Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 April 2013
In this paper, we consider the $\mathrm{SL} (2)$ analogue of two well-known theorems about period integrals of automorphic forms on $\mathrm{GL} (2)$: one due to Harder–Langlands–Rapoport about non-vanishing of period integrals on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{F} )$ of cuspidal automorphic representations on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{E} )$ where $E$ is a quadratic extension of a number field $F$, and the other due to Waldspurger involving toric periods of automorphic forms on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{F} )$. In both these cases, now involving $\mathrm{SL} (2)$, we analyze period integrals on global$L$-packets; we prove that under certain conditions, a global automorphic $L$-packet which at each place of a number field has a distinguished representation, contains globally distinguished representations, and further, an automorphic representation which is locally distinguished is globally distinguished.