Local systems and finite unitary and symplectic groups (Q2335499)

The authors consider \(\ell\)-adic local systems on \(\mathbb{A}^1/\overline{\mathbb{F}_p}\) whose images by the monodromy map are given finite groups \(G\) which are generated by their Sylow \(p\)-subgroups. For powers \(q\) of any odd prime \(p\) and any integer \(n\geq 2\), they exhibit explicit local systems, on the affine line \(\mathbb{A}^1\) in characteristic \(p>0\) if \(n\) is even and on the affine plane \(\mathbb{A}^2\) if \(n\) is odd, whose geometric monodromy groups are the finite symplectic groups \(\mathrm{Sp}_{2n}(q)\). For \(n\geq 3\) odd, they show that the explicit rigid local systems on \(\mathbb{A}^1\) in characteristic \(p>0\) constructed in [\textit{N. M. Katz}, Mathematika 64, No. 3, 785--846 (2018; Zbl 1456.11232)] have the special unitary groups \(\mathrm{SU}_n(q)\) as their geometric monodromy groups as conjectured therein, and also prove another conjecture of that paper concerning arithmetic monodromy groups.