Goresky–Pardon lifts of Chern classes and associated Tate extensions

Abstract

Let $X$ be an irreducible complex-analytic variety, ${\mathcal{S}}$ a stratification of $X$ and ${\mathcal{F}}$ a holomorphic vector bundle on the open stratum ${X\unicode[STIX]{x0030A}}$. We give geometric conditions on ${\mathcal{S}}$ and ${\mathcal{F}}$ that produce a natural lift of the Chern class $\operatorname{c}_{k}({\mathcal{F}})\in H^{2k}({X\unicode[STIX]{x0030A}};\mathbb{C})$ to $H^{2k}(X;\mathbb{C})$, which, in the algebraic setting, is of Hodge level ${\geqslant}k$. When applied to the Baily–Borel compactification $X$ of a locally symmetric variety ${X\unicode[STIX]{x0030A}}$ and an automorphic vector bundle ${\mathcal{F}}$ on ${X\unicode[STIX]{x0030A}}$, this refines a theorem of Goresky–Pardon. In passing we define a class of simplicial resolutions of the Baily–Borel compactification that can be used to define its mixed Hodge structure. We use this to show that the stable cohomology of the Satake ($=$ Baily–Borel) compactification of ${\mathcal{A}}_{g}$ contains nontrivial Tate extensions.