On orbit closures of spherical subgroups in flag varieties

Let be the flag variety of a complex semi-simple group G, let H be an algebraic subgroup of G acting on with finitely many orbits, and let V be an H-orbit closure in . Expanding the cohomology class of V in the basis of Schubert classes defines a union V₀ of Schubert varieties in with positive multiplicities. If G is simply-laced, we show that these multiplicities are equal to the same power of 2. For arbitrary G, we show that V₀ is connected in codimension 1. If moreover all multiplicities are 1, we show that the singularities of V are rational and we construct a flat degeneration of V to V₀ in . Thus, for any effective line bundle L on , the restriction map is surjective, and for all . Received: April 17, 2000