Symplectic duality predicts that affine symplectic singularities come in pairs that are in a sense dual to each other. The Hikita conjecture relates the cohomology of the symplectic resolution on one side to the functions on the fixed points on the dual side.  

In a recent work with Ivan Losev and Lucas Mason-Brown, we suggested an important example of symplectic dual pairs. Namely, a Slodowy slice to a nilpotent orbit should be dual to an affinization of a certain cover of a special orbit for the Langlands dual group. In that paper, we explain that the appearance of the special unipotent central character can be seen as a manifestation of a slight generalization of the Hikita conjecture for this pair.

However, a further study shows that several things can (and do!) go wrong with the conjecture. In this talk, I will explain a modified version of the statement, recent progress towards the proof, and how special unipotent characters appear in the picture. It is based on a work in progress with Do Kien Hoang and Vasily Krylov.