Quasi-constant characters: motivation, classification and applications (Q1989705)

Let \(G\) be a connected, reductive group over a field \(k\) with a maximal torus \(T\). Denote the root datum of \((G_{\bar{k}}, T_{\bar{k}})\) by \((X^*(T), \Phi, X_*(T), \Phi^\vee)\). Set \(W\) to be the Weyl group of \(T_{\bar{k}}\). As defined by the authors in [Invent. Math. 217, No. 3, 887--984 (2019; Zbl 1431.11071)], a character \(\chi \in X^*(T)\) is \emph{quasi-constant} if, for every root \(\alpha \in \Phi\) satisfying \(\langle \chi, \alpha^\vee \rangle \neq 0\) and \(\sigma \in W \rtimes \mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k}/k)\), one has \[ \dfrac{\langle \chi, \sigma \alpha^\vee \rangle}{\langle \chi, \alpha^\vee \rangle} \in \{-1, 0 ,1\}. \] \emph{Quasi-constant cocharacters} are defined in a similar way. In the paper under review, the authors classify the quasi-constant characters and cocharacters of \(G\). An important motivation for studying quasi-constant characters and cocharacters comes from the following observation. Let \((\mathbf G, \mathbf X)\) be a Shimura datum of Hodge type. The pullback of the Hodge bundle via a symplectic embedding \(\psi: (\mathbf G, \mathbf X) \rightarrow (\mathrm{GSp}(2g), \mathbf X_g)\) arises from a quasi-constant character. The classification of quasi-constant characters (resp., cocharacters) is in terms of minuscule and cominuscule characters (resp., cocharacters), and is given in two steps: the authors first deal with a special case when \(k\) is algebraically closed and \(G\) is simple and simply-connected (resp. adjoint), and then reduce the general classification to the special case. When \(G\) is semisimple, the authors also observe a duality between quasi-constant characters and quasi-constant cocharacters. The classification and the duality are then applied to improve a result in [loc. cit.]: the zip stratification of the stack \(G - \mathrm{Zip}^\mu\) is uniformly principally pure for an \(\mathbb F_p\)-group \(G\).