Galois cohomology and real algebraic quotients (Q1324176)

Let \(G\) be a reductive complex algebraic group and \(V\) denote a (finite- dimensional) \(G\)-module. Suppose that \(V,G\) and the action of \(G\) on \(V\) are defined over \(\mathbb{R}\). The algebraic quotient map \(V @> \pi >>V//G\) is also defined over \(\mathbb{R}\), and by the Tarski-Seidenberg theorem, \(\pi(V_ \mathbb{R})\) is a real semialgebraic subset of the real algebraic variety \((V//G)_ \mathbb{R}\). In the paper under review the author considers the problem of describing the inequalities which define \(\pi (V_ \mathbb{R}) \subset (V//G)_ \mathbb{R}\). He tackles this problem by viewing the closed \(G\)-orbits in \(\pi^{-1} ((V//G)_ \mathbb{R})\) individually and trying to discover which of these orbits contain real points. Every closed orbit \(G \cdot v \subset V\) is of the form \(G/H\), where the subgroup \(H \subset G\) is reductive. Then the affine variety \(G/H\) possesses a finite number of inequivalent real structures which are compatible with the left action of \(G\). The author shows how to distinguish these equivalence classes with \(N_ GH/H\)- modules. He uses the language of Galois cohomology to describe real structures on the \(G\)-variety \(G/H \cong G \cdot v\). A self-map \(\sigma\) of \(G/H\) is called (in the paper) a ``compatible conjugation'' on \(G/H\) if it is the complex conjugation coming from a real structure on (the affine variety) \(G/H\), and if \(\sigma (g_ 1 \cdot gH) = \overline {g_ 1} \cdot \sigma (gH)\) for all \(g_ 1\), \(g \in G\). (The map \(g \to \overline g\) is complex conjugation on \(G)\). To a given compatible conjugation \(\sigma\), the author associates a group element \(g_ 0\) (a cocycle), where \(\sigma (H) = g_ 0H\). Let \({\mathcal H}^ 1 (-,G,H)\) denote the equivalence classes of compatible conjugations on \(G/H\); it may be described as the set of cocycles up to a certain equivalence relation. Let \({\mathcal H}^ 1(-,G,H)_ 0 \subset {\mathcal H}^ 1 (-,G,H)\) be the equivalence classes of compatible conjugations on \(G/H\) for which \(G/H\) has a real point. The author investigates the original problem -- finding inequalities defining \(\pi (V_ \mathbb{R}) \subset (V//G)_ \mathbb{R}\) -- using \({\mathcal H}^ 1 (-,G,H)_ 0\) and \({\mathcal H}^ 1 (-,G,H)\). He also describes the approach of Procesi and Schwarz, which succeeds in the case in which \(G_ \mathbb{R}\) is a maximal compact subgroup of \(G\).