Spherical Functions on a Group of Type
Arun Ram
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Melbourne
Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
aram@unimelb.edu.au
Last update: 13 February 2014
Chapter II: Groups of type
Root systems
Let be a real vector space of finite dimension and
a positive definite scalar product on
Let be the dual vector space. Then the scalar product defines
an isomorphism of onto and hence a scalar product
on
For each non-zero
let be the image of
under this isomorphism. Let denote the kernel of and let
be the reflection in the hyperplane
We make act also on by transposition:
A root system in is a subset
of satisfying the following axioms:
(RS 1) |
is finite, spans and does not
contain
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(RS 2) |
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(RS 3) |
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We shall assume throughout that is reduced:
(RS 4) |
If are proportional, then
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and
irreducible:
(RS 5) |
If
such that
for all and
then either
or is empty.
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The elements of are called roots. The group
generated by the reflections
is a finite group of isometries of called the Weyl group of
The connected components of the set
are open simplicial cones called the chambers of
These chambers are permuted simply transitively by and the closure of each chamber is a fundamental
region for
Choose a chamber This choice determines a set
of roots such that is the intersection of the open half-spaces
for The elements of
are called the simple roots (relative to the chamber
A root is said to be positive or negative
according as it is positive or negative on Let
(resp.
denote the set of positive (resp. negative) roots.
Each root can be expressed as a linear combination of the simple roots:
with coefficients all of the same sign. The integer
the sum of the coefficients, is called the height of
There is a unique root (the 'highest root') whose height is maximal.
Let denote the 'obtuse cone'
If and
then
A subset of
is said to be closed if
Suppose is closed and
Then there exists such that
The Weyl group is generated by the reflections for
Hence any
can be written as a product
where and
If the number of factors
is as small as possible, then
is a reduced word for and is the length of
written The length of
is also equal to the number of positive roots such that
is negative. More precisely, these roots are
(All this of course is relative to the choice of the chamber
In particular, there exists a unique element of which sends every
positive root to a negative root. This leads to the following result, which will be useful later:
The positive roots can be arranged in a sequence
such that for each
the set of roots
is the set of positive roots relative to some chamber
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Proof. |
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Let be a reduced word for
where
and as before put
For each
is a reduced word, and
therefore from the facts quoted above
Consequently
and therefore
so that
and finally
is the set of positive roots for the chamber
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Affine roots
We retain the notation of (2.1). For each and
we have an affine-linear function on (namely,
Let
The elements of are called affine roots. We shall denote them by Greek letters
If
is an affine root, so are and for all integers
If then
is the gradient of
(in the usual sense of elementary calculus).
For each let
be the (affine) hyperplane on which vanishes, and let be the reflection in
(From now on, only the affine structure and not the vector-space structure of
will come into play). The group generated by the as
runs through is an infinite group of displacements of
called the Weyl group of or the affine Weyl group.
is the subgroup of which fixes the point
The translations belonging to form a free abelian group of rank
and is the semi-direct product of and
For each let
The
are a basis of We have
and the mapping defined by
maps isomorphically onto the lattice spanned by the for
The affine Weyl group acts on by transposition: if
then
is defined to be
The connected components of the set
are open rectilinear called the chambers of
The chambers are permuted simply transitively by and the closure of each chamber is a fundamental region for
The (non-empty) faces of the chambers are locally closed simplexes, called facets. Each point
lies in a unique facet The subgroup of
which fixes also fixes each point of
Choose a chamber This choice determines a set of
affine roots, such that is the intersection of the open half-spaces
for The affine roots belonging to
are called the simple affine roots (relative to the chamber
The affine Weyl group is generated by the relations for
As in the case of
we define the length
of an element of
The length of is also equal to the number of affine roots which are positive on
and negative on i.e. to the number of hyperplanes
which separate and
If is a facet of then the subgroup of which fixes a point of
is generated by the
which fix
We shall need the following result later:
Let be a set of affine roots whose gradients are all positive and distinct. Then there exists a translation
such that each is positive on
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Proof. |
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Let the elements of be
and let
We have
If then
for all positive roots Hence will be positive on
provided that
Hence we have only to choose so that satisfies
for all which occur as gradients of elements of
and this is certainly possible.
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For later use, it will be convenient to choose to be the unique chamber of which
is contained in the cone and has the origin as one vertex. The following lemma presupposes
this choice of
For each let
be the set of affine roots which are positive on and negative on
Let be an element of such that
Then for all we have
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Proof. |
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If is positive on
then
is negative on and positive on hence
(because the origin belongs to the
intersection of the closures of and Consequently
is negative on hence is negative on
and therefore on contradiction. Hence
must be negative on i.e.
Next, let and put
Then
and
hence is positive on and negative on
i.e.
Hence
Conversely, let
If then
and if
then
This establishes the opposite inclusion. Finally, the sets and
are disjoint, because
for all
and
for all
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Before going any further, it may be helpful to have a concrete example of the set-up so far:
(Root system of type
Let be the set of all
such that The
scalar product is
Let be the coordinate function on
and let
Then satisfies (RS 1)-(RS 5). The Weyl group
acts by permuting the coordinates
of hence is isomorphic to the symmetric group
of order
We may take the chamber
to be
and the simple roots are then
The chamber
is the open simplex
BN-pairs
Let be a group, and subgroups of and
a subset of the coset space
The pair is a BN-pair in (or a Tits system)
if it satisfies the following four axioms:
(BN 1) |
is generated by and and
is normal in
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(BN 2) |
generates the group and each
has order
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(BN 3) |
for all and
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(BN 4) |
for each
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The group is the Weyl group of
The elements of are cosets of
and an expression such as is to be read in the usual sense
as a product of subsets of If is a subset of
then means
One shows that the set is uniquely determined by and
namely an element belongs to if and only if
is a group. The elements of
are called the distinguished generators of
The axioms (BN 1)-(BN 4) have the following consequences. The proofs may be found in [Bou1968].
