Automorphism groups of almost homogeneous varieties

Abstract

Consider a smooth connected algebraic group $G$ acting on a normal projective variety $X$ with an open dense orbit. We show that Aut($X$) is a linear algebraic group if so is $G$; for an arbitrary $G$, the group of components of Aut($X$) is arithmetic. Along the way, we obtain a restrictive condition for $G$ to be the full automorphism group of some normal projective variety.

Revised version, substantial changes in Section 2. To appear in a volume in honor of Bill Fulton