The fundamental group of period domains over finite fields (Q944327)

\textit{M. Rapoport} [in: Algebraic geometry. Proceedings of the Summer Research Institute, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, July 9--29, 1995. Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 62(pt.1), 361--381 (1997; Zbl 0924.14009)] introduced the notion of a period domain over a finite field \(k\). A period domain is associated to a reductive group over \(k\) together with a conjugacy class \(\mathcal N\) of \(\mathbb Q\)-1-parameter subgroups. It is an open subvariety of a generalized flag variety over the reflex field of the pair \((G, \mathcal N)\), which is defined by a semi-stability condition. The best known example is the Drinfeld upper half space \(\Omega_k^{(\ell+1)}\), which is the complement in \(\mathbb P^\ell_k\) of all \(k\)-rational hyperplanes. However, as is already indicated in loc.~cit., many properties of the Drinfeld space are not shared by other period domains. The paper at hand is concerned with investigating the geometric fundamental group of period domains. Let \(\mathcal F\) be a period domain over \(k\). The main result states that either \(\pi_1(\mathcal F)\) is trivial, or \(\pi_1(\mathcal F) \cong \pi_1(\Omega^{(\ell+1)}_{k'})\) for some finite field extension \(k'/k\) and suitable \(\ell\). We sketch the strategy of proof: If the codimension of the complement of the period domain in the ambient flag variety is \(> 1\), then the fundamental group is trivial. The author gives an explicit combinatorial criterion to decide, when the codimension is equal to \(1\), and shows that in this case, the period domain is fibered over a Drinfeld space with simply connected fibers. From the main theorem, one also gets a new proof of the fact that the Drinfeld space is the only period domain which is isomorphic to a Deligne-Lusztig variety. This had been proved in a different way by the author and \textit{M.~Rapoport} [J. Algebra 320, No. 3, 1220--1234 (2008; Zbl 1222.14102)].