The variety of reductions for a reductive symmetric pair (Q537721)

Let \(G\) be a reductive complex Lie group and \(\theta\) an involutive automorphism. Then the pair \((G,\theta)\) is called a ``reductive symmetric pair''. The eigenspaces of the induced involution \(\theta'\) of the Lie algebra yield the ``Cartan decomposition'' \(g=k\oplus p\). An ``anisotropic torus'' is an abelian Lie subalgebra whose elements are semisimple and contained in \(p\). A ``generic reduction'' is a maximal anisotropic torus. The generic reductions may be regarded as points in the respective Grassmann variety. The ``variety of reduction'' is the closure of the set of these points in the Grassmann variety. This article is devoted to a systematic study of such ``varieties of reduction'' and related questions in representation theory. A useful result obtained in this way is the rigidity of semisimple elements in deformations of algebraic subalgebras of Lie algebras. A key motivation for this study is the quest for Fano varieties (projective varieties with ample anticanonical bundle). For example, a smooth projective compactification of \({\mathbb C}^n\) with \(b_2=1\) is necessarily Fano. Varieties of reduction often provide interesting examples of Fano varieties. This generalizes previous work of \textit{A. Iliev} and \textit{L. Manivel} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 585, 93--139 (2005; Zbl 1083.14060)].