent classes for finite reductive groups, I", we have determined certain unknown scalars involved in the algorithm of computing generalized Green functions in the case of SL_n. In this paper, we consider a similar problem for the case of classical groups Sp_{2n}, SO_N with arbitrary characteristic. Our result enables us, in particular, to compute Green functions in bad characteristic case, which was not known before.
The fixed point variety of a regular unipotent element on a wonderful completion is investigated. For the wonderful completion of the quotient by a symmetric Levi subgroup, it is shown that the fixed point variety is $SL_2$-regular.
Let G be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field k of bad characteristic. We classify the spherical unipotent conjugacy classes of G. We also show that if the characteristic of k is 2, then the fixed point subgroup of every involutorial automorphism (involution) of G is a spherical subgroup of G.
In this paper, it is shown that the projectivity of a rational module for an infinitesimal unipotent group scheme over an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic can be detected on a family of closed subgroups.
Let $G$ be a finite Chevalley group. We are concerned with computing the values of the unipotent characters of $G$ by making use of Lusztig's theory of character sheaves. In this framework, one has to find the transformation between several bases for the class functions on $G$. In principle, this has been achieved by Lusztig and Shoji, but the underlying process involves some scalars which are still unknown in many cases. We shall determine these scalars in the specific case where $G$ is the (twisted or non-twisted) group of type $E_6$ over the finite field with $q$ elements, for $q$ a power o…
Let $F$ be a field with at least three elements and $G$ a locally finite group. This paper aims to show that if either $F$ is algebraically closed or the characteristic of $F$ is positive, then an element in the group algebra $FG$ is a product of unipotent elements if, and only if, it? lies in the first derived subgroup of the unit group of $FG$. In addition, it? is a product of at most three unipotent elements. Moreover, we explore some crucial properties satisfied by certain algebras like the connection between unipotent elements of index 2 and commutators as well as we investigate the unipo…
We investigate positive-dimensional closed reductive subgroups of almost simple algebraic groups containing a regular unipotent element. Our main result states that such subgroups do not lie inside proper parabolic subgroups unless possibly when their connected component is a torus. This extends the earlier result of Testerman and Zalesski treating connected reductive subgroups.
We review the categorical representation of a Kac-Moody algebra on unipotent representations of finite unitary groups in non-defining characteristic given by the authors. Then, we extend this construction to finite reductive groups of types B or C, in non-defining characteristic. We show that the decategorified representation is isomorphic to a direct sum of level 2 Fock spaces. We deduce that the Harish-Chandra branching graph coincides with the crystal graph of these Fock spaces. We also obtain derived equivalences between blocks, yielding Broue's abelian defect group conjecture for unipoten…
Assume $\mathbf{G}$ is a connected reductive algebraic group defined over an algebraic closure $\mathbb{K} = \overline{\mathbb{F}}_p$ of the finite field of prime order $p>0$. Furthermore, assume that $F : \mathbf{G} \to \mathbf{G}$ is a Frobenius endomorphism of $\mathbf{G}$. In this article we give a formula for the value of any $F$-stable character sheaf of $\mathbf{G}$ at a unipotent element. This formula is expressed in terms of class functions of $\mathbf{G}^F$ which are supported on a single unipotent class of $\mathbf{G}$. In general these functions are not determined, however we give …
When n is odd, consider the finite general linear and unitary groups of rank n, extended by the inverse transpose automorphism. There are elements in the extended groups which square to a regular unipotent element, and we evaluate the values of irreducible characters of the extended groups on these elements. Several intermediate results on real conjugacy classes and real-valued characters of these groups are obtained along the way.
Let G be a connected reductive group. We define a map from the set of unipotent classes in G to the set of conjugacy classes in the Weyl group (assuming that the characteristic is not bad). This map is a one sided inverse of a map in the opposite direction constructed in an earlier paper.
In this paper we give a complete description of the Howe correspondence of unipotent characters for a finite dual pair of a symplectic group and an even orthogonal group in terms of the Lusztig parametrization under a mild restriction of the characteristic of the base field. That is, the conjecture by Aubert-Michel-Rouquier is confirmed.
