Maximal Indexes of Tits Algebras

Let G be a split simply connected semisimple algebraic group over a eld F and let C be the center of G. It is proved that the maximal index of the Tits algebras of all inner forms of G L over all eld extensions L=F corresponding to a given character of C equals the greatest common divisor of the dimensions of all representations of G which are given by the multiplication by being restricted to C. An application to the discriminant algebra of an algebra with an involution of the second kind is given. Let G be an adjoint semisimple algebraic group deened over a eld F, let : e G ! G be the universal covering and let C = ker() denote the center of e G. In 13] Tits has constructed a homomorphism : C (F) ! Br(F) where C (F) is the group of characters of C deened over F and Br(F) is the Brauer group of F. For any character 2 C (F) one can choose a central simple algebra A (called the Tits algebra), representing the class () 2 Br(F), in such a way that there is a group homomorphism e G ! GL 1 (A) restricting to the character on the center C and inducing an irreducible representation over a separable closure F sep of the eld F. It follows from the representation theory of semisimple algebraic groups that the index ind(A) of the algebra A divides the dimension of any irreducible representation : e G q ! GL(V) of a quasisplit inner form e G q of e G such that the restriction of to the center C q of e G q is given by the multiplication by (we identify the Galois modules of the character groups C and C q). Therefore, if we denote by n (G) the greatest common divisor of the dimensions of all such representations, then ind(A) divides n (G).


G ! G
restricting to the character on the center C and inducing an irreducible representation over a separable closure F sep of the eld F. It follows from the representation theory of semisimple algebraic groups that the index ind(A) of the algebra A divides the dimension of any irreducible representation : e G q !GL(V ) of a quasisplit inner form e G q of e G such that the restriction of to the center C q of e G q is given by the multiplication by (we identify the Galois modules of the character groups C and C q ).Therefore, if we denote by n (G) the greatest common divisor of the dimensions of all such representations, then ind(A) divides n (G).The numbers n (G) depend only on the class of the inner forms of G, i.e. on the Dynkin diagram D = Dyn(G sep ), and the action of the absolute Galois group of F on Aut(D).In particular, if G is of inner type, then the numbers n (G) depend only on the isomorphism class of G over F sep and were computed in 5].
It was proved in 5], case by case, that, for a group G of inner type, the maximal possible index of the Tits algebra A corresponding to reaches its upper bound n (G).More precisely, there is a eld extension E=F and an inner form G 0 of the group G F E over E such that for any character of the center of the universal covering of G 0 , de ned over E, the index of the Tits algebra A corresponding to equals n (G) = n (G 0 ).
We give here a uniform proof of this statement for all adjoint semisimple algebraic groups G (not necessarily of inner type).The eld E appears as a function eld of a \classifying variety" Y for the corresponding adjoint quasisplit group G q .
The universal property of the variety Y asserts that any inner form of G over an arbitrary eld extension L=F arises from some L-point of Y .Hence, the Tits algebras over the function eld E = F(Y ) are generic ones, and, therefore, are of maximal index.It follows that, if the index of the Tits algebra A corresponding to reaches the upper bound n (G) over some eld extension, then it does so over F(Y ).
In the rst part of the paper we de ne, for a group scheme G, the dual group scheme G 0 with respect to a G-torsor.This construction is a slight generalization of the corollary of Prop.34 in 10].For an adjoint semisimple algebraic group G over a eld F we construct a classifying variety Y over F such that the scheme G 0 , dual to G F Y with respect to a certain torsor, represents the algebraic family of all inner forms of G.
In section 4 we de ne Tits algebras and give a list of all Tits algebras for all absolutely simple groups of classical types.
The main result is formulated in section 5.The rest of the paper is devoted to the proof of the theorem.In the last section we give an application of the theorem in the case of groups of outer type A 2n 1 which was not covered in 5].
All the group schemes considered in the paper are assumed to be at a ne of nite type over a Noetherian separated base scheme Y .
For a eld F we denote by F sep a separable closure and by the absolute Galois group Gal(F sep =F).The split 1-dimensional torus SpecF t; t 1 ] is denoted by G m .

