Arithmetic intersection theory on flag varieties (Q1298157)

Arakelov theory is a way of completing a variety defined over the ring of integers of a number field by adding some kind of fibers over the archimedean places. In this way one obtains an intersection theory which generalizes the concept of height. This was initiated by Arakelov in the case of relative dimension one, and generalized to higher dimensions by \textit{H. Gillet} and \textit{Soulé} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 72, 93-174 (1990; Zbl 0741.14012)]. Unfortunately, in the higher dimensional case there exist few examples where explicit computations can be made. The arithmetic Chow ring of projective space was studied by \textit{H. Gillet} and \textit{C. Soulé} [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 131, No. 1, 163-203 (1990; Zbl 0715.14018) and No. 2, 205-238 (1990; Zbl 0715.14006)] and arithmetic intersection on Grassmannian by \textit{V. Maillot} [Duke Math. J. 80, No. 1, 195-221 (1995; Zbl 0867.14024)]. The paper under review deals with the case of general flag varieties, thus generalizing the results of V. Maillot. In section 2 the author reviews arithmetic intersection theory as well as Bott-Chern forms; then Schubert polynomials are introduced, following \textit{A. Lascoux} and \textit{H.-P. Schuetzenberger} [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris Sér. I 294, 447-450 (1982; Zbl 0495.14031)]. The main results are contained in sections 7 and 8. First an effective procedure for computing arithmetic intersection numbers on a complete flag variety is provided. Then the structure of the arithmetic Chow ring is described via an ``arithmetic Schubert calculus''. As an application, in section 9 it is proved that the height of a complete flag variety with respect to its natural pluri-Plücker embedding is a rational number which can be computed explicitly. The last section explains how to generalize the previous results to partial flag varieties.