The critical numbers of Rankin-Selberg convolutions of cohomological representations (Q503705)

Let $\pi$ and $\sigma$ be cohomological cuspidal automorphic representations of $\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb A)$, $\mathrm{GL}_m(\mathbb A)$ respectively where $\mathbb A$ denotes the ring of adeles over $\mathbb Q$. In the present paper the author studies the critical values of the Rankin-Selberg convolution $L$-function $L(\pi,\sigma,s)$ as introduced in [\textit{H. Jacquet} et al., Am. J. Math. 105, 367--464 (1983; Zbl 0525.22018)]. The main result (Theorems A and B) is a parametrization of these critical values in terms of certain irreducible components of rational representations associated with $\pi$ and $\sigma$. This generalizes a result of \textit{H. Kasten} and the author [Int. J. Number Theory 9, No. 1, 205--256 (2013; Zbl 1305.11039)], which treated the case $m=n-1$. There, the corresponding result was used to prove algebraicity results for critical values of $L(\pi,\sigma,s)$. One might likewise hope that the results of this paper constitute a step towards analogous results in the case of general cohomological $\pi$ and $\sigma$.