Dual group scheme with respect to a torsor
Let G be a group scheme over a scheme Y , and let : X !Y be a (left) G-torsor 7].Denote by Aut G (X) the group of all G-automorphisms of X over Y .If X = G is a trivial torsor, then the map G(Y ) ! Aut G (X) given by the rule g 7 !(g 0 7 !g 0 g 1 ) is clearly a group isomorphism.
Consider the sheaf of groups in the at topology Y on Y : The sheaf S is represented by a group scheme over Y .
Proof.Since : X !Y is faithfully at, it is su cient to prove that the restriction of S on X is represented by a group scheme (by faithfully at descent, 7, Th.2.23]).
But over X the torsor Y id : X Y X !X is trivial, hence for any scheme Z over X we have a canonical isomorphism S(Z) !G(Z) and therefore the restriction of S on X is represented by G Y X.
We denote by G 0 the group scheme over Y representing S and call G 0 the group scheme dual to G with respect to the G-torsor : X !Y .It follows from the proof of proposition 1.1 that the group schemes G 0 Y X and G Y X are isomorphic over X.
By de nition the group scheme G 0 acts on X over Y .Proposition 1.2.The morphism : X !Y is a G 0 -torsor.Proof.By faithfully at descent we may assume that X = G is a trivial G-torsor.Then the action of G 0 !G on X clearly leads to the structure of a trivial G 0 -torsor on X.
There is a natural bijection of the set of isomorphism classes of G-torsors : X !Y over Y and the set H 1 (Y; G) (see 7]).
Let f : G ! G 1 be a morphism of group schemes over Y , and let : X !Y be a G-torsor.A G 1 -torsor 1 : X 1 !Y representing the image of the class of under the map H 1 (Y; G) !H 1 (Y; G 0 ) is called the image of the G-torsor : X !Y under f.Let G 0 (resp.G 0 1 ) be the group scheme dual to G (resp.G 1 ) with respect to the torsor : X !Y (resp. 1 : X 1 !Y ).The natural group homomorphism Aut G (X) !Aut G1 (X 1 ) induces a group scheme homomorphism f 0 : G 0 !G 0 1 over Y of the dual group schemes.

PGL-torsors
Let p : V !Y be a vector bundle over Y and E = End Y (V) (viewed as a vector bundle over Y ).Consider the group scheme G = PGL(V) over Y .Let : X !Y be a G-torsor.The group scheme G acts on E and on X over Y , hence on E Y X. Denote by Sec G (E) the (Y; O Y )-algebra of G-invariant sections X !E Y X of the vector bundle E Y X !X.Consider the sheaf T of algebras on Y : The sheaf T is represented by the total space of an Azumaya algebra over Y .Proof.By faithfully at descent we may assume that X = G is a trivial torsor.Then for any scheme Z over Y we have T(Z) = Mor Y (Z; E), hence T is represented by E which is the total space of the associated locally free sheaf End Y (V) of Azumaya algebras.
We call an Azumaya algebra A over Y whose total space represents T the algebra associated to the G-torsor : X !Y .It follows from the proof of proposition 2.1 that the O X -algebra A is isomorphic to (End Y (V)).
Consider the sheaf of sets on Y : U(Z) = Iso OZ alg ( A; End Y (V)) for any : Z !Y .The group G(Z) acts naturally on U(Z) making U a G-torsor.Proposition 2.2.The sheaf U is represented by the G-torsor : X !Y .
Proof.A morphism : Z !X over Y de nes a trivialization of the torsor X Y Z !Z and, hence, an isomorphism of O Z -algebras ( ) A and ( ) (End Y (V)).Therefore, we get a map X(Z) !U(Z) which gives rise to a map of sheaves Mor Y ( ; X) !U: To prove that this map is a bijection, by faithfully at descent one may assume that X is a trivial torsor.By the Skolem-Noether theorem in this case the statement is clear.
Remark 2.3.Proposition 2.2 shows how to reconstruct the G-torsor : X !Y out of the algebra A. Thus, we have a bijection between the set of isomorphism classes of Azumaya algebras A over Y such that A ! (End Y (V)) and the set of isomorphism classes of PGL(V)-torsors over Y .
The group scheme PGL 1 (A) over Y acts naturally on the sheaf U, and the action commutes with that of G. Hence, we have a group scheme homomorphism PGL 1 (A) !G 0 where G 0 is the group scheme dual to G with respect to the G-torsor : X !Y .To prove that this homomorphism is an isomorphism, by faithfully at descent, one may consider the split situation in which our statement is clear.Hence, G 0 = PGL(V) 0 = PGL 1 (A): Now let G be an arbitrary group scheme over Y , let : X !Y a G-torsor and let f : G ! PGL(V) be a projective representation over Y , where V is a vector bundle over Y .Denote by A the Azumaya algebra on Y associated to the PGL(V)-torsor, which is equal to the image of under f.We call A the algebra associated to the G-torsor and the projective representation f.There is a natural group scheme homomorphism where G 0 is the group scheme dual to G with respect to .

