Modular Lagrangians and the theta multiplier (Q912898)

For \(\tau\) an element of the Siegel upper half space let \(\theta\) (\(\tau)\) denote the symplectic theta series. There is a character \(\lambda\) of the symplectic theta group \(\Gamma \subset Sp_{2n}({\mathbb{Z}})\) with values in the fourth roots of unity such that for \(\gamma =\left( \begin{matrix} *\quad *\\ c\quad d\end{matrix} \right)\in \Gamma\) the identity \(\theta (\gamma \tau)^ 2=\lambda (\gamma)\det (c\tau +d)\theta (\tau)^ 2\) holds. The main result of the paper is an explicit formula for \(\lambda\) (\(\gamma)\) in terms of the matrix entries of \(\gamma\). The character \(\lambda\) only depends on the reduction of \(\Gamma\) modulo 4. Furtheron the group \(\Gamma\) is generated by the conjugacy class of one element \(t\in \Gamma\). Hence two characters coinciding to t, coincide everywhere. Considering a certain cocycle on the set of oriented Lagrangians over \({\mathbb{Z}}/4\) a character \(\lambda^*\) of (\(\Gamma\) mod 4), hence of \(\Gamma\) is constructed. By showing \(\lambda (t)=\lambda^*(t)\) one obtains an explicit expression for \(\lambda\).