The principal series for a reductive symmetric space. II: Eisenstein integrals (Q1803326)

Let \(G/H\) be a reductive symmetric space. Let \(\sigma: G\to G\) be the corresponding involution. Then both \(G\) and \(H\) are unimodular and hence there exists a \(G\)-invariant measure on \(G/H\). The group \(G\) then acts unitarily on \(L^ 2(G/H)\) by left translation and \(L^ 2(G/H)\simeq \int_{\widehat {G}}^ \oplus m_ \pi \pi d\mu(\pi)\). The fundamental problem in harmonic analysis on \(G/H\) is to determine the measure \(\mu\) explicitly. This includes finding its support as well as the multiplicities \(m_ \mu\). The group \(G\) itself may be viewed as a symmetric space by defining the involution \(\sigma: G\times G\to G\) by \((a,b) \mapsto (b,a)\). An explicit form of the direct integral decomposition in this case was determined by Harish-Chandra. The Plancherel formula is also known for the rank one semisimple symmetric spaces. In general the support of \(\mu\) will consist of a discrete part and tempered representations induced from \(\sigma\theta\)-stable parabolic subgroups, where \(\theta\) is a Cartan involution of \(G\) commuting with \(\sigma\). In this paper the author deals with the principal series representations of \(G/H\), which support the most continuous part of the Plancherel measure. Those representations are parabolically induced from the minimal \(\theta\sigma\) stable subgroup \(P=MAN\), \(\pi(\xi,\lambda)= \text{Ind}_ P^ G (\xi\otimes \lambda\otimes 1)\). Here \(\xi\) is in an appropriate set of finite dimensional irreducible unitary representations of \(M\) and \(\lambda\in {\mathfrak a}_{pqC}^*\), where \({\mathfrak a}_{pq}\) is a maximal abelian subspace of the common \(-1\) eigenspace of \(\sigma\) and \(\theta\). In part I [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér., IV. Sér. 21, 359-412 (1988; Zbl 0714.22009)] the author constructed a finite dimensional vector space \(V(\xi)\) and a linear map \(j(P:\xi:\lambda): V(\xi)\to {\mathcal C}^{-\infty} (P:\xi:\lambda)^ H\) depending meromorphically on \(\lambda\) and bijective for generic \(\lambda\). Here \({\mathcal C}^{-\infty} (P:\xi:\lambda)^ H\) is the space of generalized vectors for \(\pi(\xi,\lambda)\) which are fixed under \(H\). In this paper the author studies the associated Eisenstein integrals, which may be viewed as matrix coefficients of \(\pi(\xi,\lambda)\). It is shown that the Eisenstein integrals depend meromorphically on \(\lambda\) and behave finitely and semisimply under \(\mathbb{D} (G/H)\). This is then used for the asymptotic expansions for the Eisenstein integrals and the introduction of the \(c\)-function. One of the main results is, that the Eisenstein integrals allow a normalization so that the associated normalized \(c\)- functions are unitary for \(\lambda\in i{\mathfrak a}_{pa}^*\). In the Riemannian case this corresponds to the well known relation \(c(- s\lambda)c(s\lambda)= c(-\lambda)c(\lambda)\). The author also derives a functional equation for the \(j\)-function. In the last part of the paper the normalized Eisenstein integrals are used for defining the Fourier transform of \(K\)-finite \(L^ 2\)-Schwartz functions on \(G/H\).