Inner forms
Let G be a semisimple algebraic algebraic group de ned over a eld F with center Z(G).Denote by G the corresponding adjoint group G=Z(G).An algebraic group G 0 over F is called a twisted form of G if G 0 sep ' G sep .The set of isomorphism classes of twisted forms of G is in 1{1 correspondence with the set H 1 (F; Aut(G sep )) ( 10]).
The natural homomorphism G(F sep ) ! Aut(G sep ); g 7 !(g 0 7 !gg 0 g 1 ) induces the map A twisted form G 0 of the group G is called an inner form of G if the cocycle corresponding to G 0 belongs to the image of .The group G is called of inner type if G is an inner form of a split group.
Assume now that G is an adjoint group, i.e.G = G.Let X be a G-torsor over F. It corresponds to some element 2 H 1 (F; G(F sep )) ( 10]).It is straightforward to check that the group G 0 , dual to G with respect to the torsor X, corresponds to We have proved Proposition 3.1.Let G and G 0 be adjoint semisimple algebraic groups over a eld F. Then G 0 is an inner form of G i there is a G-torsor X over F such that G 0 is the dual group with respect to the G-torsor X.
Remark 3.2.The second condition of proposition 3.1 can be taken as the de nition of an inner form of an adjoint group (in order to avoid referring to cocycles).