Let $G$ be a classical group with natural module $V$ over an algebraically closed field of good characteristic. For every unipotent element $u$ of $G$, we describe the Jordan block sizes of $u$ on the irreducible $G$-modules which occur as composition factors of $V \otimes V^*$, $\wedge^2(V)$, and $S^2(V)$. Our description is given in terms of the Jordan block sizes of the tensor square, exterior square, and the symmetric square of $u$, for which recursive formulae are known.
An irreducible ordinary character of a finite reductive group is called quadratic unipotent if it corresponds under Jordan decomposition to a semisimple element $s$ in a dual group such that $s^2=1$. We prove that there is a bijection between, on the one hand the set of quadratic unipotent characters of $GL(n,q)$ or $U(n,q)$ for all $n \geq 0$ and on the other hand, the set of quadratic unipotent characters of $Sp(2n,q)$ for all $n \geq 0$. We then extend this correspondence to $\ell$-blocks for certain $\ell$ not dividing $q$.
Let $\bfG$ be a connected reductive algebraic group defined over $\F_q$, where $q$ is a power of a prime $p$ that is good for $\bfG$. Let $F$ be the Frobenius morphism associated with the $\FF_q$-structure on $\bfG$ and set $G = \bfG^F$, the fixed point subgroup of $F$. Let $\bfP$ be an $F$-stable parabolic subgroup of $\bfG$ and let $\bfU$ be the unipotent radical of $\bfP$; set $P = \bfP^F$ and $U = \bfU^F$. Let $G_\uni$ be the set of unipotent elements in $G$. In this note we show that the number of conjugacy classes of $U$ in $G_\uni$ is given by a polynomial in $q$ with integer coefficien…
Let $G$ be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $p > 0$. We consider connected reductive subgroups $X$ of $G$ that contain a given distinguished unipotent element $u$ of $G$. A result of Testerman and Zalesski (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc., 2013) shows that if $u$ is a regular unipotent element, then $X$ cannot be contained in a proper parabolic subgroup of $G$. We generalize their result and show that if $u$ has order $p$, then except for two known examples which occur in the case $(G, p) = (C_2, 2)$, the subgroup $X$ cannot be contained in a proper para…
Let $G$ be a finite group of Lie type. In order to determine the character table of $G$, Lusztig developed the theory of character sheaves. In this framework, one has to find the transformation between two bases for the space of class functions on $G$, one of them being the irreducible characters of $G$, the other one consisting of characteristic functions associated to character sheaves. In principle, this has been achieved by Lusztig and Shoji, but the underlying process involves some scalars which are still unknown in many cases. The problem of specifying these scalars can be reduced to con…
We derive a Murnaghan--Nakayama type formula for the values of unipotent characters of finite classical groups on regular semisimple elements. This relies on Asai's explicit decomposition of Lusztig restriction. We use our formula to show that most complex irreducible characters vanish on some $\ell$-singular element for certain primes $\ell$. As an application we classify the simple endotrivial modules of the finite quasi-simple classical groups. As a further application we show that for finite simple classical groups and primes $\ell\ge3$ the first Cartan invariant in the principal $\ell$-bl…
Lusztig's algorithm of computing generalized Green functions of reductive groups involves an ambiguity of certain scalars. In this paper, for reductive groups of classical type with arbitrary characteristic, we determine those scalars explicitly, and eliminate the ambiguity. Our results imply that all the generalized Green functions of classical type are computable.
