On the Automorphism Group of a Smooth Schubert Variety

Abstract

Let G be a simple algebraic group of adjoint type over the field \(\mathbb {C}\) of complex numbers. Let B be a Borel subgroup of G containing a maximal torus T of G. Let w be an element of the Weyl group W and let X(w) be the Schubert variety in G/B corresponding to w. Let α0 denote the highest root of G with respect to T and B. Let P be the stabiliser of X(w) in G. In this paper, we prove that if G is simply laced and X(w) is smooth, then the connected component of the automorphism group of X(w) containing the identity automorphism equals P if and only if w−1(α0) is a negative root (see Theorem 4.2). We prove a partial result in the non simply laced case (see Theorem 6.6).