Symplectic Convexity Theorems and Applications to the Structure Theory of Semisimple Lie Groups

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Symplectic Convexity Theorems and Applications to the Structure Theory of Semisimple Lie Groups SYMPLECTIC CONVEXITY THEOREMS AND APPLICATIONS TO THE STRUCTURE THEORY OF SEMISIMPLE LIE GROUPS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Michael Otto ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor T. Kerler Professor B. Kr¨otz,Co-Adviser Adviser Professor R. Stanton, Co-Adviser Department of Mathematics ABSTRACT Atiyah’s well known convexity theorem states that for a Hamiltonian torus ac- tion T × M → M on a compact connected symplectic manifold M the image Φ(M) under the associated moment map Φ : M → t∗ is convex. Duistermaat in addition considered antisymplectic involutions τ on M satisfying Φ ◦ τ = Φ. He showed that Φ(M) = Φ(Q) for Lagrangian submanifolds Q that arise as fixed point sets of such involutions. We prove a generalization of Duistermaat’s symplectic convexity theorem for invo- lutions τ which satisfy several compatibility properties with the torus action, but which are not necessarily antisymplectic. By the same method we can also extend a Duistermaat-type theorem for non-compact M with proper Φ. All the symplectic convexity theorems mentioned have applications to the structure theory of semisimple Lie groups. With the generalization of Duistermaat’s theorem we are able to extend existing symplectic proofs for Kostant’s and Neeb’s convexity theorems to all semisimple groups. In addition we develop the symplectic framework to refine a recently discovered complex convexity theorem. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I wish to thank Bernhard Kr¨otz for his role as adviser through- out my graduate studies. With his energy and enthusiasm he provided a great working environment. I would also like to thank Bob Stanton for his support, especially during the process of writing this dissertation, and for his frequent valuable advice. iii VITA April 19, 1974 ................... Born — Braunschweig, Germany 2001 ........................ Diplom, TU Clausthal/Germany 2000–present ................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University PUBLICATION B. Kr¨otzand M. Otto, Vanishing properties of analytically extended matrix coeffi- cients, Journal of Lie Theory 12, 2002, 409-421. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Mathematics iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ....................................... ii Acknowledgments .................................. iii Vita ......................................... iv Chapters: 1. Introduction . 1 2. Symplectic Geometry . 7 2.1 Background . 8 2.2 Local normal forms . 18 2.3 Symplectic convexity theorems . 28 3. Lie theory . 41 3.1 Kostant’s convexity theorems . 42 3.1.1 Kostant’s theorems . 42 3.1.2 The linear version . 44 3.1.3 The nonlinear version . 47 3.2 Neeb’s convexity theorem for semisimple symmetric spaces . 56 3.2.1 Statement of the theorem and reduction of the problem 57 3.2.2 A symplectic proof . 60 3.3 A refinement of the complex convexity theorem of Gindikin- Kr¨otz . 65 3.3.1 Notation and basic facts . 66 3.3.2 Complex groups . 69 3.3.3 The complex convexity theorem for non-complex groups 76 Appendix: Poisson Lie groups and Manin triples ............... 81 Bibliography .................................... 86 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A complex (n × n)-matrix A is called Hermitian if A = A¯T . Here the bar sym- bolizes the matrix operation where each matrix entry is replaced with its complex conjugate. The exponent T denotes the transposed matrix. It is a well known fact that a given Hermitian matrix A is diagonalizable. This means one can find (com- plex) numbers λ1, . , λn, not necessarily distinct, and a complex matrix V with the property V −1 = V¯ T (such a V is called unitary), such that λ 1 −1 .. V AV = . . λn The λi’s are the eigenvalues of A and can easily shown to be real numbers. How do the entries of A depend on the λi’s, or in other words, how much infor- mation on the matrix A is encoded in its eigenvalues ? A partial answer to this question was provided by Schur in 1923 [21]. He showed that the range of the diagonal elements of A was restricted by the eigenvalues. Let 1 us be more specific. We denote the n-dimensional vector of diagonal elements of A by diag(A), and we write the eigenvalues in vector form (λ1, . , λn). Note that both n diag(A) and (λ1, . , λn) are points in R . For the finite set of points which are ob- tained from (λ1, . , λn) by permuting the entries we write Sn.(λ1, . , λn) (the orbit of (λ1, . , λn) under the symmetric group Sn). The convex hull conv(Sn.