On structure constants of Iwahori-Hecke algebras for Kac-Moody groups (Q2039613)

Iwahori-Hecke algebras were first introduced in arithmetics by Hecke in the '30s. He defined an algebra, now called the Hecke algebra, generated by some operators on modular forms. Then in the late '50s, based on an idea of Weil, Shimura defined an algebra attached to a group containing a subgroup (under some hypotheses) as the algebra spanned by some double cosets and recovered Hecke's algebra. In 1964, Iwahori showed that, in the case of a Chevalley group over a finite field containing a Borel subgroup, Shimura's algebra can be defined in terms of bi-invariant functions on the group. He further gave a presentation by generators and relations of this algebra. Examples of such groups containing a suitable subgroup are given by BN-pairs and the theory of buildings. \textit{N. Iwahori} and \textit{H. Matsumoto} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 25, 5--48 (1965; Zbl 0228.20015)] found a famous instance in a Chevalley group over a \(p\)-adic field corresponding to the Bruhat-Tits building associated to the situation, giving birth to the affine Iwahori-Hecke algebras. The relationships of Iwahori-Hecke algebras with several areas of mathematics (number theory, combinatorics, geometry, algebra, analysis\dots) make them into a central object to study. Furthermore, some colleagues dream of a Langlands correspondence for Kac-Moody groups. Therefore, it is very tempting to generalise those constructions and definitions in this broader context. It has been done during the last 20 years by some people including Braverman, Cherednik, Garland, Ion, Kapranov, Kazhdan, Patnaik, Sahi \dots. Now, fix an affine Weyl group \(W = \langle s_0,s_1,...,s_n\rangle\), where the \(s_j\) are the generators in the Coxeter presentation. On one side, one can define the associated Iwahori-Hecke algebra \(^I\mathscr H\) as the algebra of functions with finite support on the set of double cosets \(\mathcal I\setminus \! G/\mathcal I\), where \(G\) is a reductive group over a local field and \(\mathcal I\) is the Iwahori subgroup. Note that this set of double cosets is in bijection with \(W\). But on the other side, Iwahori and Matsumoto [loc. cit.] define the algebra \(^I\mathscr H\) by generators and relations, with \(\{T_{s_0}, T_{s_1},..., T_{s_n}\}\) as the set of generators satisfying the relations \(T_{s_j}^2 = q\cdot 1 + (q-1) T_{s_j}\) and \(T_{s_i}T_{s_j}\cdots = T_{s_j}T_{s_i}\cdots \), where the number of terms is the finite order of \(s_is_j\) in the group \(W\). Further, as in the case of a Coxeter group, the structure constants \(a_{u,v}^w\) in \(T_uT_v = \sum_w a_{u,v}^wT_w\) only depends on \(u,v, w\) and \(W\) and are polynomials in \(q-1\). One gets a universal description of the affine Iwahori-Hecke algebra. The paper addresses this question for the affine Iwahori-Hecke algebras defined by the authors and Gaussent starting from a Kac-Moody group over a local field. The key player to define such algebras is the masure \(\mathscr I\) associated to the group and to the valuated field. This object is defined in the same way as the Bruhat-Tits building associated to a reductive group over a field with valuation. Nevertheless, the resulting affine Iwahori-Hecke algebra bears many properties with the classical one. To be more precise and for this review, let \(\mathbf T\subset \mathbf G\) be a split Borus (i.e. a Borel subgroup containing a split maximal torus) inside a Kac-Moody group over a local field. Let \(W^v\) be the Weyl group of the situation and let \(Y = \mathrm{Hom}(\mathbb G_a,\mathbf T)\) be the set of co-characters of \(\mathbf T\). Let us also denote the (positive) Tits cone by \(\mathcal T\), and set \(Y^+ = Y\cap \mathcal T\). The real affine space \(\mathbb A = Y\otimes\mathbb R\) is endowed with the arrangement of all hyperplanes \(M_{\alpha,k}= \{x\in\mathbb A \mid \alpha(x)+k =0\}\), for all real roots \(\alpha\) and all integers \(k\). This object is the standard apartment of the masure \(\mathscr I\). The masure \(\mathscr I\) is covered by apartments all isomorphic to \(\mathbb A \) and satisfies some axioms, first given by \textit{G. Rousseau} [Pure Appl. Math. Q. 7, No. 3, 859--921 (2011; Zbl 1255.51009)] and simplified by \textit{A. Hébert} [Can. J. Math. 72, No. 3, 732--773 (2020; Zbl 07201246)], that are a bit distinct than those of buildings. However, one can retract the whole masure onto the standard apartment. Lifting objects from \(\mathbb A\) to the \(\mathscr I\) plays a key role in this work, as we will see soon. The affine Iwahori-Hecke algebra is defined as the algebra of functions with finite support on a set of double cosets indexed by \(W^+ = W^v\ltimes Y^+\), generalising the reductive case, since when \(\mathbf G\) is reductive (and adjoint) \(W^+ = W\). For any \(\mathbf w = \lambda\cdot w\), \(\lambda\in Y\) and \(w\in W^v\), the associated generator is denoted by \(T_{\mathbf w}\). The main question is to prove that the numbers \(a_{\mathbf u,\mathbf v}^{\mathbf w}\) in \(T_{\mathbf u}T_{\mathbf v} = \sum_{\mathbf w} a_{{\mathbf u},{\mathbf v}}^{\mathbf w}T_{\mathbf w}\) only depend on \(\mathbf u,\mathbf v,\mathbf w\) and \(W^+\). In the first section, the authors recall the needed objects and properties. Particularly, they give the framework in which the result is obtained, namely the one of an abstract masure \(\mathscr I\) acted upon strongly transitively by a group of vectorially-Weyl isomorphisms of \(\mathscr I\). The definition of the affine Iwahori-Hecke algebra \(^I\mathscr H\) is also recalled. Section 2 contains the definition of the decorated Hecke paths, i.e. paths in \(\mathbb A\) that satisfy some combinatorial properties and are decorated by infinitesimal chambers. Hecke paths were first introduced by \textit{M. Kapovich} and \textit{J. J. Millson} in 2008 [Groups Geom. Dyn. 2, No. 3, 405--480 (2008; Zbl 1147.22011)] in the context of Bruhat-Tits buildings associated with reductive groups over local fields. Those kind of paths are used to describe the structure constants of the spherical Hecke algebras. They share many properties with Lakshmibai-Seshadri paths, the paths used by Littelmann in his path model, but there are more Hecke than Lakshmibai-Seshari paths. Let \(\mathbf u = \lambda\cdot u\) and \(\mathbf v = \mu\cdot v\) be spherical, meaning that the stabiliser of \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) in \(W^v\) are finite. In Section 3, the authors show that the structure constants \(a_{\mathbf u,\mathbf v}^{\mathbf w}\), for \(\mathbf w\in W^+\), counts the number of liftings, from \(\mathbb A\) to the masure \(\mathscr I\), of some decorated Hecke paths associated to \(\mathbf u = \lambda\cdot u\) and \(\mathbf v = \mu\cdot v\). In Section 4, the previous result is extended to the case where \(\lambda\) and \(\mu\) are in \(\stackrel{\circ}{Y^+} = Y\cap \stackrel{\circ}{\mathcal T}\), where \(\stackrel{\circ}{\mathcal T}\) is the interior of the Tits cone. So there exists a universal affine Iwahori-Hecke algebra in the finite, affine and strictly hyperbolic cases. And this paper shows it for the affine and strictly hyperbolic Kac-Moody groups.