Springer Isomorphisms In Characteristic $p$

Abstract

Let $G$ be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p$, and assume that $p$ is a very good prime for $G$. Let $P$ be a parabolic subgroup whose unipotent radical $U_P$ has nilpotence class less than $p$. We show that there exists a particularly nice Springer isomorphism for $G$ which restricts to a certain canonical isomorphism $\text{Lie}(U_P) \xrightarrow{\sim} U_P$ defined by J.-P. Serre. This answers a question raised both by G. McNinch in \cite{M2}, and by J. Carlson \textit{et. al} in \cite{CLN}. For the groups $SL_n, SO_n$, and $Sp_{2n}$, viewed in the usual way as subgroups of $GL_n$ or $GL_{2n}$, such a Springer isomorphism can be given explicitly by the Artin-Hasse exponential series.