Howe duality and dichotomy for exceptional theta correspondences (Q2689657)

Let us denote by \(F\) a non-archimedean local field of characteristic zero and residue characteristic \(p\). Let us denote by \(D\) a cubic division \(F\)-algebra, and note that \(PD^{\times}\) is the unique inner form of \(\mathrm{PGL}_3\). In the paper under the review, the authors consider the following dual pairs: \[ (\mathrm{PGL}_3 \rtimes \mathbb{Z}/\mathbb{Z}_2) \times G_2, PD^{\times} \times G_2, G_2 \times \mathrm{PGSP}_6. \] The first dual pair is contained in \(E_6 \times \mathbb{Z}/\mathbb{Z}_2\), the second is contained in \(E^D_6\), while the third is contained in \(E_7\). The local theta correspondence can be obtained by restriction of the minimal representation of \(E\) to the relevant dual pair. The first main result is the dichotomy theorem, stating that an irreducible representation \(\pi\) of \(G_2(F)\) has a nonzero theta lift to exactly one of \(PD^{\times}\) or \(\mathrm{PGSP}_6.\) Let us denote the big theta lift of \(\pi\) by \(\Theta(\pi)\) and let \(\theta(\pi)\) be its maximal semi-simple quotient. An analogue of the Howe duality conjecture in the exceptional theta correspondence is not a priori known, and the authors prove it for the considered dual pairs. More precisely, it is proven that for irreducible representations \(\pi_1\) and \(\pi_2\) of \(G_2(F)\) we have \[ \mathrm{dim} ~ \mathrm{Hom}_{H_J}(\theta(\pi_1), \theta(\pi_2)) \leq \mathrm{dim} ~ \mathrm{Hom}_{G_2}(\pi_1, \pi_2), \] where \(H_J = \mathrm{Aut}(J)\), \(J\) being a Freudenthal-Jordan algebra of degree \(3\). For all three dual pairs considered, the full lifts of all non-supercuspidal representations of \(G_2\) are determined, together with the lifts of supercuspidal representations whose lift is not supercuspidal. It is also proved that the correspondences preserve tempered representations, that the discrete series of \(G_2\) lifts to a discrete series of exactly one of the three groups, and that the correspondences are functorial for non-tempered representations.