2.3.1
and the mapping
is a bijection of onto the double coset space
2.3.2
For each subset of let be the subgroup of
generated by and let
Then is a subgroup of
2.3.3
The mapping is an inclusion-preserving bijection of the set of subsets of
onto the set of subgroups of containing
2.3.4
If are subsets of
and is conjugate to
then
2.3.5
If are subsets of
and then
2.3.6
Each is its own normalizer in
2.3.7
If and and
then
(The length of
is defined as the length of a reduced word in the generating set just as in (2.1) and (2.2).)
Buildings
Let be a group with BN-pair as in (2.3). We shall assume
now that the Weyl group of 'is' an affine Weyl group
in the sense of (2.2). More precisely, we shall suppose we are given a reduced irreducible root system
in a Euclidean space a chamber for the associated affine root system
and a homomorphism of onto the
affine Weyl group such that
so that we may identify (via
the Weyl group
of
with the Weyl group
of
(2) |
under this identification, the distinguished generators of are
the reflections in the walls of the chamber
in other words,
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The conjugates of in are called Iwahori subgroups of A
parahoric subgroup of is a proper subgroup containing an Iwahori subgroup. From the properties of BN-pairs recalled in
(2.3), each parahoric subgroup is conjugate to for some proper subset of
and is uniquely determined by
We set up a one-one correspondence between the subsets of
and the facets of the chamber as follows. To a facet corresponds the set of all
which fix In this correspondence,
and a vertex of
is a maximal proper subset of
If we write for
Each parahoric subgroup determines uniquely a facet of
namely
is conjugate to
The building associated with the given BN-pair structure on is the set of all pairs
where is a parahoric subgroup of
and is a point in the facet
With each parahoric subgroup we associate the subset of
where
is called a facet of
of type In particular, if is an Iwahori
subgroup, is a chamber of
If is parahoric, there are only finitely many parahoric subgroups
containing and we define
In this way the building may be regarded as a geometrical simplicial complex, the
being the 'open' simplexes and the
the 'closed' simplexes.
The group acts on by inner automorphisms:
Apartments
Consider the following subset of
Equivalently, is the union of the facets
where and
Remark. Since we have identified with by means of the isomorphism
induced by expressions such as
are meaningful, where and is a subgroup of containing
Hence acts on
for any such that
There exists a unique bisection such that
(1) |
for each facet of and each
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(2) |
for all
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Proof. |
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Let Then is congruent under to a unique
point of say
where and
and is a facet of the chamber
Define to be the point
We have to check that is well defined. If also
then fixes and therefore, by a
property of reflection groups recalled in (2.2), belongs to the subgroup of generated by the
which fix In other words,
where Since
it follows that
Hence is well defined, and clearly satisfies (1) and (2). The uniqueness of is obvious.
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If then
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Proof. |
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Let be the chamber
We have
for some Hence
fixes
as a whole and also fixes the chamber and all its facets;
also it maps each facet to another facet of the same type. Transferring our attention to it follows that
maps bijectively onto and fixes the chamber
and all its facets. Hence also fixes the adjacent chambers
and so on. It follows that
is the identity mapping and hence that
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The subcomplexes of as
runs through are called the apartments of the building
If is an apartment, we may transport the Euclidean structure of
to via the bijection
If also then it follows from (2.4.2)
that the two mappings
and
differ by an element of and hence we have a well-defined structure of Euclidean space on each apartment
and in particular a distance
defined for
Thus the building may be thought of as obtained by sticking together many copies of the Euclidean space
Any two facets of are contained in a single apartment.
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Proof. |
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Consider two facets and
where
are parahoric subgroups of
say
where
are facets of the chamber
in By (2.3.1) we can write
with and
If then
and therefore and
are both in
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is transitive on the set of pairs
where is an apartment and is a chamber in
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Proof. |
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We have
for some where
Hence we may assume that If
contains
then is a chamber in
and hence
for some So if
we have and
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Let be, two apartments and let
be a chamber contained in
Then there exists a unique bijecton such that
(1) |
There exists such that
for all
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(2) |
for all
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Moreover,
for all
and
for all
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Proof. |
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The existence of follows immediately from (2.4.4). Uniqueness follows from (2.4.2): if
both satisfy (1) and (2), then
fixes as a whole and fixes the chamber hence is the identity map. That
follows from the definition of the metric on an apartment given after (2.4.2).
It remains to show that for all
Suppose is a facet contained in
By (2.4.4) we may assume that
and
Since it follows that
normalizes and therefore by (2.3.6) that
Since
we have
for some facet of and
Since is its own normalizer (2.3.6), we have
and therefore
By (2.3.5),
where is the subgroup of which fixes
Hence (2.3.1)
since it follows that
hence
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Retraction of the building onto an apartment
Let be an apartment and a chamber in
Then there exists a unique mapping such that, for all apartments
containing
is the bisection
of (2.4.5).
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Proof. |
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Let By (2.4.3) there exists an apartment
containing and Let
be the isomorphism of (2.4.5). If also and are contained in another apartment
then we have also
But then
is the isomorphism of (2.4.5) for the apartments and
and the chamber Hence
fixes that is to say
It follows that as in the theorem is well defined, and the uniqueness is obvious.
