An integral transform in \(L^ 2\)-cohomology for the ladder representations of U(p,q) (Q1058615)

This paper presents a geometric construction of the ladder representations of U(p,q) as holomorphic sections of a vector bundle over U(p,q)/K, where \(K\simeq U(p)\times U(q)\) is the maximal compact subgroup of U(p,q). Let \({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q}\) denote \({\mathbb{C}}^{p+q}\) endowed with a fixed Hermitian form h of signature (p,q), and let \({\mathcal H}^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\) denote the \(L^ 2\)-cohomology of \({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q}\) as defined by \textit{R. J. Blattner} and \textit{J. H. Rawnsley} [J. Funct. Anal. 50, 188-214 (1983; Zbl 0517.58013)]. Under the natural action of U(p,q), \({\mathcal H}^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\) is isomorphic to the Fock space. Denote by \({\mathcal H}^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})=\oplus_{m\in {\mathbb{Z}}}{\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\) the decomposition of \({\mathcal H}^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\) into irreducible subspaces, where the center of U(p,q) acts as \(e^{i\theta}\to e^{-i(m+p)\theta}\) on \({\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\). Identify U(p,q)/K with the set \(M^+\) of all p-dimensional subspaces of \({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q}\) on which h is positive definite. Let \(E_ m\) denote the vector bundle over \(U(p,q)/K\simeq M^+\) with fiber \(E_ m(V)\simeq {\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}(V;h| V)\) over any \(V\in M^+.\) One now defines the transform \(\phi: {\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\to H^{0,0}(M^+,E_ m)\) as follows: for any square-integrable (0,p)-form \(\omega\in {\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\), define the section \(\phi_{\omega}\) of \(E_ m\) by defining \(\phi_{\omega}(V)\) to be the \(L^ 2\)-cohomology class of \(\omega\) \(| V\) in \({\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}(V;h| V)\). It is shown that \(\phi\) is well-defined, that \(\phi\) intertwines the natural actions of U(p,q), and that \(\phi\) is injective if \(m\geq 0\). (\(\phi\) \(\equiv 0\) if \(m<0)\). Thus, for \(m\geq 0\), the image of \(\phi\) is a model of the ladder representation \({\mathcal H}_ m^{0,p}({\mathbb{C}}^{p,q})\). The sections in the image of \(\phi\) are exhibited explicitly as solutions of certain linear differential equations, which in the case \(p=q=2\) are the massless field equations of helicity m/2. For example, these are Maxwell's equations if \(m=2\). The transform \(\phi\) is therefore analogous to the Penrose correspondence.