Rationality theorems for Hecke operators on GL\(_n\). (Q1418467)

The \(p\)-part of the Hecke algebra of (some) \(p\)-adic reductive groups is isomorphic, via the Satake or spherical map, to the Weyl group invariant part of a polynomial ring over \({\mathbb Q}\). This isomorphism was studied for the general linear and symplectic groups by \textit{A. N. Andrianov} and \textit{V. G. Zhuravlev} [Modular forms and Hecke operators. Moscow, Nauka (1990; Zbl 0694.10028)], who described it in terms of double cosets generating the Hecke algebra. Here the authors work with GL\(_n\). They start with the polynomial ring and construct ``polynomial Hecke operators'', families of symmetric polynomials \(t^n_k(p^\ell)\), with nice generating series \[ \sum_{\ell\geq 0} t^n_k(p^\ell)u^\ell=\prod_{1\leq i_1\leq\ldots\leq i_k\leq n}(1-x_{i_1}\ldots x_{i_n}u)^{-1}. \] This is natural in view of Andrianov's result relating sums of classical Hecke operators to rational functions in \({\mathbb Q}(x_1,\ldots,x_n,u)\) with denominator \(\prod_k\prod_{1\leq i_1\leq\ldots\leq i_k\leq n}(1-x_{i_1}\ldots x_{i_n}u)\). In particular \(t_1^n(p^\ell)\) is analogous to the classical Hecke operator \(T(p^\ell)\). One must then describe these polynomial operators in terms of double cosets, i.e.{} invert the spherical map. The authors show by explicit computations that the matrix of the spherical map restricted to the span of double cosets \(\Gamma\xi\Gamma\) with \(\det \xi=p^d\), which has as image the span of the symmetric polynomials of total degree~\(d\), is upper triangular with respect to a suitable basis. Theoretically this allows one to invert the spherical map locally. In practice the computations are unwieldy, but the authors offer some simplifications. Using these, and the recursive nature of the relations among Hecke operators, they are able to describe \(t^n_1(p^\ell)\) and \(t^n_n(p^\ell)\). With some effort they also describe all the operators for \(n=4\), which is the first really difficult case, so they can give all the recursion relations defining Hecke operators for GL\(_n\) if \(2\leq n\leq 4\). The advantage of this, as they point out, is that the generators of the Hecke algebra are thereby presented as linear rather than algebraic combinations of double cosets.