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The mapping of (2.4.7) is called the retraction of onto with centre
It has the following properties:
(1) |
for all
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(2) |
For each facet in
is an affine isometry of
onto
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(3) |
If then
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Proof. |
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(1) and (2) are clear. As to (3), let be a facet such that
is a facet of
By (2.4.3) there exists an apartment containing and
and
is a bijection of onto leaving
fixed. It follows that
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(i) |
There exists a unique function
such that is the metric
for each apartment in
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(ii) |
If is a retraction of onto an apartment as in (2.4.6), then
for all
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(iii) |
is a metric on
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Proof. |
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Let By (2.4.3) there is an
apartment containing and We wish to define
to be the Euclidean distance
between and
in We must therefore show that, if
belong also to another apartment then
Let be a chamber in such that
and let be a chamber in such that
By (2.4.3) there is an
apartment containing and
From (2.4.5) we have
because and have a chamber in common; and for the same reason
Hence is well defined and is (from the definition of
(ii) Let be an apartment containing and
The image under of the straight line segment joining to in
will be a polygonal line in of the same total length, by (2.4.7)(ii), and
endpoints and
Hence the result.
(iii) Let and let
be an apartment containing and Let be a retraction of
onto Then
by (ii) above, since and
Hence satisfies the triangle equality, and we have already observed that is
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Let Then there is a unique geodesic joining
to
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Proof. |
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Let be an apartment containing and and let
denote the straight line segment joining to in Suppose
lies on a geodesic from to Then
Let be such that
and hence also
Let be the retraction of onto with centre a chamber
such that
Then we have
Consequently
Since
are in the same Euclidean space it follows that
Hence
and therefore by (2.4.7)(iii).
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It follows from (2.4.9) that the straight line segment lies in all apartments containing
and
is complete with respect to the metric
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Proof. |
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Let be a Cauchy sequence in
If is a retraction of onto an apartment then
is a Cauchy sequence in
by (2.4.8)(ii), and therefore converges to a point
The set of real numbers
where is such that has a positive lower
bound and we shall have
for all sufficiently large
Now each is of the form
for some
Put
Then
for all large Hence
and we have
as Hence
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Fixed point theorem
A subset of is convex if
Let be a bounded non-empty subset of Then the group of isometries
of such that
has a fixed point in the closure of the convex hull of
For the proof we shall require the following lemma:
Let and let be the
midpoint of Then
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Proof. |
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If are all in the same apartment
this is true with equality, by elementary geometry (take as origin). In the general
case, let be an apartment containing and and choose a chamber
in such that
Retract onto with centre Then
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Proof of 2.4.11. |
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Let
be the diameter of Choose a real number
and let be the set of all such that is the
midpoint of with and
Clearly is non-empty and is contained in the convex hull of If
and then by (2.4.12)
so that
for some
If now and
then again is the midpoint of a segment with
and
so that
so that
for some From (2) it follows that
For each pick
Then by (1) and (2)
Hence is a Cauchy sequence in
hence by (2.4.10) converges to some Clearly lies in the
closure of the convex hull of
Now let be an isometry of such that
Then
for all Let
Then is a Cauchy sequence with
for all
and converges to But by (3)
as Hence
Hence is a fixed point of the group of isometries of such that
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A subset of is said to be bounded if
is bounded for all bounded subsets of
is bounded intersects only finitely many double cosets
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Proof. |
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Let be the retraction of onto the apartment with centre
Then
is bounded is bounded
is contained in a finite union of closed chambers
of
Hence is bounded is bounded, for each chamber
is bounded.
If define by the relation
Then
is bounded
is bounded the set
is finite intersects only finitely many
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A subgroup of is bounded
is contained in a parahoric subgroup.
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Proof. |
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Let Then
is bounded. Applying the fixed point theorem (2.4.11), we
see that there exists such that
If lies in the facet then
normalizes the parahoric subgroup and hence
by (2.3.6).
Replacing by a conjugate, we may assume that
where
is a proper subset of
Now and
is finite because Hence
is bounded by (2.4.13).
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Every bounded subgroup of is contained in a maximal bounded subgroup. The maximal bounded subgroups are precisely the maximal parahoric
subgroups of and form conjugacy classes, corresponding to the vertices
of the chamber
Groups with affine root structure
(a) Universal Chevalley groups
We retain the notation of (2.1) and (2.2). Let
Then is a lattice of rank
in containing
Let be any field, and
the additive and multiplicative groups of Associated with the pair
there is a
universal Chevalley group
We shall not go into the details of the construction of for which we refer to Steinberg [Ste1967]. All we shall say here
is that is generated by elements
and contains elements
with various relations between the and the
In particular, each is an injective homomorphism of into
and is an injective homomorphism of
into
If is the root system of type
(2.2.3) then the universal Chevalley group
is the special linear group
In this case the and
may be taken as follows:
If
then
where is the unit matrix and is the matrix with
in the place and elsewhere.
is the diagonal matrix with
in order down the diagonal.
