A higher-dimensional Chevalley restriction theorem for orthogonal groups

Abstract

We prove a higher-dimensional Chevalley restriction theorem for orthogonal groups, which was conjectured by Chen and Ng\^{o} for reductive groups. In characteristic $p>2$, we also prove a weaker statement. In characteristic $0$, the theorem implies that the categorical quotient of a commuting scheme by the diagonal adjoint action of the group is integral and normal. As applications, we deduce some trace identities and a certain multiplicative property of the Pfaffian over an arbitrary commutative algebra.