Classifying Levi-spherical Schubert varieties (Q6161655)

The paper is an extended abstract summarizing some recent results in type A Lie combinatorics and exploring generalizations to other types. The authors search for combinatorial characterizations of a geometric property called Levi-sphericality. A Schubert variety \(S_w\) in a full flag variety is Levy-\(I\)-spherical (here \(I\) is a combinatorial choice), if the action of the Borel subgroup in a Levi subgroup (corresponding to \(I\)) of a standard parabolic has an open orbit. The main result (of the same authors) is the following combinatorial characterization: \(S_w\) is Levy-\(I\)-spherical if and only if \(w_0(I)w\) is a standard Coxeter element. The proof uses the theory of Demazure characters and their manifestation in algebraic combinatorics, the key polynomials. In Section 4 the authors phrase definitions for other types, and a conjectured combinatrial characterization, togehter with evidence in type C.