Now suppose that the field carries a discrete valuation i.e. a surjective homomorphism
such that
for all (conventionally
We consider certain subgroups of the Chevalley group
First, let be the subgroup consisting of the and let
be the normalizer of Then there is a canonical isomorphism
and one can show that this lifts
uniquely to a homomorphism of onto the affine Weyl group
The restriction of to is described as follows. If
then is a homomorphism
which defines a linear form hence a vector in
Then is translation by this vector,
and this translation belongs to We have
and
where is as before the translation subgroup of The kernel of
is the set of all such that
is contained in the group of units of
Next, for each we have a subgroup
of defined as follows. If then
If is any subset of we denote
by the subgroup of generated by the
such that
and by the subgroup generated by
and Then the triple
has the following properties, for all and
From this it follows that
normalizes each
hence each
Consequently
(II) |
If is a positive integer, then
is a proper subgroup of and
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From this it follows that for each
the union of the
is a group, which we denote by
(In the present situation
The next three properties relate to a pair of subgroups and
in the following situations: (III) is a positive constant; (IV)
(V) neither
nor is constant (i.e. the hyperplanes
are not parallel).
(III) |
If with
then
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(IV) |
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For let
denote the set of all
of the form
with
positive integers, and let
be the subgroup of generated by all commutators
with and
Then from Chevalley's commutator relations we have
(V) |
If and are not parallel, then
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Let
be the subgroup generated by the with positive, and likewise
Then
Finally,
(VII) |
is generated by and the
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(b) Simply-connected simple algebraic groups
As before let be a field with a discrete valuation and assume now that
is complete with respect to with perfect residue field.
Let be a simply-connected simple linear algebraic group defined over Let
be a maximal torus in
and let be the centralizer and normalizer
respectively of in Let
be the group of points of
Then one of the main results of the structure theory of Bruhat and Tits ([BTi1966], [BTi1967]) is:
There exists a reduced irreducible root system
subgroups and
of and a surjective homomorphism
such that the triple
satisfies (I)-(VII) above.
In fact one takes
and
is the set of all
such that
for all characters of
is the relative Weyl group of with respect to but
is not in general the relative root system, even if the latter is reduced. But every
is proportional to a root of
relative to and conversely.
If is split over (i.e. if is a maximal torus of
then we are back in the situation of (a) above.
If is a field (i.e. if the residue field of
is finite) then inherits a topology from
for which is a locally compact topological group. If is a suitably chosen maximal compact
subgroup of then as we shall see later (3.3.7) the algebra
is commutative, and the theory of zonal spherical functions on relative to is almost entirely a consequence of the
properties (I)-(VII) listed above. We shall therefore take these properties as a set of axioms:
Let be a reduced irreducible root system and let
be the associated affine root system and affine Weyl group,
as in (2.2). An affine root structure of type on a group
is a triple
where and the are subgroups of and
is a homomorphism of onto satisfying
(I)-(VII) above.
Cartan and Iwasawa decompositions
In this section is a group endowed with an affine root structure
of type (2.5.3). We shall develop some consequences of the axioms (I)-(VII).
Let be a subset of such that
(1) |
if and
then
for some
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(2) |
if and
then the hyperplanes
are not parallel.
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Let UΦ be the subgroup of G generated by the
Uα, α∈Φ.
Then every element of UΦ can be written uniquely in the form
u1⋯ur, where
ui∈Uαi
(1≤i≤r) and
α1,…,αr
are the elements of Φ in any fixed order.
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Proof. |
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Let al be the gradient of αi. Then
a1,…,ar are all distinct by
(2) and Φ0={a1,…,ar}
is a closed subset of Σ0 such that
Φ0∩-Φ0=∅
(by (1) and (2)). Hence (2.1.2) there exists w∈W0 such that
wΦ0⊆Σ0+.
Choosing n∈N such that ν(n)=w,
we have nUΦn-1=UwΦ
by (I); hence we may assume without loss of generality that Φ0⊆Σ0+.
Assume first that (a1,…,ar)
in this order is a subsequence of the sequence (b1,…,bn)
of (2.1.1). Let Φ1={α2,…,αr}.
If m,n are positive integers and i>1, then
ma1+nai≠a1,
hence U[α1,αi]⊆UΦ1.
Now use the commutator axiom (V): if u1∈Uα1 and
ui∈Uαi (i>1)
we have u1uiu1-1ui-1∈U[α1,αi]
and therefore u1uiu1-1∈UΦ1.
This shows that UΦ1 is normal in
UΦ, and hence that
UΦ=Uα1UΦ1.
By induction on r=Card(Φ) we conclude that
UΦ=Uα1
Uα2⋯Uαr.
Next we shall show that every u∈UΦ is uniquely of the form
u=u1⋯ur with
ui∈Uαi
(1≤i≤r). Again by induction, it is
enough to show that u1 is uniquely determined by u, and for this it is
enough to show that Uα1∩UΦ1={1}.
By (2.1.1) we can assume that a1 is negative and
a2,…,ar ar are positive.
Then Uα1⊂U- and
UΦ1⊂U+,
hence the result follows from (VI).
This proves (2.6.1) for the particular ordering chosen. For an arbitrary ordering of Φ
it follows from (2.6.2) below, whose proof we leave to the reader.
□
|
Let X be a group with subgroups X1,…,Xr
such that
(1) |
X=X1X2⋯Xr
with uniqueness of expression;
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(2) |
XiXi+1⋯Xr
is a normal subgroup of X, for i=1,2,…,r.
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If
p is any permutation of
{1,2,…,r},
then
X=Xp(1)Xp(2)⋯Xp(r)
with uniqueness of expression.
U+=∏a∈Σ0+U(a)
with uniqueness of expression, the positive roots being taken in any fixed order. Likewise
U-=∏a∈Σ0-U(a).
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Proof. |
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Arrange the positive roots in a sequence (b1,…,bn)
satisfying (2.1.1). Follow the proof of (2.6.1) to show that U+=∏i=1nUbi
with uniqueness of expression, and then use (2.6.2).
