Distinguished representations for \(\mathrm{SL}(2)\) (Q1429389)

A representation \(\pi\) of a group \(G\) is said to be distinguished with respect to a subgroup \(H\) of \(G\) if it admits a non-trivial \(H\)-invariant linear form, i.e., there exists a linear form \(\ell\) on \(V_\pi\) such that \(\ell(\pi(h) v) = \ell(v)\) for all \(h \in H\) and \(v \in V_\pi\). This work is on distinguished representations of the group \(G=\mathrm{SL}_2(E)\) with respect to the subgroup \(H=\mathrm{SL}_2(F)\), where \(E/F\) is a quadratic extension of \(p\)-adic fields. Denote by \(\Hom_H(\pi,1)\) the space of \(H\)-invariant linear forms. The authors classify distinguished representations and compute the dimension of \(\Hom_H(\pi,1)\). Possible dimensions are 1, 2 and 4, in contrast to the results for \((\mathrm{GL}_n(E), GL_n(F))\), where the space of invariant forms is at most one-dimensional. They show that the dimension of \(\Hom_H(\pi,1)\) varies inside an \(L\)-packet similar in spirit to the multiplicity formula for automorphic representations due to \textit{J.-P. Labesse} and \textit{R. P. Langlands} [Can. J. Math. 31, 726--785 (1979; Zbl 0421.12014)]. Their approach is based on the structure of \(L\)-packets and the results for \((\mathrm{GL}_2(E), \mathrm{GL}_2(F))\) [the authors, Pac. J. Math. 206, No. 2, 269--286 (2002; Zbl 1049.22008); \textit{Y. Z. Flicker}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 418, 139--172 (1991; Zbl 0725.11026); \textit{J. Hakim}, Duke Math. J. 62, No. 1, 1--22 (1991; Zbl 0724.22016)], using restriction from \(\mathrm{GL}_2(E)\) to \(\mathrm{SL}_2(E)\).