Geometric rationality of equal-rank Satake compactifications

Cohomology of arithmetic groups (11F75) Modular and Shimura varieties (14G35) Discrete subgroups of Lie groups (22E40) Representations of Lie and linear algebraic groups over real fields: analytic methods (22E45) Stratifications; constructible sheaves; intersection cohomology (complex-analytic aspects) (32S60) Intersection homology and cohomology in algebraic topology (55N33)

Abstract: Satake has constructed compactifications of symmetric spaces D=G/K which (under a condition called geometric rationality by Casselman) yield compactifications of the corresponding locally symmetric spaces. The different compactifications depend on the choice of a representation of G. One example is the Baily-Borel-Satake compactification of a Hermitian locally symmetric space; Baily and Borel proved this is always geometrically rational. Satake compactifications for which all the real boundary components are equal-rank symmetric spaces are a natural generalization of the Baily-Borel-Satake compactification. Recent work (see math.RT/0112250, math.RT/0112251) indicates that this is the natural setting for many results about cohomology of compactifications of locally symmetric spaces. In this paper we prove any Satake compactification for which all the real boundary components are equal-rank symmetric spaces is geometrically rational aside from certain rational rank 1 or 2 exceptions; we completely analyze geometric rationality for these exceptional cases. The proof uses Casselman's criterion for geometric rationality. We also prove that a Satake compactification is geometrically rational if the representation is defined over the rational numbers.

Review text

Let \(G\) be the group of real points of a semisimple algebraic group defined over \({\mathbb Q}\), \(K \subseteq G\) a maximal compact subgroup, and \(\Gamma \subset G\) an arithmetic subgroup. For every irreducible representation \((\sigma, U)\) of \(G\), Satake has constructed a compactification of the symmetric space \(D = G/K\). Under certain conditions, which were termed geometric rationality by Casselman, Satake also constructed a compactification of the locally symmetric space \(\Gamma\backslash D\). Geometric rationality was proved by \textit{A. Borel} [Centre Belge Rech. Math., Colloque Théor. Groupes Algébr., Bruxelles 1962, 23--40 (1962; Zbl 0161.02603)] in the case where \((\sigma,U)\) is strongly rational over \({\mathbb Q}\), and by \textit{W. L. Baily jun.} and \textit{A. Borel} [Ann. Math. (2) 84, 442--528 (1966; Zbl 0154.08602)] under certain conditions on \(D\). The first main result of the paper generalizes Borel's result and establishes geometric rationality in the case \((\sigma,U)\) is rational over \({\mathbb Q}\). The second main result generalizes the result of Baily and Borel and proves that geometric rationality holds (with some \({\mathbb Q}\)-rank 1 and 2 exceptions) in the case each real boundary component of the Satake compactification is an equal rank symmetric space.

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