□
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If S is any subset of A, let (S) denote the
set of all α∈Σ which are ≥0 on
S. Then the subgroups U(S),
P(S) are defined.
Let a∈Σ0. If there is an affine
root with gradient a belonging to (S), there is a least such
affine root, say α: α∈(S) and
α-1∉(S). Let
U(S),a a denote the corresponding subgroup
Uα of G. If there is no affine root with gradient
a belonging to (S), define
U(S),a to be
{1}. Let U(S)+ (resp.
U(S)-) be the group generated by the
U(S),a with
a∈Σ0+ (resp.
a∈Σ0-).
Suppose S has non-empty interior. Then
P(S)=
U(S)+H
U(S)-.
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Proof. |
|
By (2.6.1), U(S)±=∏a∈Σ0±U(S),a,
the product being taken in any order. Since P(S) is generated by the
U(S),a and H it is enough to show
that U(S)+HU(S)-
is a group. For this it is enough to show that
U(S)+HU(S)-=U(S)-HU(S)+.
Arrange the positive roots in a sequence (b1,…,bn)
satisfying (2.1.1) Let U±r=U(S),±br
(1≤r≤n), and let
Vr+ (resp. Vr-)
be the subgroup of G generated by U-1,…,U-r,Ur+1,…,Un
(resp. by U1,…,Ur,U-r-1,…,U-n).
Since S has non-empty interior it follows from (III) that UrHU-r
is a group and therefore
UrHU-r=
U-rHUr.
Hence, by (2.6.1), we have
Vr-1+H
Vr-1-=
Vr+HVr-
for r=1,2,…,n. Consequently
U(S)+HU(S)-
=V0+HV0-=
Vn+HVn-=
U(S)-HU(S)+.
□
|
If α∈Σ then
Uα⊆P(S)⇒α∈(S).
|
|
Proof. |
|
Suppose Uα⊆P(S).
Let u∈Uα, then
u=u+hu- with
u±∈U(S)± and
h∈H. Suppose, to fix the ideas, that the gradient a of
α is a positive root. Then (u+)-1u=hu-∈U+∩ZU-={1}
by (VI). Hence u=u+, i.e. u∈U(S)+.
By (2.6.1) and (2.6.3) it follows that u∈U(S),a.
Hence Uα⊆U(S),α
and therefore by (II) we have α∈(S).
The reverse implication is obvious.
□
|
We shall now show that the group G carries two BN-pair structures, one with Weyl group W and the other with Weyl group
W0 (2.6.8) and (2,6.9). To establish these results we need a couple of preliminary lemmas.
(1) |
If α∈Σ, then
U-α-U-α+1⊂Uα·ν-1(wα)·Uα.
|
(2) |
If a∈Σ0, then
U-a⊂Ua·ν0-1(wa)·Ua.
|
(Here ν0 is the epimorphism N→W0 obtained by
composing ν:N→W with the epimorphism
W→W0 defined by the semi-direct decomposition
W=T·W0.)
|
|
Proof. |
|
(1) Let u∈U-α, then by (IV) we have
u∈Uα·ν-1
(wα)·Uα
∪UαHU-α+1.
Suppose that u∈UαHU-α+1.
Then u=u1hu2 with
u1∈Uα,
u2∈U-α+1,
h∈H. Hence
uu2-1=u1h∈UαH∩U-α={1}
by (VI). Consequently u=u2∈U-α+1,
whence the result.
(2) Let u∈U-a,
u≠1. Then by (II) there exists an affine root α with gradient
a such that u∈U-α-U-α+1.
Hence by (1) just proved we have
u∈Uα·ν-1
(wα)·Uα⊂
Ua·ν0-1
(wa)·Ua.
□
|
Let B=P(C) and let B0±=ZU±.
Since Z normalizes U+, B0+
is a subgroup of G, and is the semidirect product of Z and
U+ by axiom (VI). Similarly for B0-.
(1) |
If α∈Π and nα∈ν-1(wα),
then BnαB=BnαUα.
|
(2) |
If a∈Π0 and
na∈ν0-1(wa),
then B0+naB0+=B0+naUa.
|
|
|
Proof. |
|
(1) Since α(C)>0 we have
Uα⊂B, hence
BnαUα⊆BnαB.
Conversely, if β∈(C) and β≠α,
then since hα is the only hyperplane separating C and wαC,
it follows that β is positive on wαC, hence that
Uβ⊂P(wαC)=nα-1Bnα.
Consequently BnαUβ=Bnα
for all such β, and therefore BnαB=BnαUα.
(2) Let Ua be the group generated by the Ub with
b∈Σ0+ and
b≠a. By (2.6.3) we have
U+=UaUa. Hence, since
wa permutes Σ0+-{a},
B0+naB0+=
B0+naZUa
Ua=B0+ZUa
naUa=B0+
naUa.
□
|
Let B=P(C). Then
(B,N) is a BN-pair in G. We have
B∩N=H, so that ν induces an isomorphism of
N/(B∩N) onto the affine Weyl group W.
The distinguished generators of N/(B∩N) correspond under
this isomorphism to the reflections in the walls of the chamber C.
|
|
Proof. |
|
(1) Let n∈B∩N. Then
nP(C)n-1=P(C),
so that P(wC)=P(C)
where w=ν(n). Suppose that
w≠1, so that wC≠C.
