Toric varieties and spherical embeddings over an arbitrary field (Q661380)

In the early 70's, \textit{M. Demazure} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 3, 507--588 (1970; Zbl 0223.14009)] classified the smooth toric varieties under a split torus in terms of combinatorial objects which he named fans. In the next decade, this classification was extended to all toric varieties under a split torus. Then this classification has been generalized to spherical embeddings over an algebraically closed field \(k\) in terms of combinatorial data called colored fans, by \textit{D. Luna} and \textit{Th. Vust} [Comment. Math. Helv. 58, 186--245 (1983; Zbl 0545.14010)] in characteristic zero and by \textit{F. Knop} [in: Proceedings of the Hyderabad conference on algebraic groups (Hyderabad, 1989). Madras: Manoj Prakashan. 225--249 (1991; Zbl 0812.20023)] in arbitrary characteristics. Finally, \textit{D. Luna} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 94, 161--226 (2001; Zbl 1085.14039)] conjectured a combinatorial classification of (homogeneous) spherical varieties over a closed field in characteristic zero. The author generalizes these results to (non-split) reductive groups over an arbitrary field. In the first part of this paper, he studies the toric varieties under a non-split torus \(T\) over an arbitrary field \(k\). Let \(K\) be a Galois extension of \(k\) which split \(T\). The Galois group of this extension acts on fans corresponding to toric varieties under \(T_K=T\times_k K\). The author proves that toric varieties under \(T\) correspond to Galois-stable fans satisfying an additional condition, which roughly speaking means that the corresponding variety (over \(T_K\)) can be covered by quasi-projective, \(T_K\)-stable, Galois-stable open sub-varieties. Thus this condition is automatically verified for quasi-projective varieties, in particular it is verified for toric varieties of dimension 2. This condition is also verified if \(K\) is an extension of \(k\) of degree 2. Indeed in [\textit{J. Włodarczyk}, J. Algebr. Geom. 2, No. 4, 705--726 (1993; Zbl 0809.14043)] is proved that any two points in a toric variety (under a split torus) lie on a common affine open subset. Moreover, a normal \(T\)-varieties with an affine subset which meets every closed orbit is quasi-projective. Finally the author gives an example of non-split torus \(T\) over \(k\), split by an extension of \(K\) of \(k\) of degree \(3\) and a smooth \(T_K\)-toric variety with Galois stable fan but which is not defined over \(k\). In particular this variety contains \(3\) points which do not lie on a common affine open subset. Toric varieties under non-split tori were studied also in [\textit{E. J. Elizondo, P. Lima-Filho, F. Sottile} and \textit{Z. Teitler}, ``Arithmetic toric varieties''. \url{arXiv:1003.5141}]. In second part of this work, the author studies the spherical embeddings over an arbitrary field. A homogeneous space \((X_0,x_0)\) under a connected reductive group over \(k\) is called spherical if there is a Borel subgroup of \(G_{\bar{k}}\) with \(Bx_0\) open in \(X_0(\bar{k})\) (where \(\bar{k}\) is the algebraic closure of \(k\)). A (spherical) embedding of \(X\) is a normal \(G\)-variety \(X_0\) containing \(X_0\) as an open orbit. Remark that in this case one fixes a base point. First the author shows that the Galois group \(\mathrm{Gal}(\bar{k},k)\) acts on the colored fans (associated to embeddings of \(X_0(\bar{k})\)). The second main result of this work states that spherical embeddings of \(X_0\) are classified by Galois stable colored fan which satisfies an additional condition analogous to the one on toric varieties. The author shows that this condition is automatically verified if \(G\) is split. Recall that in the toric case the additional condition is verified if \(X\) has rank at most 2 or if \(T\) is split by a quadratic extension. In the spherical case the same holds if one assume moreover that \(X_0\) is horospherical or that \(X\) has no colors (these two last family of varieties are spherical embeddings more similar to toric varieties than the general ones). Finally the author gives an example of a homogeneous space \(X_0\) over the real field \(\mathbb{R}\) and an embedding \(X\) of \(X_0(\mathbf{C})\) with Galois-stable colored fan but which is not defined over \(\mathbb{R}\).