This work concerns the representation theory and cohomology of a finite unipotent supergroup scheme $G$ over a perfect field $k$ of positive characteristic $p\ge 3$. It is proved that an element $x$ in the cohomology of $G$ is nilpotent if and only if for every extension field $K$ of $k$ and every elementary sub-supergroup scheme $E\subseteq G_K$, the restriction of $x_K$ to $E$ is nilpotent. It is also shown that a $kG$-module $M$ is projective if and only if for every extension field $K$ of $k$ and every elementary sub-supergroup scheme $E\subseteq G_K$, the restriction of $M_K$ to $E$ is pr…
Let $G$ be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p$. The classification of the conjugacy classes of unipotent elements of $G(k)$ and nilpotent orbits of $G$ on $\operatorname{Lie}(G)$ is well-established. One knows there are representatives of every unipotent class as a product of root group elements and every nilpotent orbit as a sum of root elements. We give explicit representatives in terms of a Chevalley basis for the eminent classes. A unipotent (resp. nilpotent) element is said to be eminent if it is not contained in any subsystem subgroup (re…
In previous work of Gow, Ohmori, Lusztig and the author, the Schur indices of all unipotent characters of finite groups of Lie type have been explicitly determined except for six cases in groups of type $F_4$, $E_7$ and $E_8$. In this paper, we show that the Schur indices of all cuspidal unipotent characters for type $F_4$ and $E_8$ are~1, assuming that the group is defined over a field of ``good'' characteristic. This settles four out of the six open cases. For type $E_7$, we show that the Schur indices are at most~2.
In this article we extend independent results of Lusztig and Hézard concerning the existence of irreducible characters of finite reductive groups, (defined in good characteristic and arising from simple algebraic groups), satisfying a strong numerical relationship with their unipotent support. Along the way we obtain some results concerning quasi-isolated semisimple elements.
Let $G$ be a simple linear algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic two. Any non-trivial self-dual irreducible $K[G]$-module $W$ admits a non-degenerate $G$-invariant alternating bilinear form, thus giving a representation $f: G \rightarrow \operatorname{Sp}(W)$. In the case where $G = \operatorname{SL}_n(K)$ and $W$ has highest weight $\varpi_1 + \varpi_{n-1}$, and in the case where $G = \operatorname{Sp}_{2n}(K)$ and $W$ has highest weight $\varpi_2$, we determine for every unipotent element $u \in G$ the conjugacy class of $f(u)$ in $\operatorname{Sp}(W)$. As…
In this paper, we study the commuting variety of symmetric pairs associated to parabolic subalgebras with abelian unipotent radical in a simple complex Lie algebra. By using the ``cascade'' construction of Kostant, we construct a Cartan subspace which in turn provides, in certain cases, useful information on the centralizers of non $\mathfrak{p}$-regular semisimple elements. In the case of the rank 2 symmetric pair $(\mathrm{so}_{p+2},\mathrm{so}_{p}\times \mathrm{so}_{2})$, $p\geq 2$, this allows us to apply induction, in view of previous results of the authors, and reduce the problem of the …
Let G be an affine algebraic group over an algebraically closed field such that the identity component G^0 of G is reductive. Let W be the Weyl group of G and let D be a connected component of G whose image in G/G^0 is a unipotent element. In this paper we define a map from the set of "twisted conjugay classes" in W to the set of unipotent G^0-conjugacy classes in D, generalizing an earlier construction which applied when G is connected.
Using Harish-Chandra induction and restriction, we construct a categorical action of a Kac-Moody algebra on the category of unipotent representations of finite unitary groups in non-defining characteristic. We show that the decategorified representation is naturally isomorphic to a direct sum of level 2 Fock spaces. From our construction we deduce that the Harish-Chandra branching graph coincide with the crystal graph of these Fock spaces, solving a recent conjecture of Gerber-Hiss-Jacon. We also obtain derived equivalences between blocks, yielding Broué's abelian defect groups conjecture for …
Let G be a reductive algebraic group over the algebraic closure of a finite field F_q of good characteristic. In this paper, we demonstrate a remarkable compatibility between the Springer correspondence for G and the parametrization of unipotent characters of G(F_q). In particular, we show that in a suitable sense, "large" portions of these two assignments in fact coincide. This extends earlier work of Lusztig on Springer representations within special pieces of the unipotent variety.
