Geometry of B × B-orbit closures in equivariant embeddings

Let X denote an equivariant embedding of a connected reductive group G over an algebraically closed field k. Let B denote a Borel subgroup of G and let Z denote a B × B-orbit closure in X. When the characteristic of k is positive and X is projective we prove that Z is globally F-regular. As a consequence, Z is normal and Cohen-Macaulay for arbitrary X and arbitrary characteristics. Moreover, in characteristic zero it follows that Z has rational singularities. This extends earlier results by the second author and M. Brion. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved