Some results about the geometric Whittaker model

Abstract

Let G be an algebraic reductive group over a an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic. Choose a parabolic subgroup $P$ in $G$ and denote by $U$ its unipotent radical. Let $X$ be a $G$-variety. The purpose of this paper is to give two examples of a situation in which the functor of averaging of l-adic sheaves on $X$ with respect to a generic character of $U$ commutes with Verdier duality. In the first example we take $\chi$ to be an arbitrary $G$-variety and we prove the above property for all $\overline{P}$-equivariant sheaves on $X$ where $\overline{P}$ is an opposite parabolic subgroup assuming $\chi$ satisfies a strong nondegeneracy condition (such a $\chi$ exists for some but not all choices of $P$). In the case when $P$ is a Borel subgroup it is enough to require that the sheaf in question is $\overline{U}$ equivariant where $\overline{U}$ is the unipotent radical of $\overline{P}$. In the second example we take $X = G$ where $G$ acts by left translations and we prove the corresponding result when $P$ is a Borel subgroup for sheaves equivariant under the adjoint action of $G$ (the latter result was conjectured by B. C. Ngo who proved it for $G = GL(n)$). As an application we reprove a theorem of N. Katz and G. Laumon about local acyclicity of the kernel of the Fourier-Deligne transform.