Projective and Whittaker functors on category O

Representations of Lie algebras and Lie superalgebras, algebraic theory (weights) (17B10) Simple, semisimple, reductive (super)algebras (17B20) Ext and Tor, generalizations, Künneth formula (category-theoretic aspects) (18G15)

Abstract: We show that the Whittaker functor on a regular block of the BGG-category

m a t h c a l O

of a semisimple complex Lie algebra can be obtained by composing a translation to the wall functor with Soergel and Miliv{c}i'{c}'s equivalence between the category of Whittaker modules and a singular block of

m a t h c a l O

. We show that the Whittaker functor is a quotient functor that commutes with all projective functors and endomorphisms between them.

Review text

Let \(\mathfrak{g}\) be a semisimple complex Lie algebra with Borel subalgebra \(\mathfrak{b}\) and Cartan subalgebra \(\mathfrak{h}\). Consider the nilpotent Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{n} = [\mathfrak{b},\mathfrak{b}]\). The BGG-category \(\mathcal{O}\) is the category of finitely generated \(U(\mathfrak{g})\)-modules that are locally finite over \(\mathfrak{n}\) and semisimple over \(\mathfrak{h}\). Let \(\mathcal{N}\) denote the category of finitely generated \(U(\mathfrak{g})\)-modules that are locally finite over \(\mathfrak{n}\) and over the center \(Z\) of \(U(\mathfrak{g})\). Any algebra homomorphism (character) \(f: U(\mathfrak{n}) \to \mathbb{C}\) defines a category \(\mathcal{N}^f\) of Whittaker modules: the full subcategory of \(\mathcal{N}\) consisting of modules that are locally annihilated by some power of \(\ker f\). Each of the categories \(\mathcal{O}\), \(\mathcal{N}\), and \(\mathcal{N}^f\) admit decompositions over the weight space \(\mathfrak{h}^*\). \par Of interest in this paper is an exact functor \(\overline{\Gamma}_f : \mathcal{O} \to \mathcal{N}^f\), known as the Whittaker functor, that was introduced by the second author [Int. Math. Res. Not. 1997, No. 4, 153--172 (1997; Zbl 0974.17007)]. This functor takes Verma modules to so-called \textit{standard Whittaker modules} (defined via induction over a parabolic subalgebra). The category \(\mathcal{O}\) has a block decomposition over \(\mathfrak{h}^*\): \(\mathcal{O} = \oplus_{\lambda \in \mathfrak{h}^*}\mathcal{O}_{\hat{\lambda}}\). The category \(\mathcal{N}^f\) admits a similar decomposition, and the Whittaker functor preserves the blocks, that is, \(\overline{\Gamma}_f : \mathcal{O}_{\hat{\lambda}} \to \mathcal{N}^f_{\hat{\lambda}}\). For a regular dominant weight \(\lambda\) (and assuming \(f\) is associated in a natural way to a certain dominant integral weight \(\mu\)), the authors introduce a second functor \(\tau: \mathcal{O}_{\hat{\lambda}} \to \mathcal{N}^f_{\hat{\lambda}}\) (at this block level) and show that it is equivalent to \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\). The functor \(\tau\) is defined as a composite of three functors, where the middle functor is translation to a wall (\(\lambda\) to \(\mu\)) and the outer functors are equivalences involving Harish-Chandra bimodules. \par Key to the work is the use of projective functors on the category \(\mathcal{O}\), in fact, in the larger category of finitely generated \(U(\mathfrak{g})\)-modules that are locally finite over \(Z\). It is shown that both \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\) and \(\tau\) commute in a certain sense with projective functors. This allows the authors to construct the natural equivalence between \(\tau\) and \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\). As a consequence, it is seen that \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\) admits left and right adjoints, some calculations of which are made on standard Whittaker modules. It also follows that \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\) is a quotient functor. \par The authors speculate on potential applications to Rouquier complexes, observing that properties of \(\overline{\Gamma}_f\) lead to exactness of the Whittaker Rouquier complex.

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