(λ1, . , λn)) n of the finite set Sn.(λ1, . , λn) is a compact region in R which is determined uniquely by the eigenvalues λ1, . , λn. Schur’s result asserts that the diagonal vector must lie in this region, i.e. diag(A) ∈ conv(Sn.(λ1, . , λn)). It turns out that diagonal vectors of Hermitian matrices with eigenvalues λ1, . , λn not only lie in conv(Sn.(λ1, . , λn)) but actually make up all that region, i.e. {diag(A): A Hermitian with eigenvalues λ1, . , λn} = conv(Sn.(λ1, . , λn)). This was proven by Horn in 1954 [12]. Statements on square matrices can often be extended to semisimple Lie groups. But it was not until 1973 that Kostant [14] proved such a generalization for the Schur-Horn result. Let G be a connected semisimple Lie group with Lie algebra g. The Iwasawa de- composition of G generalizes the Gram-Schmidt decomposition of a complex matrix g with determinant one into a unique product g = nak of an upper triangular ma- trix n with ones on the diagonal, a real diagonal matrix a with determinant one and a unitary matrix k with determinant one. The usual notation is G = NAK for 2 certain subgroups N, A, K of G that are unipotent, abelian, compact, respectively. On the Lie algebra level the Iwasawa decomposition states g = n ⊕ a ⊕ k, where n = Lie(N), a = Lie(A), k = Lie(K). It is a generalization of the fact that any com- plex matrix with trace zero can be uniquely written as the sum of a strictly upper triangular matrix, a real diagonal matrix with trace zero and a skew-Hermitian ma- trix. The group Sn from above becomes the Weyl group W = NK (a)/ZK (a). We denote bya ˜ : G = NAK → A, nak 7→ a, and pra : g = n + a + k → a,Xn + Xa + Xk 7→ Xa the middle projections in the Iwasawa decompositions. Then Kostant’s result is the following. Kostant’s convexity theorems. Let Y ∈ a. Then 1. pra(Ad(K).Y ) = conv(W.Y ) linear version 2. loga ˜(K exp(Y )) = conv(W.Y ) nonlinear version where conv(·) denotes the convex hull of (·). The Schur-Horn theorem is a special case of the linear version in case G = SL(n, C). Atiyah [2] took this subject into a new and unexpected direction. He related the Lie theoretic results of Kostant with symplectic geometry. He, and independently, Guillemin and Sternberg [6], discovered a symplectic convexity theorem from which Kostant’s linear result could be derived. 3 AGS-Theorem. Let (M, ω) be a compact connected symplectic manifold. Sup- pose a torus T acts on M in a Hamiltonian way with moment map Φ: M → t∗. Then Φ(M) is convex. More precisely, Φ(M) is the convex polytope spanned by the finite set Φ(Fix(M)), where Fix(M) denotes the T -fixed points of M. Subsequently, the AGS-theorem has been generalized in different directions by numerous authors. Some consider not only torus actions but more general Hamil- tonian actions. Others study non-compact symplectic manifolds. In many instances additional conditions on the moment map are required. One of the early extensions of the AGS-theorems will be of particular interest to us. It was given by Duistermaat [4] who considered certain involutions on the underlying symplectic manifold. Duistermaat’s Theorem. Let (M, ω) be a compact connected symplectic man- ifold. Suppose a torus T acts on M in a Hamiltonian fashion with moment map Φ: M → t∗. In addition, let τ : M → M be an antisymplectic involution which satisfies Φ ◦ τ = Φ. If Q denotes the set of τ-fixed points of M, then Φ(Q) = Φ(M). In particular, Φ(Q) is convex. The statement remains true if one replaces Q with any of its connected components. It turns out that antisymplecticity is a rather strong condition on the involution τ that is not always satisfied in applications. One of the main results of this thesis is 4 the following theorem which states how the conditions on τ in Duistermaat’s theorem can be weakened. Theorem A. [15] Let M be a compact connected symplectic manifold with Hamil- tonian torus action T × M → M and moment map Φ: M → t∗. Furthermore, let τ : M → M be an involutive diffeomorphism with fixed point set Q such that 1. t ◦ τ = τ ◦ t−1 for all t ∈ T . 2. Φ ◦ τ = Φ. 3. Q is a Lagrangian submanifold of M. Then Φ(Q) = Φ(M) = conv Φ(Fix(M)) = conv Φ(Fix(Q)). In particular Φ(Q) is a convex subset of t∗. Moreover, the same assertions hold if Q is replaced with any of its connected components. Note that this theorem extends the class of Lagrangian submanifolds Q in Duis- termaat’s theorem for which the image Φ(Q) is still the full convex set Φ(M). We will also consider the convexity theorem by Hilgert, Neeb and Plank [11] which deals with the situation that M is non-compact and the moment map Φ is proper. We will show that, again, the condition of Φ being antisymplectic can be weakened as in Theorem A.