Then there exists a hyperplane hα (α∈Σ)
separating C and wC, hence an affine root α which is positive on
wC and negative on C. Then
Uα⊂P(wC)=P(C),
and since α∉(C) this contradicts (2.6.5). Hence
w=1 and therefore n∈H. Hence
B∩N=H.
(2) We have to verify the axioms (BN 1)-(BN 4) of (2.3). Of these, (BN 1) follows immediately from (I) and (VII). (BN 2) is clear: we define
R to be the set {ν-1(wα):α∈Π}.
So is (BN 4), because we have already shown that P(wC)≠P(C)
if w≠1. As to (BN 3), let w∈W and
α∈Π, and let
n∈ν-1(w),
nα∈ν-1(wα). Then
nαBn⊂BnαBn=
BnαUαn
by (2.6.7). Suppose first that α(wC)>0.
Then Uw-1α⊂B and so
BnαUαn=B
nαnUw-1α
⊂BnαnB.
If on the other hand α(wC)<0, then
BnαUαn=B
U-αnαn
and by axiom (IV) we have
U-α⊂Uαnα
HUα∪UαH
U-α+1
so that
BU-αnαn
⊂
BnαUαnαn
∪BU-α+1nα
n
=
BU-αn∪B
nαn,since
-α+1∈(C)
=
BnU-w-1α
∪Bnαn
⊂
BnB∪BnαnB,
since -w-1α∈(C).
Hence nαBn⊂BnB∪BnαnB
in all cases.
□
|
It follows that all the results of (2.4) are applicable in the present situation. The group B=P(C)
and its conjugates are the Iwahori subgroups of G; the groups P(F)
and their conjugates, where F is a facet of C, are the parahoric subgroups.
Let B0+=ZU+. Then
(B0+,N) is a BN-pair in G.
We have B0+∩N=Z, so that
ν0 induces an isomorphism of N/(B0+∩N)
onto the Weyl group W0. The distinguished generators of
N/(B0+∩N)
correspond under this isomorphism to the reflections in the walls of the cone C0.
|
|
Proof. |
|
(1) Let n∈B0+∩N. Then
n=z0u+
(z0∈Z,u∈U+)
and therefore n0=z0-1n∈N∩U+.
So we have n0=∏α∈Σ0+ua
with ua∈Ua by (2.6.3). For each
a∈Σ0+, pick an affine root
α with gradient a such that ua∈Uα.
Applying (2.2.1) to this set of affine roots, we see that n0∈U(tC0)
for some translation t∈T, and hence n1=z-1n0z∈U(C0)
for some z∈Z. We have n1∈N∩U(C0)⊂N∩B=H
by (2.6.8). Hence n0∈H∩U+={1}
by axiom (VI). So n=z0∈Z and therefore
B0+∩N=Z.
(2) We have to verify the BN-axioms. As before, (BN 1) follows immediately from (I) and (VII). (BN 2): take the distinguished generators of
N/Z to be ν0-1(wa),
a∈Π0. As to (BN 4), let
a∈Π0 and let
na∈ν0-1(wa),
then if B0+=naB0+na-1 we have
B0=B0+
naB0+
na-1
=
B0+na
Uana-1
by (2.6.7)
=
B0+U-a
so that U-a⊂B0∩U-=ZU+∩U-={1}
by axiom (VI). Since U-a≠{1}
by axiom (II), we have a contradiction.
Finally, (BN 3). Let w∈W0,
a∈Π0,
n∈ν0-1(w),
na∈ν0-1(wa).
Then naB0+n⊂B0+naB0+n=B0+naUan
by (2.6.7).
Suppose first that w-1a is positive, then
B0+naUan=
B0+nan
Uw-1a⊂
B0+nanB0+.
If on the other hand w-1a is negative, then
B0+naUan
=
B0+U-a
nan
⊂
B0+naUa
nanby (2.6.6)
=
B0+U-an=
B0+nU-w-1a
⊂B0+nB0+.
□
|
Remark. Of course there is a corresponding result for B0-=ZU-,
G=BnB0+.
|
|
Proof. |
|
We remark first that G is generated by B0+ and the
U-a (a∈Π0).
For let G′=〈B0+,(U-a)a∈Π0〉,
and let α be an affine root with gradient a∈Π0.
Then G′ contains the group 〈Uα,U-α,H〉
and hence by axiom (IV) contains ν-1(wα).
Since G′ contains Z it follows that
N⊂G′, hence that Uβ⊂G′
for all β∈Σ. Hence
G′=G.
Next, let a∈Π0 and let C′
be any chamber in A. Then
U-a⊂
P(C′)N
Ua.
(1)
For let α be an affine root with gradient a. If
-α∈(C′) we have
U-α⊂P(C′).
If on the other hand α∈(C′), then
U-α-
U-α+1
⊂
Uα·ν-1
(wα)·
Uαby (2.6.6)
⊂
P(C′)N
Ua.
This proves (1), from which it follows that U-α⊂nBNUa
for all n∈N, so that
NU-a⊂BNUa.
(2)
Now to show that G=BNB0+,
it is enough to show that BNB0+g⊆BNB0+
for all g in a set of generators of G. Hence it is enough to show that
BNB0+U-a⊆BNB0+
for α∈Π0. But
BNB0+U-a
=
BNUaUa
U-a=BNUa
U-aUa
⊂
BNUaν0-1
(wa)UaUa
by (2.6.6)
=
BNν0-1(wa)
U-aU+
=
BNU-aU+
⊂
BNUaU+
by (2) above
=
BNU+=BNB0+.