Tits algebras
Let G be an adjoint semisimple algebraic group de ned over a eld F, let e G ! G be the universal covering, and C the kernel of the covering.It is known that C, being the center of e G, is a closed subscheme of e G of multiplicative type (not necessarily reduced) ( 2], 12]).Denote by C the nite -module Hom(C sep ; G m ) of characters.
The group G is an inner form of some quasisplit group de ned over F ( 1], 12]).By proposition 3.1, there exists a G-torsor X over F such that the group G 0 , dual to G with respect to X, is quasisplit.The choice of a point of X over F sep de nes an isomorphism G sep !G 0 sep which is uniquely determined up to conjugation.This isomorphism extends uniquely to an isomorphism e G sep ! e G 0 sep where e G 0 is the universal covering of G 0 over F ( 12]).Hence, we obtain an isomorphism of the centers ' : C sep !C 0 sep .One can easily see that this isomorphism is de ned over F (hence, induces an isomorphism of -modules ' : C ! C 0 ) and depends only on the choice of the G-torsor X (which is not unique in general) but not on the point of X over F sep .
Denote by B a Borel subgroup in e G 0 de ned over F, by T a maximal torus in B de ned over F and by the subgroup in T generated by roots of e G relative to T.
The restriction map induces the natural isomorphism of -modules T = !C : There is a partial ordering on T : we write > for , 2 T if is a sum of roots of B. In each coset of e T = there is a unique minimal element with respect to this ordering called the minimal weight.
Choose a character 2 C de ned over F and put 0 = ' ( ) 2 C 0 .By the representation theory of quasisplit semisimple groups (see 13]) there is an irreducible representation ~ : e G 0 !GL(V ) such that the restriction of ~ to C 0 is given by multiplication by 0 .Consider a central simple F-algebra A associated to the Gtorsor X and the projective representation : G 0 !PGL(V ) induced by ~ (section 2).The algebra A is called the Tits algebra of the group G corresponding to the representation .Its class in Br(F ) depends only on the choice of character 2 C ( 13]) and is called the Tits class of the group G corresponding to .By construction, the index of A divides dim V .Denote by n (G) the greatest common divisor of the numbers dim V for all representations ~ : e G 0 !GL(V ) such that the restriction of ~ on C 0 is given by multiplication by 0 .We have observed that ind A divides n (G) (see 5]).If = 0, then n (G) = 1.
Let 2 C (F ) ' (T = ) and 2 T be the minimal weight in the coset .Let ~ : e G 0 !GL(V ) be a representation (unique up to an isomorphism) with the highest weight called the minimal representation.The Tits algebra corresponding to is called the minimal Tits algebra of G and is denoted by A .The algebra A is the canonical representative of the Tits class corresponding to .For example, if = 0, then A = F. Any Tits algebra is Brauer equivalent to a minimal one.We would like to classify the Tits classes of all adjoint semisimple algebraic groups.A Tits algebra of the product of adjoint semisimple groups is the tensor product of the Tits algebras of factors.Since any adjoint semisimple group is the product of the groups G 1 = R L=F (G) where G is an absolutely simple adjoint group over a nite separable eld extension L=F ( 12] Let F L F sep , 0 = Gal(F sep =L) .We have a canonical isomorphism : C (L) = (C ) 0 !(C 1 ) = C 1 (F ); and for any 0 2 C (L) the Tits algebra A with = ( 0 ) for the group G 1 equals the corestriction in the extension L=F of the Tits algebra A 0 of G ( 13]).Hence, it is su cient to classify the Tits classes of absolutely simple adjoint groups.
Below is the list of minimal Tits algebras and numbers n (G) for absolutely simple adjoint groups.We use the notation and the computations from 4] and 5].where D(B; ) is the discriminant algebra (see section 10).In the split case is the external n+1 2 -power representation.Hence, the algebra D(B; ) is the minimal Tits algebra for the group G corresponding to .The number n equals 2 if (n + 1) is a 2-power and equals 4 otherwise (see section 10).4.2.Type B n .An adjoint simple algebraic group of type B n , de ned over F, is isomorphic to the special orthogonal group G = O + (V; q) where (V; q) is a nondegenerate quadratic form of dimension 2n + 1.Its universal covering is the spinor group e G = Spin(V;q).Then C = 2 , C = Z=2Z = f0; g.The embedding e G , !GL 1 (C 0 (V; q)); where C 0 (V; q) is the even Cli ord algebra of (V; q), is, in the split case, the spinor representation known as a minimal representation.Hence, the even Cli ord algebra C 0 (V; q) is the minimal Tits algebra A .The number n equals 2 n .4.3.Type C n .An adjoint simple algebraic group of type C n , de ned over F, is isomorphic to the group of projective similitudes G = PGSp(A; ), where A is a central simple algebra of degree 2n with a symplectic involution .Its universal covering is the symplectic group e G = Sp(A; ).Then C = 2 and C = Z=2Z = f0; g.The embedding e G , !GL 1 (A) is, in the split case, a minimal representation.Hence, A is the minimal Tits algebra A .The number n is the largest 2-power which divides 2n.4.4.Type D n .An adjoint simple algebraic group of type D n , de ned over F (of nontrialitarian type if n = 4), is isomorphic to the group of proper projective similitudes G = PGO + (A; ; f) where A is a central simple, algebra of degree 2n with an orthogonal pair ( ; f) (see 4]).Its universal covering is the spinor group e G = Spin(A; ; f).Then C = f0; ; + ; g where factors through the special orthogonal group O + (A; ; f).The composition Spin(A; ; f) !O + (A; ; f) , !GL 1 (A) is, in the split case, the standard minimal representation.Hence, A is the minimal Tits algebra A .The number n equals the largest 2-power which divides 2n.
Assume that the discriminant of is trivial (i.e. the center Z of the Cli ord algebra C(A; ; f) splits).The group acts trivially on C .The natural compositions Spin(A; ; f) , !GL 1 (C(A; ; f)) !GL 1 (C (A; ; f)) where C (A; ; f) are simple components of C(A; ; f), are, in the split case, semispinor minimal representations.Hence, C (A; ; f) are minimal Tits algebras A .The numbers n equal 2 n 1 .
If the discriminant of is not trivial, then interchanges + and and is the only nontrivial -invariant character.

