Wahl's conjecture holds in odd characteristics for symplectic and orthogonal Grassmannians (Q1040199)

Let \(G\) be a semi-simple simply connected linear algebraic group over an algebraically closed field \(k\), and let \(P \subset G\) be a parabolic subgroup. Wahl's conjecture is that for \(G/P\) the Gaussian map (which is a map in sheaf cohomology induced by the diagonal embedding \(G/P \to G/P \times G/P\)) is a surjection. The conjecture is known to hold over the complex numbers, and the authors are interested in the case that the field has positive characteristic. The first author with \textit{V. B. Mehta} and \textit{A. J. Parameswaran} [J. Algebra 208, 101--128 (1998; Zbl 0955.14006)] showed that Wahl's conjecture holds in odd characteristic if there is a splitting of \(G/P \times G/P\) compatibly splitting the diagonal copy of \(G/P\) in \(G/P \times G/P\) with maximal multiplicity. \textit{V. B. Mehta} and \textit{A. J. Paramsewaran} [Int. J. Math. 8, 495--498 (1997; Zbl 0914.14021)] showed for \(G = SL_n\) and \(P\) being any maximal parabolic that such a splitting exists. Note that all Grassmannians arise as such a \(G/P\). In this work, the authors show that the argument of Mehta and Parameswaran also holds for the symplectic and orthogonal Grassmannians and deduce the validity of Wahl's conjecture in these cases (for odd characteristic). That is, for the case when \(G\) is the symplectic group \(Sp_{2n}\) with \(P = P_n\) or \(G\) is the special orthogonal group \(SO_{2n}\) with \(P = P_n\). The main result shown here is that for either such \(G\) (with \(p\) odd in the symplectic case) and a Borel subgroup \(B \subset P \subset G\), the \(B\)-canonical splitting of \(G/B\) has maximal multiplicity along \(P/B\).