Essentials dimension of reductive groups via generically free representations

DOI10.1016/J.JPAA.2025.108044MaRDI QIDQ6935763zbMATH OpenFDO

Publication date 3 September 2025

Published in Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPAA.2025.108044

essential dimension generically free representation linear algebraic groups torsor

Galois cohomology of linear algebraic groups (11E72) Clifford algebras, spinors (15A66) Brauer groups (algebraic aspects) (16K50) Representation theory for linear algebraic groups (20G05) Linear algebraic groups over arbitrary fields (20G15)

Review text

Let \(G\) be an algebraic group over a field \(k\) and \( K/k \) a field extension. A \(G\)-torsor \( \alpha: Y\rightarrow Z \) is called versal if every \(G\)-torsor \( X\rightarrow\mathrm{Spec} ( K ) \) with \(K\) infinite is isomorphic to the pull-back of \(\alpha\) with respect to a point \( \mathrm{Spec} ( K )\rightarrow Z \) and such points form a dense subset of \(Z\). The essential dimension \( \mathrm{ed} ( G ) \) of \(G\) is the smallest dimension \( \dim Z \) of a versal \(G\)-torsor \( Y\rightarrow Z \).\N\NLet \(G\) act on a geometrically irreducible variety \(X\) over \(k\). A closed subgroup scheme \(S\) of \(G\) is called a generic stabilizer of \(X\) if there exists a dense open subset \(U\) of \(X\) such that the scheme-theoretic stabilizer of every \( \bar{k} \)-point in \(U\) is conjugate to \(S\), where \( \bar{k} \) denotes the algebraic closure of \(k\). A \(G\)-action \(X\) is said to be generically free if the trivial subgroup scheme of \(G\) is a generic stabilizer for this action.\N\NIf \(G\) is a split semisimple group over \(k\), then \( G_{\mathrm{red}} \) denotes a strict reductive envelope of \(G\), i.e. \( G_{\mathrm{red}} \) is a split reductive group such that \(G\) is its semisimple part and the center \( Z ( G_{\mathrm{red}} ) \) is a torus.\N\NIn the paper under review, the authors provide a method to compute upper bounds on the essential dimension of an arbitrary semisimple group and its strict reductive envelope by constructing a generically free representation. More precisely, they compute an upper bound of the essential dimension of a semisimple group \(G\) and its reductive envelope \( G_{\mathrm{red}} \) with \(m\) simple components of the form \(G = ( \tilde{G}_{1}\times\dots\times\tilde{G}_{m} ) / \mu \) where each \( \tilde{G}_{i} \) is a simple simply connected group and \(\mu\) is a central subgroup \( \tilde{G}_{1}\times\dots\times\tilde{G}_{m} \) with no direct factors of the center of \( \tilde{G}_{i} \) for all \( 1 \le i \le m \). This is given by Theorem 2.2 below in which the following notation is adopted.\N\NIf \(G\) is any algebraic group, then \( Z ( G ) \) and \( G^{\ast} \) mean the center of \(G\) and the character group of \(G\), respectively. \( \mathbb{G}_{m} \) denotes the multiplicative group. A character \( \chi : Z ( G ) \rightarrow \mathbb{G}_{m} \) is considered as the \(m\)-tuple \( \chi_{1},\dots, \chi_{m} \), where \( \chi_{i} \) is the restriction of \(\chi\) to \( Z ( \tilde{G}_{i} ) \) with the above \( \tilde{G}_{i} \). The set of all \( i\in \{ 1, 2, \dots, m \} \) such that \( \chi_{i}\not= 0 \) is denoted \( \mathrm{supp} ( \chi ) \). If \(\chi\) is a character \( \chi : C \rightarrow \mathbb{G}_{m} \) of a central subgroup \(C\), then \( \mathrm{Rep}^{\chi} ( G ) \) is the category of all finite dimensional representations \(V\) of \(G\) such that \( cv = \chi ( c ) v \) for any \(c\in C\) and \(v\in V\).\N\NTheorem 2.2. Let \(G\) be a split semisimple group over a field \(k\) of characteristic \(0\) with \(m\) simple components and let \( G_{\mathrm{red}} \) be a strict reductive envelope. Let \(B\) be a generating set of \( Z ( G )^{\ast} \) of minimal cardinality and let \( \rho_{\chi} : G \rightarrow \mathrm{GL}(V_{\chi}) \) be representations in \( \mathrm{Rep}^{\chi}(G) \) for all \( \chi \in B \). Assume that there is a nonempty subset \( B_{0} \) of \(B\) with \( \bigcup_{\chi\in B_{0}} \mathrm{supp} ( \chi)=\{1,2,\dots,m\}\). (i) If the generic stabilizer of \( V_{\chi} \) in \( \rho_{\chi} ( G ) \) is trivial for each \( \chi\in B_{0} \), then \( \mathrm{ed}(G) \le \sum_{\chi\in B},\dim V_{\chi}-\dim G\). (ii) If the generic stabilizer of \( \mathbb{P} ( V_{\chi} ) \) in \( \bar{\rho}_{\chi}(G) \) is trivial for each \( \chi\in B_{0} \), where \( \bar{\rho}_{\chi} : G \rightarrow \mathrm{PGL}( V_{\chi}) \) denotes the projective representation induced by \( \rho_{\chi} \), then \( \mathrm{ed}( G_{\mathrm{red} } ) \le \sum_{\chi\in B}\dim ( V_{\chi} ) - \dim G - \mathrm{rank} \ Z ( G ) \), where \(\mathrm{rank} \ Z ( G ) \) is the minimal cardinality of a generating set of \(Z(G)\).\N\NAlso, the authors provide a complementary method of computing the essential dimension \( \mathrm{ed} ( G ) \) for the case where \( G = \mathrm{Spin} ( n ) \) with \( 4 | n\), \(n\ge 20 \). Applying their methods to split semisimple groups of types \( A\), \(B\), \(C\), \(D \) and \( E_{6} \), the authors obtain new upper bounds and exact values for the essential dimension of the semisimple groups extending previous results on simple groups \(\mathrm{Spin}(n) \) by \textit{P. Brosnan} et al. [Ann. Math. (2) 171, No. 1, 533--544 (2010; Zbl 1252.11034); J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 13, No. 4, 1079--1112 (2011; Zbl 1234.14003)], strict reductive envelopes of groups of type \(A\) by \textit{S. Cernele} and \textit{Z. Reichstein} [Pac. J. Math. 279, No. 1--2, 155--179 (2015; Zbl 1364.20035)] and semisimple groups of type \(B\) by \textit{S. Baek} and \textit{Y. Kim} [J. Algebra 633, 205--224 (2023; Zbl 1521.20106)].\N\NIn the proofs, a classification of generically free representations of semisimple groups is used.

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