Singular loci of cominuscule Schubert varieties (Q392501)

Let \(G/P\) be a cominuscule rational homogeneous variety; equivalently, \(G/P\) admits the structure of a compact Hermitian symmetric space. The main result of this paper is a uniform (independent of \(G\)) description of the irreducible components of the singular loci of Schubert varieties \(Y\subset G/P\). Type-specific descriptions in the case that \(G/P\) is classical (\(G\) is of type ABCD) have been known for some time: the type A case (\(G/P\) is a Grassmannian) since the 1970s, and the rest by 1990. Those descriptions are given in terms of partitions. In contrast, this result is given by representation theoretic data. It is nonrecursive and amenable to computation. The author gives also an explicit description of the singular loci in the two non-classical cases (\(G = E_6,E_7\)). The cominuscule varieties are closely related to the minuscule ones. Indeed, with the exception of the quadric hypersurface \(B_n/P_1\) and the Lagrangian Grassmannian \( C_n/P_n\), every irreducible cominuscule variety is minuscule. The main theorem complements descriptions of the singular loci of Schubert varieties in minuscule variety by \textit{M. Brion} and \textit{P. Polo} [Math. Z. 231, No. 2, 301--324 (1999; Zbl 0927.14024)] and by \textit{N. Perrin} [Adv. Math. 220, No. 2, 505--522 (2009; Zbl 1160.14038)]. The main tool used is the representation theoretic characterization of Schubert varieties by an integer \(a\geq 0\) and a marking of the Dynkin diagram given in [\textit{C. Robles} and \textit{D. The}, Sel. Math., New Ser. 18, No. 3, 717--777 (2012; Zbl 1250.32022)]. The author discuss some relationship between the integer \(a\) and the number of irreducible components in the singular locus. He gives gives lower bounds on the codimension of the singular locus, and characterizes those Schubert varieties for which the bound is realized. Finally the author compute (using Lie) the value of \((a,J)\) in the two exceptional cases.