On orbits in double flag varieties for symmetric pairs (Q2441332)

Let \(G\) be a connected, simply connected semisimple algebraic group over \(\mathbb C\) and let \(K\) be the fixed point subgroup of an involutive automorphism of \(G\), so that \(K\) is a connected reductive group. For arbitrary parabolic subgroups \(P\subset G\) and \(Q\subset K\), the authors consider the product of flag varieties \(G/P\) and \(K/Q\), equipped with the diagonal \(K\)-action. The resulting \(K\)-variety \(G/P \times K/Q\) is called a \textit{double flag variety for the symmetric pair} \((G,K)\). This \(K\)-variety is said to be \textit{of finite type} if \(K\) has finitely many orbits on it. The authors provide a rather complicated general parametrisation of \(K\)-orbits on \(G/P \times K/Q\) that involves quotient spaces of unipotent groups. This parametrisation becomes much more tractable if \(Q=B_K\) is a Borel subgroup of \(K\), and making use of it the authors provide a complete classification (list) of the double flag varieties \(G/P \times K/B_K\) of finite type. On the other hand, if \(P=B\) is a Borel subgroup of \(G\), then \(G/B \times K/Q\) is of finite type if and only if \(Q\) has finitely many orbits in \(G/B\), i.e., \(G/Q\) is a spherical \(G\)-variety. This transfers the finiteness problem into a well-known setting of spherical homogeneous spaces of \(G\) and again allows to obtain a complete classification of the finite type cases. The authors remark that one of motivations to study double flag variety for the symmetric pairs comes from the theory of character sheaves, and they also discuss a relationship of their problem to the finiteness problem for the triple flag varieties \(G/P_1\times G/P_2\times G/P_3\).