Borel-Weil theorem for configuration varieties and Schur modules (Q1265471)

The author develops a theory of generalized Schur modules for \(GL(n)\), with the same rich interplay between geometry and combinatorics as is available for the classical Schur modules. Where an ordinary Schur module is associated with a Young diagram, the author now allows arbitrary finite subsets \(D\) of \({\mathbb N}\times {\mathbb N}\). In other words, one considers diagrams obtained by deleting any number of boxes from a Young diagram. The first definition of the Schur module \(S_D\) of a diagram \(D\) is combinatorial and uses Young symmetrizers and antisymmetrizers. The second one is a geometric, Borel-Weil type construction. To the diagram is associated a configuration space and a line bundle \(\mathcal L\), generalizing the flag variety and line bundle in the Borel-Weil construction. The Schur module is then defined in terms of global sections. The first main result coming out of the equivalence of these definitions is a proof of a conjecture by Reiner and Shimozono, asserting that if the union of two disjoint diagrams is a rectangle, the corresponding Schur modules are in duality, up to a determinant factor. The diagrams for which the best results are obtained are those for which the ``northeast'' property holds: \((i_1,j_1)\), \((i_2,j_2)\in D\Rightarrow (\min(i_1,i_2),\max(j_1,j_2))\in D\). This covers -- up to permuting of rows and columns, which is easy to handle -- cases like skew, inversion, Rothe, and column-convex diagrams. What makes the ``northeast'' case special, is that the configuration varieties then possess a resolution akin to the Demazure desingularisation of Schubert varieties. More precisely, one uses the very same space as in the resolutions used by \textit{G. Mathieu} [Ann. Sci. Ec. Norm. Super., IV. Ser. 23, No. 4, 625-644 (1990; Zbl 0748.20026)]. The space is an iterated \({\mathbb P}^1\)-fibration based on not necessarily reduced words in the simple reflections of the Weyl group of \(GL(n)\). The space was recognized by the reviewer. This recognition allows the author to follow Mehta, Ramanathan, Polo, Mathieu and to use Frobenius splittings to prove vanishing theorems for higher cohomology involving the line bundle \(\mathcal L\). That is then useful to generalize the Demazure character formula to a character formula for the \(S_D\) with \(D\) ``northeast'', by means of the Atiyah-Bott fixed point formula, or rather the Nielsen fixed point formula, as we are working with algebraic varieties here. Highly recommended reading.