arXiv subjects

Petra Schwer

Publications and source records attributed to Petra Schwer.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Generalized non-crossing Partitions and Buildings

For any finite Coxeter group $W$ of rank $n$ we show that the order complex of the lattice of non-crossing partitions $\mathrm{NC}(W)$ embeds as a connected chamber subcomplex into a spherical building of type $A_{n-1}$. We use this to give a new proof of the fact that the non-crossing partition lattice in type $A_n$ is supersolvable for all $n$ and show that in case $B_n$, this is only the case if $n<4$. We also obtain a lower bound on the radius of the Hurwitz graph $H(W)$ in all types and re-prove that in type $A_n$ the radius is ${n \choose 2}$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Computing reflection length in an affine Coxeter group

In any Coxeter group, the conjugates of elements in its Coxeter generating set are called reflections and the reflection length of an element is its length with respect to this expanded generating set. In this article we give a simple formula that computes the reflection length of any element in any affine Coxeter group and we provide a simple uniform proof.

math.CO↗

arXiv2016

Dimensions of affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties: a new approach via labeled folded alcove walks and root operators

Let G be a reductive group over the field F=k((t)), where k is an algebraic closure of a finite field, and let W be the (extended) affine Weyl group of G. The associated affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties $X_x(b)$, which are indexed by elements b in G(F) and x in W, were introduced by Rapoport. Basic questions about the varieties $X_x(b)$ which have remained largely open include when they are nonempty, and if nonempty, their dimension. We use techniques inspired by geometric group theory and representation theory to address these questions in the case that b is a pure translation, and so prove much of a sharpened version of Conjecture 9.5.1 of Görtz, Haines, Kottwitz, and Reuman. Our approach is constructive and type-free, sheds new light on the reasons for existing results in the case that b is basic, and reveals new patterns. Since we work only in the standard apartment of the building for G(F), our results also hold in the p-adic context, where we formulate a definition of the dimension of a p-adic Deligne-Lusztig set. We present two immediate consequences of our main results, to class polynomials of affine Hecke algebras and to affine reflection length.

math.AG↗

arXiv2016

The 6-strand braid group is CAT(0)

We show that braid groups with at most 6 strands are CAT(0) using the close connection between these groups, the associated non-crossing partition complexes and the embeddability of their diagonal links into spherical buildings of type A. Furthermore, we prove that the orthoscheme complex of any bounded graded modular complemented lattice is CAT(0), giving a partial answer to a conjecture of Brady and McCammond.

math.GR↗

arXiv2014

Systolizing buildings

We introduce a construction turning some Coxeter and Davis realizations of buildings into systolic complexes. Consequently groups acting geometrically on buildings of triangle types distinct from $(2,4,4)$, $(2,4,5)$, $(2,5,5)$, and various rank $4$ types are systolic.

math.GR↗

arXiv2012

Epimorphisms of pseudo-quadratic polar spaces

We classify the epimorphisms of the buildings ${BC}_l(K,K_0,σ,L, q_0)$, where l is at least two, of pseudo-quadratic form type. This completes the classification of epimorphisms of irreducible spherical Moufang buildings of rank at least two.

math.GR↗

arXiv2009

Non-discrete affine buildings and convexity

Affine buildings are in a certain sense analogs of symmetric spaces. It is therefore natural to try to find analogs of results for symmetric spaces in the theory of buildings. In this paper we prove a version of Kostant's convexity theorem for thick non-discrete affine buildings. Kostant proves that the image of a certain orbit of a point $x$ in a symmetric space under a projection onto a maximal flat is the convex hull of the Weyl group orbit of $x$. We obtain the same result for a projection of a certain orbit of a point in an affine building to an apartment. The methods we use are mostly borrowed from metric geometry. Our proof makes no appeal to the automorphism group of the building. However the final result has an interesting application for groups acting nicely on non-discrete buildings, such as groups admitting a root datum with non-discrete valuation. Along the proofs we obtain that segments are contained in apartments and that certain retractions onto apartments are distance diminishing.

math.MG↗

arXiv2009

Kostant Convexity for affine buildings

We prove an analogue of Kostants convexity theorem for thick affine buildings and give an application for groups with affine BN-pair. Recall that there are two natural retractions of the affine building onto a fixed apartment A: The retraction r centered at an alcove in A and the retraction $ρ$ centered at a chamber in the spherical building at infinity. We prove that for each special vertex x in A the set $ρ(r^{-1}(W.x))$ is a certain convex hull of W.x. The proof can be reduced to a statement about Coxeter complexes and heavily relies on a character formula for highest weight representations of algebraic groups.

math.MG↗

arXiv2009

Non-discrete Euclidean Buildings for the Ree and Suzuki groups

We call a non-discrete Euclidean building a Bruhat-Tits space if its automorphism group contains a subgroup that induces the subgroup generated by all the root groups of a root datum of the building at infinity. This is the class of non-discrete Euclidean buildings introduced and studied by Bruhat and Tits. We give the complete classification of Bruhat-Tits spaces whose building at infinity is the fixed point set of a polarity of an ambient building of type B_2, F_4 or G_2 associated with a Ree or Suzuki group endowed with the usual root datum. (In the B_2 and G_2 cases, this fixed point set is a building of rank one; in the F_4 case, it is a generalized octagon whose Weyl group is not crystallographic.) We also show that each of these Bruhat-Tits spaces has a natural embedding in the unique Bruhat-Tits space whose building at infinity is the corresponding ambient building.

math.GR↗

arXiv2009

Generalized affine buildings

In the present thesis geometric properties of non-discrete affine buildings are studied. We cover in particular affine $Λ$-buildings, which were introduced by Curtis Bennett in 1990 and which already have proven to be useful for applications. The main results are as follow: First we prove an extension theorem for ecological isomorphisms of buildings at infinity. Further, complementing a joint project with L. Kramer and R. Weiss, we give an algebraic proof of the existence of (necessarily) non-discrete affine buildings having Suzuki-Ree buildings at infinity. Most of the effort is put in the generalization of Kostant's convexity theorem for symmetric spaces in the setting of simplicial affine and affine $Λ$-buildings. The proofs are based on connections to representation theory as well as on methods borrowed from metric geometry.

math.MG↗

arXiv2005

Spaces with many affine functions

We describe all metric spaces that have sufficently many affine functions. As an application we obtain a metric characterization of linear-convex subsets of Banach spaces.

math.MG↗