Fourier coefficients of minimal and next-to-minimal automorphic representations of simply-laced groups

In this paper we analyze Fourier coefficients of automorphic forms on a finite cover $G$ of an adelic split simply-laced group. Let $pi$ be a minimal or next-to-minimal automorphic representation of $G$. We prove that any $etain pi$ is completely determined by its Whittaker coefficients with respect to (possibly degenerate) characters of the unipotent radical of a fixed Borel subgroup, analogously to the Piatetski-Shapiro--Shalika formula for cusp forms on $GL_n$. We also derive explicit formulas expressing the form, as well as all its maximal parabolic Fourier coefficient in terms of these Whittaker coefficients. A consequence of our results is the non-existence of cusp forms in the minimal and next-to-minimal automorphic spectrum. We provide detailed examples for $G$ of type $D_5$ and $E_8$ with a view towards applications to scattering amplitudes in string theory.