The classifying variety of a group
Let G be an adjoint semisimple algebraic group over a eld F and Y be a scheme over F. Consider the group scheme G = G F Y over Y , and an arbitrary G-torsor : X !Y .Denote by G 0 the dual scheme with respect to this torsor.For any rational point y 2 Y (F ) the ber G 0 y of G 0 over y is dual to G y = G with respect to the G-torsor y : X y !Spec F. Hence, by proposition 3.1, an algebraic group G 0 y is an inner form of G. So, we can view the scheme G 0 as the algebraic family of inner forms of G. Proof.This follows from Hilbert's Theorem 90 and the exact sequence of pointed sets ( 7], 10]) induced by the exact sequence Now let G 1 be any adjoint semisimple algebraic group over F, and G be its quasisplit inner form.Consider the classifying variety Y = GL n =G and the group scheme G 0 dual to G = G F Y with respect to the G-torsor : GL n !Y .By proposition 5.1, we have G 1 ' G 0 y for some y 2 Y (F ).Let 2 Y be the generic point.The generic ber G 0 is an adjoint semisimple algebraic group over the function eld F(Y ).The G-torsor enables us to identify the character module C of the center of the universal coverings of the groups G 1 , G and G 0 .Now we formulate the main result.Theorem 5.2.For any character 2 C (F ), the index of the Tits class of the group G 0 corresponding to equals n (G 1 ) = n (G) = n (G 0 ).Corollary 5.3.For any adjoint semisimple algebraic group G 1 over a eld F there exists a eld extension E=F and an inner form G 2 of the group G 1 F E over E such that F is separably closed in E and for any character of the center of the universal covering of G 2 , with de ned over E, the index of the Tits class of the group G 2 corresponding to equals n (G 1 ) = n (G 2 ).

G-modules
Let G be a group scheme over a scheme Y .Assume that G acts on a scheme X over Y .The morphism of the G-action on X we denote by : G Y X !X: A G-module F on X is a quasicoherent O X -module F together with an isomorphism of O G Y X -modules ' : F ! p 2 F (where p 2 : G Y X !X is the projection), satisfying the cocycle condition where m : G Y G ! G is the multiplication.
Giving a G-module structure on a quasicoherent O X -module F is equivalent to giving, naturally in Y -schemes Z, a homomorphism of the group G(Z) into the automorphism group of the pair (X Y Z; F Y Z) ( 8], 11]).
Assume that G acts on an Azumaya algebra B over X, i.e. the structure of G-module B is given by an O G Y X -algebra isomorphism : B ! p 2 B: Denote by M(G; X; B) the abelian category of G-modules F on X, which are also left B-modules and coherent O X -modules, such that the following diagram commutes: B F ! F ' ?
p 2 B p 2 F ! p 2 F; where the horizontal maps are given by the action of B on F. Morphisms in the category are morphisms of Band G-modules.
If the algebra B is trivial, i.e.B = O X , then the category is simply denoted by M(G; X).
Let A be an Azumaya algebra on Y .Consider the Azumaya algebra B = A on X, where : X !Y is the structure morphism, and the category M(Y; A) of left A-modules which are coherent O Y -modules.For M 2 M(Y; A) the O X -module F = M has a natural structure of a B-module.Since = p 2 , it follows that we also have a natural G-module structure on F given by the isomorphisms ' : F ' ( ) M = ( p 2 ) M ' p 2 F: Thus, we have obtained a functor : M(Y; A) !M(G; X; B); M 7 !( M; '): Proposition 6.1.If : X !Y is a G-torsor then is an equivalence of categories.
(g 1 ; g 2 ; x) 7 !(g 1 g 2 x; g 2 x; x) the action morphism is identi ed with the rst projection p 1 : X Y X !X and morphisms m id, id are identi ed with the projections p 13 ; p 12 : X Y X Y X !X Y X.Hence, the isomorphism ' giving a G-module structure on an O X -module F can be identi ed with descent data, i.e. with an isomorphism : p 1 F ! p 2 F of O X Y X -modules satisfying the usual cocycle condition (p 23 ) (p 12 ) = p 13 : The statement follows now by faithfully at descent ( 7, Prop.2.22]).