□
|
Let T+ (resp. T++)
be the set of all translations t∈T such that t(0)∈C‾0
(resp. t(0)∈C0⊥).
Let Z+=ν-1(T+),
Z++=ν-1(T++),
so that Z+ and Z++ are semigroups contained in Z.
Also let K denote the maximal parahoric subgroup P(0).
(1) |
(Cartan decomposition) G=KZ++K,
and the mapping t↦K·ν-1(t)·K
is a bijection of T++ onto K\G/K.
|
(2) |
(Iwasawa decomposition) G=KZU-, and the mapping
t↦K·ν-1(t)·U-
is a bijection of T onto K\G/U-.
|
(3) |
If z1∈Z++ and
z2∈Z are such that
Kz1K∩Kz2U-=∅,
then z1z2-1∈Z+.
|
(4) |
If z∈Z++, then
KzK∩KzU-=Kz.
|
|
|
Proof. |
|
As in (2.4) we shall identify N/H with W by means of the isomorphism induced by
ν. Thus KtK means
K·ν-1(t)·K,
and so on. In particular, K=BW0B by (2.3.2).
(1) If w∈W, then KwK=BW0wW0B
by (2.6.8) and (2.3.6). Now W is the disjoint union of the double cosets W0tW0
as t runs through T++. Hence
G=BWB is the disjoint union of the cosets KtK
with t∈T++.
(2) We shall prove (2) with U- replaced by U+:
this merely amounts to replacing the chamber C0 by its opposite, -C0.
From (2.6.10) we have
G=BWB0+=BW0
B0+⊂BW0B·
B0+=KB0+=K
ZU+.
To show that Kt1U+ and
Kt2U+ are disjoint if
t1≠t2, it is enough to show that
K∩B0+⊂HU+.
So let z0u+∈K, where
z0∈Z and u+∈U+.
By (2.2.1) there exists t∈T such that
u+∈U(tC0)=zU(C0)z-1⊂zBz-1,
where z∈ν-1(t).
Hence z0u+∈z0zBz-1∩K,
hence z0zB meets Kz: or, putting
t0=v(z0)∈T,
t0tB meets Kt=BW0Bt,
and hence t0tB meets BwBt
for some w∈W0. Consequently
Bt0tB⊂BwBtB.
Now by expressing w∈W0 as a reduced word in the generators wa
(a∈Π0),
it follows easily from the axiom (BN 3) that BwBtB⊂BW0tB.
Hence Bt0tB⊂BW0tB
and therefore t0t∈W0t by (2.3.1). Hence
t0∈W0∩T, so that
t0=1 and z0∈H, as required.
The proofs of (3) and (4) are best expressed in the language of buildings (2.4).
(3) Suppose that t1∈T++ and
t2∈T are such that Kt1K
meets Kt2U-. Then
Kt1-1 contains an element belonging to
u-t2-1K for some
u-∈U-. As above, by (2.2.1) we have
u-∈U(-tC0)⊂P(C′)
for some chamber C′. Hence Kt1-1
meets P(C′)t2-1K.
Let x1=t1(0) and
C″=t1(C′).
Then P(x1)=t1Kt1-1
meets t1P(C′)t2-1K=P(C″)t1t2-1K.
Let t0=t1t2-1
and put x0=t0(0).
Let ℐ be the building associated with (B,N) as in (2.4). Identify
the affine space A with the apartment 𝒜0 by means of the bijection j
defined in (2.4.1). Let ρ be the retraction of ℐ onto 𝒜0
with centre C″ (2.4.6) and let g∈P(x1)∩P(C″)t0K.
Since g∈P(x1), the image under
g of the segment [0,x1]⊂𝒜0
is the segment [g(0),x1].
Since g∈pt0K for some
p∈P(C″), we have
g(0)=pt0(0)
=p(x0)∈p𝒜0
and therefore ρ(g(0))=x0,
ρ(x1)=x1 (because
x1∈𝒜0). Hence the image of the segment
[g(0),x1] under the retraction
ρ is a polygonal line γ in 𝒜0 joining
x0 to x1. Consequently there exist real numbers
λi with 0=λ0<λ1<⋯<λn=1
such that, if yi=ρ(g(λix1)),
then γ is the union of the segments [yi-1,yi]
(1≤i≤n). From (2.4.2) and the definition of
ρ it follows that there exist elements wi∈W such that
[yi-1,yi]=
wi[λi-1x1,λix1].
Writing wi=wi,0τi
with wi,0∈W0 and
τi∈T, we have
yi-yi-1=
(λi-λi-1)
wi,0(x1).
Now x1∈C‾0,
hence x1-wx1∈C0⊥
for all w∈W0. So we have
yi-yi-1=
(λi-λi-1)
x1-yi′
with yi′∈C0⊥.
Summing over i, we get
x1-x0=yn-
y0=x1-∑yi′
and therefore x0=∑yi′∈C0⊥.
Since x0=t1t2-1(0),
we have proved that t1t2-1∈T+;
as required.
(4) Let t∈T++ and let
g∈KtK∩KtU-.
Then by (2.2.1) as before we have g-1∈P(C0′)t-1K∩Kt-1K
for some translate C0′ of the cone -C0,
and hence g1=g-1t∈P(C0′)P(x)∩P(0)P(x),
where x=t-1(0).
Now x∈-C‾0, and
-C‾0 intersects
C0′. Hence there exists
y∈C0′ such that x lies in the segment
[0y].
Let g1(x)=x′∈ℐ.
Since g1∈pP(x) for some
p∈P(0)=K, we have
x′=p(x) and
p(0)=0. Hence
d(0,x′)=d
(p(0),p(x))=
d(0,x).
