The Steinberg-Lusztig tensor product theorem, Casselman-Shalika, and LLT polynomials

In this paper we establish a Steinberg-Lusztig tensor product theorem for abstract Fock space. This is a generalization of the type A result of Leclerc-Thibon and a Grothendieck group version of the Steinberg-Lusztig tensor product theorem for representations of quantum groups at roots of unity. Although the statement can be phrased in terms of parabolic affine Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials and thus has geometric content, our proof is combinatorial, using the theory of crystals (Littelmann paths). We derive the Casselman-Shalika formula as a consequence of the Steinberg-Lusztig tensor product theorem for abstract Fock space.