Modules under groups of multiplicative type
Let C be a diagonalizable group scheme over a eld F, and let C = Hom(C; G m ) be the character group.It is known that C = SpecF C ], where F C ] is the group algebra of C over F, and the comorphism of the multiplication is given by the formula m( ) = ( 2]).
To introduce an action of C on an a ne scheme X = SpecA over F is the same as to give a C -graded structure on the F-algebra A ( 3] A : The comorphism of the action of C on X, ( a ): The trivial action corresponds to the trivial graded structure: A = 0 for 6 = 0. Let M be an A-module.A C-module structure of the associated O X -module F = f M is given by an isomorphism of F C ] F A-modules satisfying the cocycle condition.Let '(1 1 m) = P 2C ( 1 m ), where m ; m 2 M. Since (e id) ' = id ( 11]), where e : SpecF !G is the group unit, it follows that m = X 2C m : ( ) It is easy to check that the cocycle condition implies that (m ) equals m if = and equals 0 if 6 = .Hence, the equality ( ) gives rise to the direct sum decomposition M = a 2C M making M a C -graded A-module.Therefore, the category M(C; X) is equivalent to the category of nitely generated C -graded modules.
Let an algebraic group G over a eld F act on an a ne scheme X over F and on an Azumaya algebra B on X. and its direct complement in ( ) are de ned over F, hence we have a canonical decomposition F = F F into a direct sum of G-submodules on X.In other words, these submodules are uniquely determined by the property that c (c) is trivial on F and invertible on F for all c in C. Consider the full subcategories M (G; X; B) and M (G; X; B) in M(G; X; B) consisting of all G-modules F such that F = F and F = F respectively.It is clear that M(G; X; B) ' M (G; X; B) M (G; X; B): If = 0 is the trivial character then the category M (G; X; B) is equivalent to the category M(G=C; X; B).

Equivariant algebraic K-theory
The K-groups of the category M(G; X; B) (see section 6) we denote by K (G; X; B).These groups are clearly contravariant with respect to at G-morphisms in X.If B = O X is the trivial algebra we simply write K (G; X).
Let G be an algebraic group over F acting on a scheme X over F. We will need the following particular cases of the localization theorem 11, th.2.7] and the homotopy invariance theorem 11, cor.4.2] in equivariant algebraic K-theory.Proposition 8.1.Let U X be an open G-equivariant subscheme.Then the restriction homomorphism K 0 (G; X) !K 0 (G; U) is surjective.Proposition 8.2.Assume that G acts linearly on an a ne space A n F over F. Then the structure morphism p : A n F ! SpecF induces an isomorphism p : K (G; SpecF ) !K (G; A n F ): The category M(G; SpecF ) is equivalent to the category of nite dimensional representations of G over F. The group K 0 (G; SpecF ) we denote by R(G).
Assume that G acts on an Azumaya algebra B over X and contains a closed central subscheme C over F of multiplicative type, acting trivially on X and B. For 2 C (F ) the K-groups of the category M (G; X; B) we denote by K (G; X; B).Since K (G; X; B) is a canonical direct summand of K (G; X; B) (section 7), it follows that the statements of propositions 8.1 and 8.2 still hold if we replace K by K .
The group K 0 (G; SpecF ) we simply denote by R (G).It is generated by the classes of all representations : G ! GL(V ) such that the restriction of to C is given by .

Proof of the theorem
Let G 1 be an adjoint semisimple group over a eld F, let G be the quasisplit inner form of G 1 with universal covering e G ! G, and let C be the kernel of the covering.
Choose a faithful representation G , !GL n over F and consider the classifying variety Y = GL n =G over F and the group scheme G 0 over Y dual to G = G F Y with respect to the G-torsor : GL n !Y .Let be the generic point of Y .The G-torsor enables us to identify the character modules C and C 0 , where C 0 is the kernel of the universal covering of G 0 .Choose a character 0 2 C 0 de ned over F(Y ) and denote by 2 C the corresponding character over F.
Consider a representation ~ : e G ! GL(V ) such that the restriction of ~ to C is given by .Consider also the Azumaya algebra A on Y associated to the G-torsor and the projective representation : G ! PGL(V ) induced by ~ (section 2).We know that there is an isomorphism of G-algebras (A) ' (End(V F Y )) on GL n (section 2) and that A is the Tits algebra corresponding to the character 0 (section 4).We have to show that ind A = n (G).Consider the Severi-Brauer variety X over L corresponding to the algebra B and the canonical locally free sheaf J of rank 2n on X, so B = End X (J) 9].The canonical nondegenerate bilinear form on the n th -exterior power of J n J n J ! 2n J ' O X induces in the usual way an involution of the rst kind on the algebra n B = End OX ( n J) over L. One can check that the involutions and 0 = n on n B commute.Therefore, the set fx 2 n B : (x) = 0 (x)g is a central simple algebra over F. We denote this algebra by D(B; ) and call it the discriminant algebra of (B; ) ( 4]).It is the Tits algebra corresponding to the character .
The discriminant algebra enjoys the following properties: 1.The degree of D(B; ) equals 2n n .
2. The restriction of to D(B; ) is an involution of the rst kind.In particular, the exponent of D(B; ) divides 2. Let e G 0 be the quasisplit inner form of e G.It is the special unitary group of the hyperbolic hermitian form over the quadratic extension L=F ( 12]).Since e G 0 sep ' SL 2n (F sep ) it follows that R( e G 0 sep ) ' Z t 1 ; t 2 ; : : : ; t 2n 1 ] where t i is the class of the i th -exterior power of the standard representation of SL 2n .This ring is C = Z=2nZ-graded, the degree of t i being equal to i (mod 2n).The rank map R( e G 0 sep ) ! Z takes t i to 2n i .The action of the Galois group on R( e G 0 sep ) is given by (t i ) = t 2n i .We have also ( 13]): R( e G 0 ) ' Z t 1 ; t 2 ; : : : ; t 2n 1 ] : Using this description of the ring R( e G 0 ) and the fact that the image of the map R ( e G 0 ) ! Z, taking a representation space U of the group e G 0 to dim F U, equals n Z, one can easily compute the number n (G) for G = e G=C (see 6]): n (G) is equal to 2 if n is a 2{power and equals 4 otherwise.Hence, the corollary of the theorem gives in this case the following Proposition 10.1.For any Galois quadratic eld extension L=F and n 2 N there is a eld extension E=F and a central simple algebra B of degree 2n over E F L with involution of the second kind trivial on E such that ind D(B; ) = 2 if n is a 2-power and equals 4 otherwise.Documenta Mathematica 1 (1996) 229{243 be the universal covering and let C = ker( ) denote the center of e G.In 13] Tits has constructed a homomorphism : C (F ) ! Br(F ) where C (F ) is the group of characters of C de ned over F and Br(F ) is the Brauer group of F. For any character 2 C (F ) one can choose a central simple algebra A (called the Tits algebra), representing the class ( ) 2 Br(F ), in such a way that there is a group homomorphism e G ! GL 1 (A)

Remark 4 . 1 .
The isomorphism ' : C sep !C 0 sep depends on the choice of the Gtorsor X.Another choice of X changes ' by an automorphism of C 0 induced by an (outer) automorphism of G 0 , but clearly does not change the numbers n (G).Remark 4.2.By de nition, the numbers n (G) depend only on the quasisplit inner form of G and hence do not change if we replace G by any inner form of it.In turn, the class of inner forms of G is uniquely determined by the isomorphism class of G over F sep and the action of on the group of outer automorphisms Out(G sep ) = Aut(G sep )= Int(G sep ) = Aut(Dyn(G sep )) of the group G sep .If we change F by a eld extension E=F such that F is separably closed in E, the numbers n (G) do not change.If G is a group of inner type (i.e.G 0 is a split group, or equivalently, acts trivially on Out(G sep )) then the numbers n (G) depend only on the isomorphism class of G over F sep and are computed in 5].
), it su ces to describe the Tits algebras of G 1 .If e G ! G is the universal covering of G with kernel C, then e G 1 = R L=F ( e G) !R L=F (G) = G 1 is the universal covering of G 1 with kernel C 1 = R L=F (C).

