Weak order on complete quadrics

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Abstract: Using an action of the Richardson-Springer monoid on involutions, we study the weak order on the variety of complete quadrics. Maximal chains in the poset are explicitly determined. Applying results of Brion, our calculations describe certain cohomology classes in the complete flag variety.


Let \(G\) be a semi-simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of characteristic different from 2 and let \(B\subset G\) be a Borel subgroup. A \(G\)-variety \(X\) is spherical if \(X\) has finitely many \(B\)-orbits. There are two natural orders on the finite set \(B(X)\) of \(B\)-stable subvarieties of \(X\):NEWLINENEWLINE I) The Bruhat-Chevalley order, which is defined by \(Y_1 \leq_B Y_2\Leftrightarrow Y_1\subset Y_2\). In the case of a smooth quadric, the combinatorics of this order was studied in [\textit{F. Incitti}, J. Algebr. Comb. 20, No. 3, 243--261 (2004; Zbl 1057.05079)].NEWLINENEWLINEII) The weak order \(\leq\): \( Y_1\) is covered by \(Y_2\) if and only if \(Y_2 = PY_1\) for some minimal parabolic subgroup \(P\subset G\). This order is weaker than the Bruhat-Chevalley order; moreover, given two \(B\)-orbit \(O_1\), \(O_2\) such that \(\overline{O}_1 \leq \overline{O}_2\), then \(O_1\), \(O_2\) lie in the same \(G\)-orbit. Thus, it suffices to study the weak order for homogeneous varieties. For varieties that are not homogeneous, information about the Bruhat-Chevalley order can be recovered from the knowledge of the weak order of each of the \(G\)-orbits.NEWLINENEWLINEIf \(X\) is homogeneous, then \(X\) is the unique maximal element of \(B(X)\). For \(Y\in B(X)\), the \(W\)-set of \(Y\), \(W(Y)\), consists of all \(w\in W\) of length \(\mathrm{codim}(Y)\), such that for some reduced expression \(w = s_1s_2\cdots s_l\) holds \(X = P_{s_1}P_{s_2}\cdots P_{s_l}Y\). If \(B(X)\) has a unique minimal element \(Y_0\), then the maximal chains in \(B(X)\) correspond to the reduced expressions of elements in \(W(Y_0)\). The principal result of this paper is the description of the \(W\)-sets for the unique minimal element in \(B(O)\) for each \(G\)-orbit \(O\) of the variety of complete quadrics \(M\). \(M\) is defined as the unique wonderful completion of \(\mathrm{PSL}_n/\mathrm{PSO}_n\) (see [\textit{C. De Concini} and \textit{C. Procesi}, Invariant theory, Proc. 1st 1982 Sess. C.I.M.E., Montecatini/Italy, Lect. Notes Math. 996, 1--44 (1983; Zbl 0581.14041)]). In particular, the authors explicitly determine maximal chains in \(B(O)\). The boundary of \(M\) is a union of \(n-1\) smooth \(G\)-stable divisors with smooth transversal intersections. Each \(G\)-orbit in \(M\) corresponds to a subset of \(\{1, 2, \ldots, n - 1\}\); they are also in one-to-one correspondance with the set of compositions \(\mu\) of \(n\). Recall that a composition of \(n\) is an ordered sequence of positive integers that sum to \(n\). The \(B\)-orbits in \(O_\mu\) are parameterized by combinatorial objects that the authors call \(\mu\)-involutions. In the case of the open \(G\)-orbit, they are the involutions of the group \(S_n\) of permutations on \(n\) elements. To prove the main result, the author consider the Richardson-Springer monoid \(M(S_n)\) and define an action of \(M(S_n)\) over the set of \(\mu\)-involutions, such that \(O_{\mu'}\leq O_{\mu} \Leftrightarrow \mu'= w \cdot \mu\) for some \(w\in M(S_n)\).NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINENEWLINE Let \(X_\mu\) be the closure of the dense \(B\)-orbit of \(O_\mu\), \(Y_\mu\) the closure of the unique closed \(B\)-orbit of \(O_\mu\) and \(i : G/B^-\rightarrow X_\mu\) the natural inclusion. Finally, the authors determine \(i^*([Y_\mu]) \in H^*(G/B^-,\mathbb{Z})\).











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