Rational points and Coxeter group actions on the cohomology of toric varieties (Q931898)

Let \(V\) be an \(n\)-dimensional vector space over \(\mathbb{R}\) with a positive definite inner product, \(\Phi\subset V\) a root system such that the Weyl group \(W\) of \(\Phi\) is finite and crystallographic. Let \(M\subset V\) denote the weight lattice. The set of all faces of Weyl chambers is a fan \(\Delta\) in \(V\) and the corresponding toric variety \(\mathcal{T}_W\) is smooth and projective. The Weyl group \(W\) action on \(V\) preserves the fan \(\Delta\) and yields an action on \(\mathcal{T}_W\). Thus \(W\) acts on the cohomology of \(\mathcal{T}_W\). The character of \(H^*(\mathcal{T}_W;\mathbb{C})\) was first studied by \textit{C. Procesi} [Mots, pp. 153--161, Lang. Raison. Calcul. Hermés, Paris (1990)]. In this paper, the author gives an explicit formula for the Poincaré polynomial \(P_W(t)=\sum_i H^i(\mathcal{T}_W;\mathbb{C})t^i\) as an element of \(R(W)[t]\), the polynomial algebra over the representation ring of \(W\). More precisely, fix a set of simple roots \(\Pi\) and, for any \(J\subset \Pi\), denote by \(W_J\subset W\) the subgroup of \(W\) generated by reflections in the hyperplane orthogonal to the roots in \(J\). Note that \(W_J\) acts on \(V_J\subset V\) the vector subspace spanned by \(J\). It is shown that \(H^{2i}(\mathcal{T}_W;\mathbb{C})=(-1)^i \sum_{J\subseteq \Pi, |J|\geq i} (-1)^{|J|}\text{Ind}_{W_J}^W(\Lambda^{|J|-i}(V_J))\) in \(R(W)\). (As is well-known the odd dimensional cohomology groups of \(\mathcal{T}_W\) vanish.) The proof involves establishing a formula for the weight polynomial \[ W_{c,\mathcal{T}_W}^W(t):=\sum_{m\geq 0}\sum_j (-1)^j Gr_{m}^WH^{j}_c(\mathcal{T}_W;\mathbb{C})t^m\in RW[t] \] for the \(W\)-action on \(\mathcal{T}_W\). Here \(Gr^W_m\) denotes the \(m\)-th graded component for the weight filtration on the compactly supported cohomology groups. This, together with Poincaré duality, facilitates computation of \(P_W(t)\), via the Grothendieck-Lefschetz fixed point theorem, by counting \(\mathbb{F}_q\) rational points on \(T\)-orbits of \(\mathcal{T}_W\). Besides the main theorem, there are many other interesting results obtained in this paper. One such is: Theorem 3.5(iii): \textit{The alternating character of \(W\) does not occur in \(H^*(\mathcal{T}_W;\mathbb{Q})\).} In the appendix, the author establishes the equivalence of his formula to the ones obtained by \textit{I. Dolgachev} and \textit{V. Lunts} [J. Algebra 168, 741--772 (1994; Zbl 0813.14040)] and \textit{J. R. Stembridge} [Adv. Math. 106, 244--301 (1994; Zbl 0838.20050)].