The Weil representation in characteristic two (Q438170)

The paper under review deals with the Weil representation, as it is described in the paper [\textit{A. Weil}, Acta Math. 111, 143--211 (1964; Zbl 0203.03305)]. This representation plays an important role in many branches of mathematics. In the following we sketch the setting on which the present paper is based. For details see chapter III of [loc. cit.]. Let \(V\) be a finite dimensional vector space over some local field \(k\) of characteristic \(p < \infty\). Weil defined for the case of odd characteristic \(p\) a projective unitary representation of the symplectic group \(\text{Sp}(V)\) on the space \(L_2(V)\). In contrast to the case of odd characteristic the case of \(p=2\) is more complicated. Weil constructed a projective representation of a group \(\text{Ps}(V)\) on the same representation space. He called the group \(\text{Ps}(V)\) the \textit{pseudo-symplectic group}. It is an extension of an orthogonal group by the dual space \(V^*\), but not of the symplectic group \(\text{Sp}(V)\). In fact, the before mentioned orthogonal group is a proper subgroup of \(\text{Sp}(V)\). The authors of the paper give a new construction of the Weil representation associated to a symplectic vector space \(V\) over a \textit{finite field of characteristic two}. It is connected to the original representation in [loc. cit.] in the following way. The constructed representation \(\tilde\rho\) is a projective representation of a group \(\text{A}\text{Sp}(V)\) which contains the pseudo-symplectic group. Moreover, \(\text{A}\text{Sp}(V)\) is an extension of \(\text{Sp}(V)\) by the dual space \(V^*\). The authors call the group \(\text{A}\text{Sp}(V)\) the \textit{affine symplectic group}. The representation \[ \tilde\rho:\text{A}\text{Sp}(V)\longrightarrow \text{PGL}(L_2(V)) \] extends, as a projective representation, the original Weil representation. Similar to Weil's paper [loc. cit.], chapter III, the authors define an extension of \(\text{A}\text{Sp}(V)\) by the group of fourth roots of unity, the metaplectic group \(\text{AMp}(V)\). On this group \(\tilde\rho\) lifts to an honest representation \[ \rho: \text{AMp}(V) \longrightarrow \text{GL}(L_2(V)). \] The paper is mainly concerned with the construction of \(\tilde\rho\) and \(\rho\) respectively. It proceeds basically in the same way as it is known for the classical Weil representation. In a first step a representation of the Heisenberg group \(H(V)\) has to be constructed. Its existence can be proved using the Stone--von Neumann property. It is well known that the Weil representation is then defined by the intertwining operator \(\rho(g)\) of the representations \(\rho_{\text{Heis}}\) and \(\rho_{\text{Heis}}^g\). Here \(g\) is an element of the group of automorphisms which leaves the center of \(H(V)\) and \(\rho_{\text{Heis}}^g(w) = \rho_{\text{Heis}}(g\cdot w)\). In the present paper the construction of the Heisenberg representation and all subsequent objects, as outlined before, are based on the concept of so called \textit{enhanced Lagrangian} subspaces in \(V\). An enhanced Lagrangian space is a pair \((L,\tau)\) where \(L\) is a Lagrangian space and \(\tau: L \rightarrow H(V)\) is a homomorphism splitting of the natural projection \(H(V)\rightarrow V\). A central result of the paper is a stronger form of the Stone-von Neumann theorem, Theorem 2.6. The realization of their variant of the Weil representation is fundamentally based on this theorem. For all further details see chapter 2 of the paper.