We establish equivalences of the following three triangulated categories:
\[
D
quantum
(
g
)
⟷
D
coherent
G
(
N
~
)
⟷
D
perverse
(
G
r
)
.
D_\text {quantum}(\mathfrak {g})\enspace \longleftrightarrow \enspace D^G_\text {coherent}(\widetilde {{\mathcal N}})\enspace \longleftrightarrow \enspace D_\text {perverse}(\mathsf {Gr}).
\]
Here,
D
quantum
(
g
)
D_\text {quantum}(\mathfrak {g})
is the derived category of the principal block of finite-dimensional representations of the quantized enveloping algebra (at an odd root of unity) of a complex semisimple Lie algebra
g
\mathfrak {g}
; the category
D
coherent
G
(
N
~
)
D^G_\text {coherent}(\widetilde {{\mathcal N}})
is defined in terms of coherent sheaves on the cotangent bundle on the (finite-dimensional) flag manifold for
G
G
(
=
=
semisimple group with Lie algebra
g
\mathfrak {g}
), and the category
D
perverse
(
G
r
)
D_\text {perverse}({\mathsf {Gr}})
is the derived category of perverse sheaves on the Grassmannian
G
r
{\mathsf {Gr}}
associated with the loop group
L
G
∨
LG^\vee
, where
G
∨
G^\vee
is the Langlands dual group, smooth along the Schubert stratification. The equivalence between
D
quantum
(
g
)
D_\text {quantum}(\mathfrak {g})
and
D
coherent
G
(
N
~
)
D^G_\text {coherent}(\widetilde {{\mathcal N}})
is an “enhancement” of the known expression (due to Ginzburg and Kumar) for quantum group cohomology in terms of nilpotent variety. The equivalence between
D
perverse
(
G
r
)
D_\text {perverse}(\mathsf {Gr})
and
D
coherent
G
(
N
~
)
D^G_\text {coherent}(\widetilde {{\mathcal N}})
can be viewed as a “categorification” of the isomorphism between two completely different geometric realizations of the (fundamental polynomial representation of the) affine Hecke algebra that has played a key role in the proof of the Deligne-Langlands-Lusztig conjecture. One realization is in terms of locally constant functions on the flag manifold of a
p
p
-adic reductive group, while the other is in terms of equivariant
K
K
-theory of a complex (Steinberg) variety for the dual group. The composite of the two equivalences above yields an equivalence between abelian categories of quantum group representations and perverse sheaves. A similar equivalence at an even root of unity can be deduced, following the Lusztig program, from earlier deep results of Kazhdan-Lusztig and Kashiwara-Tanisaki. Our approach is independent of these results and is totally different (it does not rely on the representation theory of Kac-Moody algebras). It also gives way to proving Humphreys’ conjectures on tilting
U
q
(
g
)
U_q(\mathfrak {g})
-modules, as will be explained in a separate paper.