Small resolutions of Schubert varieties and Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials

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Rational curves on minuscule Schubert varieties

Let X be a minuscule Schubert variety and $\alpha$ a class of 1-cycle on X. In this article we describe the irreducible components of the scheme of morphisms of class $\alpha$ from a rational curve to X. The irreducible components are described in the following way : the class $\alpha$ can be seen as an element of $Pic(X)^*$ the dual of the Picard group. Because any Weil-divisor need not to be a Cartier-divisor, there is (only) a surjective map $s:A^1(X)^*\to Pic(X)^*$ from the dual of the group of codimension 1 cycles to the dual of the Picard group. The irreducible components are given by the effective elements $\beta$ in $A^1(X)^*$ such that $s(\beta)=\alpha$. The proof of the result uses the Bott-Samelson resolution Y of X. We prove that any curve on X can be lifted in Y (after deformation). This is because any divisor on minuscule Schubert variety is a moving one. Then we prove that any curve coming from X can be deformed so that it does not meet the contracted divisor of $Y\to X$. This is possible because for minuscule Schubert variety there are lines in the projectivised tangent space to a singularity. It is now sufficient to deal with the case of the orbit of $Stab(X)$ the stabiliser of X and we can apply results of our previous paper math.AG/0003199.Comment: In english, 29 page

Richardson Varieties Have Kawamata Log Terminal Singularities

Let $X^v_w$ be a Richardson variety in the full flag variety $X$ associated to a symmetrizable Kac-Moody group $G$. Recall that $X^v_w$ is the intersection of the finite dimensional Schubert variety $X_w$ with the finite codimensional opposite Schubert variety $X^v$. We give an explicit \bQ-divisor $\Delta$ on $X^v_w$ and prove that the pair $(X^v_w, \Delta)$ has Kawamata log terminal singularities. In fact, $-K_{X^v_w} - \Delta$ is ample, which additionally proves that $(X^v_w, \Delta)$ is log Fano. We first give a proof of our result in the finite case (i.e., in the case when $G$ is a finite dimensional semisimple group) by a careful analysis of an explicit resolution of singularities of $X^v_w$ (similar to the BSDH resolution of the Schubert varieties). In the general Kac-Moody case, in the absence of an explicit resolution of $X^v_w$ as above, we give a proof that relies on the Frobenius splitting methods. In particular, we use Mathieu's result asserting that the Richardson varieties are Frobenius split, and combine it with a result of N. Hara and K.-I. Watanabe relating Frobenius splittings with log canonical singularities.Comment: 15 pages, improved exposition and explanation. To appear in the International Mathematics Research Notice