The principle of tannakian duality states that any neutral tannakian category is tensorially equivalent to the category Rep_k G of finite dimensional representations of some affine group scheme G and field k, and conversely. Originally motivated by an attempt to find a first-order explanation for generic cohomology of algebraic groups, we study neutral tannakian categories as abstract first-order structures and, in particular, ultraproducts of them. One of the main theorems of this dissertation is that certain naturally definable subcategories of these ultraproducts are themselves neutral tann…
With this work we initiate a study of the representations of a unipotent group over a field of characteristic zero from the modular point of view. Let $G$ be such a group. The stack of all representations of a fixed finite dimension $n$ is badly behaved. We introduce an invariant, $w$, of $G$, its \textit{width}, as well as a certain nondegeneracy condition on representations, and we prove that nondegenrate representations of dimension $n \le w+1$ form a quasi-projective variety. Our definition of the width is opaque; as a first attempt to elucidate its behavior, we prove that it is bounded by…
With a view to determining character values of finite reductive groups at unipotent elements, we prove a number of results concerning inner products of generalised Gelfand-Graev characters with characteristic functions of character sheaves, here called Lusztig functions. These are used to determine projections of generalised Gelfand-Graev characters to the space of unipo- tent characters, and to the space of characters with a given wave front set. Such projections are expressed largely in terms of Weyl group data. We show how the values of characters at their unipotent support or wave front se…
Let G be an algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic such that its neutral connected component is a unipotent group. We consider a certain class of closed idempotents in the braided monoidal category (under convolution of complexes) D_G(G) known as Heisenberg idempotents. For such an idempotent e, we will prove certain results about the Hecke subcategory eD_G(G) conjectured by V. Drinfeld. In particular, we will see that it is the bounded derived category of a modular category.
Let G be a connected, reductive group over an algebraically closed field of good characteristic. For u in G unipotent, we describe the conjugacy classes in the component group A(u) of the centralizer of u. Our results extend work of the second author done for simple, adjoint G over the complex numbers. When G is simple and adjoint, the previous work of the second author makes our description combinatorial and explicit; moreover, it turns out that knowledge of the conjugacy classes suffices to determine the group structure of A(u). Thus we obtain the result, previously known through case-checki…
The theorems of M. Ratner, describing the finite ergodic invariant measures and the orbit closures for unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces of Lie groups, are extended for actions of subgroups generated by unipotent elements. More precisely: Let G be a Lie group (not necessarily connected) and Gamma a closed subgroup of G. Let W be a subgroup of G such that Ad(W) is contained in the Zariski closure (in the group of automorphisms of the Lie algebra of G) of the subgroup generated by the unipotent elements of Ad(W). Then any finite ergodic invariant measure for the action of W on G/Gamma is a h…
This article is based on lectures given by the authors in 2005 and 2006. Our first goal is to present an introduction to the orbit method with an emphasis on the character theory of finite nilpotent groups. The second goal (motivated by a recent work of G. Lusztig) is to explain several nontrivial aspects of character theory for finite groups of the form $G(F_{q^n})$, where $G$ is a unipotent algebraic group over a finite field $F_q$. In particular, we introduce the notion of a character sheaf for a unipotent group, and provide a toy model for the representation-theoretic notion of an L-packet…
Let A be a character sheaf on a reductive connected group G over an algebraically closed field. Assuming that the characteristic is not bad, we show that for certain conjugacy classes D in G the restriction of A to D is a local system up to shift; we also give a parametrization of unipotent cuspidal character sheaves on G in terms of restrictions to conjugacy classes. Without restriction on characteristic we define canonical bijections from the set of unipotent character sheaves on G (and from the set of unipotent representations of the corresponding split reductive group over a finite field) …
Let $\mathcal{U}$ be the unipotent variety of a complex reductive group $G$. Fix opposed Borel subgroups $B_\pm \subseteq G$ with unipotent radicals $U_\pm$. The map that sends $x_+x_- \mapsto x_+x_-x_+^{-1}$ for all $x_\pm \in U_\pm$ restricts to a map from $U_+U_- \cap gB_+$ into $\mathcal{U} \cap gB_+$, for any $g$. We conjecture that the restricted map forms half of a homotopy equivalence between these varieties, and thus, induces a weight-preserving isomorphism between their compactly-supported cohomologies. Noting that the map is equivariant with respect to certain actions of $B_+ \cap g…