AbstractLetGbe the simple algebraic group Sp(2,2), to be defined over ℚ. It is a non-quasi-split, ℚ-rank-two inner form of the split symplectic group Sp8of rank four. The cohomology of the space of automorphic forms onGhas a natural subspace, which is spanned by classes represented by residues and derivatives of cuspidal Eisenstein series. It is called Eisenstein cohomology. In this paper we give a detailed description of the Eisenstein cohomologyHqEis(G,E) ofGin the case of regular coefficientsE. It is spanned only by holomorphic Eisenstein series. For non-regular coefficientsEwe really have to detect the poles of our Eisenstein series. SinceGis not quasi-split, we are out of the scope of the so-called ‘Langlands–Shahidi method’ (cf. F. Shahidi,On certainL-functions, Amer. J. Math.103(1981), 297–355; F. Shahidi,On the Ramanujan conjecture and finiteness of poles for certainL-functions, Ann. of Math. (2)127(1988), 547–584). We apply recent results of Grbac in order to find the double poles of Eisenstein series attached to the minimal parabolicP0ofG. Having collected this information, we determine the square-integrable Eisenstein cohomology supported byP0with respect to arbitrary coefficients and prove a vanishing result. This will exemplify a general theorem we prove in this paper on the distribution of maximally residual Eisenstein cohomology classes.
Regular and residual Eisenstein series and the automorphic cohomology of Sp(2,2)