Let ${\mathcal{K}}$ be an imaginary quadratic field. Let ${\rm\Pi}$ and ${\rm\Pi}^{\prime }$ be irreducible generic cohomological automorphic representation of $\text{GL}(n)/{\mathcal{K}}$ and $\text{GL}(n-1)/{\mathcal{K}}$, respectively. Each of them can be given two natural rational structures over number fields. One is defined by the rational structure on topological cohomology, and the other is given in terms of the Whittaker model. The ratio between these rational structures is called a Whittaker period. An argument presented by Mahnkopf and Raghuram shows that, at least if ${\rm\Pi}$ is cuspidal and the weights of ${\rm\Pi}$ and ${\rm\Pi}^{\prime }$ are in a standard relative position, the critical values of the Rankin–Selberg product $L(s,{\rm\Pi}\times {\rm\Pi}^{\prime })$ are essentially algebraic multiples of the product of the Whittaker periods of ${\rm\Pi}$ and ${\rm\Pi}^{\prime }$. We show that, under certain regularity and polarization hypotheses, the Whittaker period of a cuspidal ${\rm\Pi}$ can be given a motivic interpretation, and can also be related to a critical value of the adjoint $L$-function of related automorphic representations of unitary groups. The resulting expressions for critical values of the Rankin–Selberg and adjoint $L$-functions are compatible with Deligne’s conjecture.

Let G be the simple algebraic group Sp(2,2), to be defined over ℚ. It is a non-quasi-split, ℚ-rank-two inner form of the split symplectic group Sp8 of rank four. The cohomology of the space of automorphic forms on G has a natural subspace, which is spanned by classes represented by residues and derivatives of cuspidal Eisenstein series. It is called Eisenstein cohomology. In this paper we give a detailed description of the Eisenstein cohomology HqEis(G,E) of G in the case of regular coefficients E. It is spanned only by holomorphic Eisenstein series. For non-regular coefficients E we really have to detect the poles of our Eisenstein series. Since G is not quasi-split, we are out of the scope of the so-called ‘Langlands–Shahidi method’ (cf. F. Shahidi, On certain L-functions, Amer. J. Math. 103 (1981), 297–355; F. Shahidi, On the Ramanujan conjecture and finiteness of poles for certain L-functions, Ann. of Math. (2) 127 (1988), 547–584). We apply recent results of Grbac in order to find the double poles of Eisenstein series attached to the minimal parabolic P0 of G. Having collected this information, we determine the square-integrable Eisenstein cohomology supported by P0 with respect to arbitrary coefficients and prove a vanishing result. This will exemplify a general theorem we prove in this paper on the distribution of maximally residual Eisenstein cohomology classes.