On \(q\)-deformed \({\mathfrak{gl}_{\ell+1}}\)-Whittaker function. II (Q625450)

In this paper the authors continue their study of \(q\)-deformed \(\mathfrak{gl}_{l+1}\)-Whittaker functions originated in Part I [Commun. Math. Phys. 294, No. 1, 97--119 (2010; Zbl 1222.17015)] in which they realized \(q\)-deformed \(\mathfrak{gl}_{l+1}\)-Whittaker functions as characters of certain \(\mathbb{C}^*\times \text{GL}_{l+1}\)-modules. The main objective of this second paper is to better understand this realization. The author consider a specialization of a \(q\)-deformed \(\mathfrak{gl}_{l+1}\)-Whittaker function given by the trace over a certain \(\mathbb{C}^*\times \text{GL}_{l+1}\)-module \(\mathcal{V}_{n,k}\). The authors provide a description of this module as the degree zero cohomology group of a line bundle on an algebraic version \(\mathcal{L}\mathbb{P}_+^l\) of a semi-infinite cycle in a universal covering of the space of loops in \(\mathbb{P}^l\). The space \(\mathcal{L}\mathbb{P}_+^l\) is defined as as an appropriate limit of the space of degree \(d\) quasi-maps from \(\mathbb{P}^1\) to \(\mathbb{P}^l\). For \(l=1\) this provides a description of the \(q\)-deformed \(\mathfrak{gl}_{2}\)-Whittaker function in terms of cohomology of line bundles over \(\mathcal{L}\mathbb{P}_+^1\). Using the above the authors interpret the \(q\)-version of the Mellin-Barnes integral representation of the specialized \(q\)-Whittaker function as an instance of the Riemann-Roch-Hirzebruch theorem in a semi-infinite setting. The corresponding Tod class is expressed in terms of a \(q\)-version of the \(\Gamma\)-function.