Contravariant forms on Whittaker modules

Let g be a complex semisimple Lie algebra. We give a classification of contravariant forms on the nondegenerate Whittaker g-modules Y(χ,η) introduced by Kostant. We prove that the set of all contravariant forms on Y(χ,η) forms a vector space whose dimension is given by the cardinality of the Weyl group of g. We also describe a procedure for parabolically inducing contravariant forms. As a corollary, we deduce the existence of the Shapovalov form on a Verma module, and provide a formula for the dimension of the space of contravariant forms on the degenerate Whittaker modules M(χ,η) introduced by McDowell.