4. 1 .
Type A n .An adjoint simple algebraic group of the type A n , de ned over F, is isomorphic to the projective unitary group G = PGU(B; ), where B is an Azumaya algebra of degree n + 1 over an etale quadratic extension L=F with an involution of the second kind trivial on F. Its universal covering is the special unitary group e G = SU(B; ) Assume rst that L splits, i.e.L ' F F. In this case B ' A A op with the switch involution where A is a central simple algebra of degree n + 1 over F, where Documenta Mathematica 1 (1996) 229{243 e G = SL 1 (A) and G = PGL 1 (A).Then C = n+1 , and C = Z=(n + 1)Z with the trivial -action.For any i = 0; 1; : : :; n, consider the natural representation i : e G ! GL 1 ( i A) where i A are external powers of A (see 4]).In the split case, i is the i-th external power representation known as a minimal representation.Hence, i A for i = 0; 1; : : :; n are minimal Tits algebras of G.If = i + (n + 1)Z 2 C , then n = (n + 1)=gcd(i; n + 1).Now let e G = SU(B; ), where B is a central simple algebra of degree n+1 with a unitary involution over a quadratic separable eld extension L=F.The group acts on C = Z=(n + 1)Z by x 7 !x through Gal(L=F ).The only non-trivial element in C (F ) is = n+1 2 + (n + 1)Z (when n is odd).There is a natural homomorphism : e G ! GL 1 (D(B; ));

4 . 5 .
Exceptional types.4.5.1.Trialitarian type D 4 .The image of the map !Aut(C ) contains a subgroup of order 3.It implies that C (F ) = 0 and there are no nontrivial characters and Tits algebras.4.5.2.Type E 6 .In this case C ' Z=3Z and for a nontrivial character 2 C (F ) one has n = 27.4.5.3.Type E 7 .In this case C ' Z=2Z and for a nontrivial character 2 C (F ) one has n = 8. 4.5.4.Types E 8 , F 4 and G 2 .In these cases C = 0 and there are no nontrivial characters and Tits algebras.
Now we take a speci c scheme Y .Let G , !GL n be any faithful representation over F. Consider the homogeneous variety Y = GL n =G and the canonical G-torsor : GL n !Y .The variety Y is called the classifying variety of G.The universal property of Y asserts that any inner form of G is a member of the algebraic family G 0 over Y : Proposition 5.1.For any inner form G 0 of G over F there exists a rational point y 2 Y (F ) such that G 0 ' G 0 y over F.

2 F
Consider the homomorphism : K 0 (A op ) ! Z; taking an A op -module M to dim F(Y ) M. It is easy to see that im( ) = ind A deg A Z: Consider also the homomorphism : R ( e G) !Z, taking a representation space U to dim F U. It is clear that im( ) = n (G) Z.For the proof of the theorem it is su cient to nd a surjective homomorphism : R ( e G) !K 0 (A op ) such that the composition equals deg A = dim V .The homomorphism will be found as a composite of seven epimorphisms 1 ; 2 ; : : : ; 7 .Consider GL n as an open subvariety of the a ne space A = A n of all n n-matrices over F on which the group G (and hence e G) acts linearly.The open 10.Examples Let L=F be a Galois quadratic eld extension, = Gal(L=F ), and let B be a central simple algebra over L of degree 2n with involution of the second kind trivial on F. Consider the special unitary group e G = SU(B; ) over F. The group e G(F) of Fpoints of e G consists of all elements b 2 B such that (b) b = 1 and Nrd(b) = 1 where Nrd is the reduced norm homomorphism.The Galois group acts on C ' Z=2nZ through its factor group = f1; g by (k + 2nZ) = k + 2nZ (see section 4).The Tits algebra corresponding to the only nontrivial character = n+2nZ 2 C (F ) can be constructed as follows (see 4], 5]).
3. D(B;) F L ' n B B n .Since exp(B n ) divides 2, it follows that ind(B n ) also divides 2, and hence ind D(B; ) divides 4.
Assume that a closed central group subscheme C G of multiplicative type acts trivially on X and B. Denote by C the -module of characters Hom(C sep ; G m ).Since the group C sep is diagonalizable, it follows that