Wonderful models for toric arrangements

We build a wonderful model for toric arrangements. We develop the "toric analog" of the combinatorics of nested sets, which allows to define a family of smooth open sets covering the model. In this way we prove that the model is smooth, and we give a precise geometric and combinatorial description of the normal crossing divisor.Comment: Final version, to appear on IMRN. 23 pages, 1 pictur

Simple linear compactifications of odd orthogonal groups

We classify the simple linear compactifications of SO(2r+1), namely those compactifications with a unique closed orbit which are obtained by taking the closure of the SO(2r+1)xSO(2r+1)-orbit of the identity in a projective space P(End(V)), where V is a finite dimensional rational SO(2r+1)-module.Comment: v2: several simplifications, final version. To appear in J. Algebr

Topological invariants from non-restricted quantum groups

We introduce the notion of a relative spherical category. We prove that such a category gives rise to the generalized Kashaev and Turaev-Viro-type 3-manifold invariants defined in arXiv:1008.3103 and arXiv:0910.1624, respectively. In this case we show that these invariants are equal and extend to what we call a relative Homotopy Quantum Field Theory which is a branch of the Topological Quantum Field Theory founded by E. Witten and M. Atiyah. Our main examples of relative spherical categories are the categories of finite dimensional weight modules over non-restricted quantum groups considered by C. De Concini, V. Kac, C. Procesi, N. Reshetikhin and M. Rosso. These categories are not semi-simple and have an infinite number of non-isomorphic irreducible modules all having vanishing quantum dimensions. We also show that these categories have associated ribbon categories which gives rise to re-normalized link invariants. In the case of sl(2) these link invariants are the Alexander-type multivariable invariants defined by Y. Akutsu, T. Deguchi, and T. Ohtsuki.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

On some modules of covariants for a reflection group

Let $\mathfrak g$ be a simple Lie algebra with Cartan subalgebra $\mathfrak h$ and Weyl group $W$. We build up a graded map $(\mathcal H\otimes \bigwedge\mathfrak h\otimes \mathfrak h)^W\to (\bigwedge \mathfrak g\otimes \mathfrak g)^\mathfrak g$ of $(\bigwedge \mathfrak g)^\mathfrak g\cong S(\mathfrak h)^W$-modules, where $\mathcal H$ is the space of $W$-harmonics. In this way we prove an enhanced form of a conjecture of Reeder for the adjoint representation. New version with different title. Various improvements. New section 7.Comment: 18 Page

The algebra of the box spline

In this paper we want to revisit results of Dahmen and Micchelli on box-splines which we reinterpret and make more precise. We compare these ideas with the work of Brion, Szenes, Vergne and others on polytopes and partition functions.Comment: 69 page

Nesting maps of Grassmannians

Let F be a field and i < j be integers between 1 and n. A map of Grassmannians f : Gr(i, F^n) --> Gr(j, F^n) is called nesting, if l is contained in f(l) for every l in Gr(i, F^n). We show that there are no continuous nesting maps over C and no algebraic nesting maps over any algebraically closed field F, except for a few obvious ones. The continuous case is due to Stong and Grover-Homer-Stong; the algebraic case in characteristic zero can also be deduced from their results. In this paper we give new proofs that work in arbitrary characteristic. As a corollary, we give a description of the algebraic subbundles of the tangent bundle to the projective space P^n over F. Another application can be found in a recent paper math.AC/0306126 of George Bergman