Unipotent representations as a categorical centre

Abstract: Let G(F_q) be the group of rational points of a split connected reductive group G defined over the finite field F_q. In this paper we show that the category of representations of G(F_q) which are finite direct sums of unipotent representations in a fixed two-sided cell is equivalent to the centre of a certain monoidal category of sheaves on the product of two copies of the flag manifold of G. We also consider a version of this for nonsplit groups.