Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Let $F$ be a p-adic field of odd residual characteristic. Let
$\overline{GS{{p}_{2n}}(F)}$ and
$\overline{S{{p}_{2n}}(F)}$ be the metaplectic double covers of the general symplectic group and the symplectic group attached to the
$2n$ dimensional symplectic space over
$F$, respectively. Let
$\sigma$ be a genuine, possibly reducible, unramified principal series representation of
$\overline{GS{{p}_{2n}}(F)}$. In these notes we give an explicit formula for a spanning set for the space of Spherical Whittaker functions attached to
$\sigma$. For odd
$n$, and generically for even
$n$, this spanning set is a basis. The significant property of this set is that each of its elements is unchanged under the action of the Weyl group of
$\overline{S{{p}_{2n}}(F)}$. If
$n$ is odd, then each element in the set has an equivariant property that generalizes a uniqueness result proved by Gelbart, Howe, and Piatetski-Shapiro.Using this symmetric set, we construct a family of reducible genuine unramified principal series representations that have more then one generic constituent. This family contains all the reducible genuine unramified principal series representations induced from a unitary data and exists only for
$n$ even.