The infinitesimal characters of discrete series for real spherical spaces (Q2201986)

Let \(Z=G/H\) be a homogeneous space attached to a real reductive group \(G\) and a closed subgroup \(H\). A principal objective in the harmonic analysis of \(Z\) is the understanding of the \(G\)-equivariant spectral decomposition of the space \(L^2(Z)\) of square integrable half-densities. Assume that \(G\) is real reductive and \(H\) unimodular real spherical subgroup, and consider the regular representation of \(G\) on \(L^2(Z)\). It is shown that all representations of the discrete series, that is, the irreducible subrepresentations of \(L^2(Z)\), have infinitesimal characters which are real and belong to a lattice. Moreover, let \(K\) be a maximal compact subgroup of \(G\). Then each irreducible representation of \(K\) occurs in a finite set of such discrete series representations only. Similar results are obtained for the twisted discrete series, that is, the discrete components of the space of square integrable sections of a line bundle, given by a unitary character on an abelian extension of \(H\).