Next, since g1∈p′P(x)
for some p′∈P(C′0),
we have x′=p′(x) and
y=p′(y). Consequently
d(x′,y)=
d(p′(x),p′(y))=
d(x,y).
It follows that w′∈[0y] by the uniqueness of
geodesies in ℐ (2.4.9) and hence that x′=x.
Consequently g1 fixes x, i.e. normalizes
P(x) and therefore (2.3.6)
g1∈P(x)=t-1Kt.
Hence g∈Kt.
□
|
Groups of p-adic type
Let G be an 'abstract' group with affine root structure
(N,ν,(uα)α∈Σ)
of type Σ0. Now suppose in addition that
G carries a Hausdorff topology compatible with its group structure such that
(VIII) |
N and the Uα are closed subgroups of G;
|
(IX) |
B is a compact open subgroup of G.
|
A Hausdorff topological group carrying an affine root structure satisfying axioms (I)-(IX) inclusive will be called a simply-connected group of p-adic type.
If 𝓀 is a p-adic field (i.e. a locally compact field which is neither discrete nor
connected) then 𝓀 is complete with respect to a discrete valuation, and the residue field is finite. The universal Chevalley group
G(Σ0,𝓀),
and more generally the group of 𝓀-rational points of a simply-connected simple linear algebraic group defined
over 𝓀, then inherits a topology from 𝓀 which satisfies (VIII) and (IX).
The two new axioms have the following consequences:
H is open in N and compact.
|
|
Proof. |
|
H=B∩N (2.6.8), so that H is an open subgroup of
N, hence closed in N, hence closed in G.
Since H is contained in B it follows that H is compact.
□
|
A closed subset M of G is compact if and only if M meets only finitely
many cosets
BwB.
|
|
Proof. |
|
The cosets BwB are mutually disjoint, open and compact. The assertion follows immediately from this.
□
|
Comparing (2.7.2) with (2.4.13), we see that a subset M of G is bounded in the sense of (2.4) if and only if
M has compact closure. Hence, from (2.4.15):
Every compact subgroup of G is contained in a maximal compact
subgroup. The maximal compact subgroups are precisely the maximal parahoric
subgroups, and form (l+1) conjugacy classes. All parahoric subgroups are
open and compact.
G itself is locally compact, but not compact.
The last two assertions follow from the facts that a parahoric subgroup is a finite union of double cosets BwB,
and that G itself is not.
For each α∈Σ, the index
(Uα:Uα+1)
is finite, and Uα is compact.
|
|
Proof. |
|
There exists a chamber C′ on which α is positive and for which
hα is one of the walls. Transforming by an element of W,
we may assume that C′=C, i.e. that
α∈Π.
Since B is open and compact, B/(B∩wαBwα)
is compact and discrete, hence finite. But
B/(B∩wαBwα)
≅
(wαBwαB)/
(wαBwα)
=
(wαBwαUα)/
(wαBwα)
by (2.6.7)
≅
Uα/(Uα∩wαBwα)
=
Uα/Uα+1
because Uα∩wαBwα=Uα∩P(wαC)=Uα+1
by (2.6.5). Hence (Uα:Uα+1)
is finite. Also Uα is a closed subgroup of B, hence is compact.
□
|
(1) |
For each a∈Σ0, the group
U(a) is closed in G,
and for each affine
root α with gradient a,
Uα is an open compact subgroup of
U(a).
|
(2) |
U+ is a closed subgroup of G and
U(C0) is an open compact subgroup of
U+.
|
|
|
Proof. |
|
(1) By (2.6.5) U(a)∩B is of the form
Uα, where α is some affine root with gradient a.
Hence this Uα is open in U(a).
Conjugating Uα by elements of Z, each
Uα is open in U(a).
Since Uα is compact (2.7.4) it follows that U(a)
is locally compact and therefore a closed subgroup of G.
(2) B∩U+=U(C0),
hence U(C0) is open in
U+; also by (2.6.1) U(C0)
is a product of Uα's, hence is compact. Hence
U+ is locally compact, hence closed in G.
□
|
B0+=ZU+ is locally compact.
|
|
Proof. |
|
Z is locally compact, because it has H as a compact open subgroup by (2.7.1). Also
U+ is locally compact by (2.7.5), hence so is B0+.
□
|
Consider again the group G=SLl+1(𝓀)
(2.5.1) where 𝓀 is now a p-adic field. Let ℴ be the ring of
integers, 𝓅 the maximal ideal of ℴ
and
𝓀=ℴ/𝓅 the (finite) residue field.
ℴ is a compact open subring of 𝓀.
G is a closed subset of 𝓀(l+1)2,
hence is locally compact (and totally disconnected). The maximal compact subgroup K may be taken to be
SLl+1(ℴ).
Let G‾=SLl+1(k),
then the projection of ℴ onto k induces an epimorphism
π:K→G‾. Let
B‾ be the group of upper triangular matrices in G‾,
then B=π-1(B‾)
is an Iwahori subgroup of G. B0+ is the group of upper
triangular matrices in G, and Z is the diagonal matrices.
Notes and references
This is a typed version of the book Spherical Functions on a Group of p-adic Type by I. G. Macdonald, Magdalen College, University of Oxford.
This book is copyright the University of Madras, Madras 5, India and was first published November 1971.
Published by the Ramanujan Institute, University of Madras, and printed at the Baptist Mission Press, 41A Acharyya Jagadish Bose Road, Calcutta 17, India.
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