Recommended publications
  • Lecture Notes on Compact Lie Groups and Their Representations
    Lecture Notes on Compact Lie Groups and Their Representations CLAUDIO GORODSKI Prelimimary version: use with extreme caution! September , ii Contents Contents iii 1 Compact topological groups 1 1.1 Topological groups and continuous actions . 1 1.2 Representations .......................... 4 1.3 Adjointaction ........................... 7 1.4 Averaging method and Haar integral on compact groups . 9 1.5 The character theory of Frobenius-Schur . 13 1.6 Problems.............................. 20 2 Review of Lie groups 23 2.1 Basicdefinition .......................... 23 2.2 Liealgebras ............................ 25 2.3 Theexponentialmap ....................... 28 2.4 LiehomomorphismsandLiesubgroups . 29 2.5 Theadjointrepresentation . 32 2.6 QuotientsandcoveringsofLiegroups . 34 2.7 Problems.............................. 36 3 StructureofcompactLiegroups 39 3.1 InvariantinnerproductontheLiealgebra . 39 3.2 CompactLiealgebras. 40 3.3 ComplexsemisimpleLiealgebras. 48 3.4 Problems.............................. 51 3.A Existenceofcompactrealforms . 53 4 Roottheory 55 4.1 Maximaltori............................ 55 4.2 Cartansubalgebras ........................ 57 4.3 Case study: representations of SU(2) .............. 58 4.4 Rootspacedecomposition . 61 4.5 Rootsystems............................ 63 4.6 Classificationofrootsystems . 69 iii iv CONTENTS 4.7 Problems.............................. 73 CHAPTER 1 Compact topological groups In this introductory chapter, we essentially introduce our very basic objects of study, as well as some fundamental examples. We also establish some preliminary results that do not depend on the smooth structure, using as little as possible machinery. The idea is to paint a picture and plant the seeds for the later development of the heavier theory. 1.1 Topological groups and continuous actions A topological group is a group G endowed with a topology such that the group operations are continuous; namely, we require that the multiplica- tion map and the inversion map µ : G G G, ι : G G × → → be continuous maps.
    [Show full text]
  • A Taxonomy of Irreducible Harish-Chandra Modules of Regular Integral Infinitesimal Character
    A taxonomy of irreducible Harish-Chandra modules of regular integral infinitesimal character B. Binegar OSU Representation Theory Seminar September 5, 2007 1. Introduction Let G be a reductive Lie group, K a maximal compact subgroup of G. In fact, we shall assume that G is a set of real points of a linear algebraic group G defined over C. Let g be the complexified Lie algebra of G, and g = k + p a corresponding Cartan decomposition of g Definition 1.1. A (g,K)-module is a complex vector space V carrying both a Lie algebra representation of g and a group representation of K such that • The representation of K on V is locally finite and smooth. • The differential of the group representation of K coincides with the restriction of the Lie algebra representation to k. • The group representation and the Lie algebra representations are compatible in the sense that πK (k) πk (X) = πk (Ad (k) X) πK (k) . Definition 1.2. A (Hilbert space) representation π of a reductive group G with maximal compact subgroup K is called admissible if π|K is a direct sum of finite-dimensional representations of K such that each K-type (i.e each distinct equivalence class of irreducible representations of K) occurs with finite multiplicity. Definition 1.3 (Theorem). Suppose (π, V ) is a smooth representation of a reductive Lie group G, and K is a compact subgroup of G. Then the space of K-finite vectors can be endowed with the structure of a (g,K)-module. We call this (g,K)-module the Harish-Chandra module of (π, V ).
    [Show full text]
  • Orbits of Real Forms in Complex Flag Manifolds 71
    Ann. Scuola Norm. Sup. Pisa Cl. Sci. (5) Vol. IX (2010), 69-109 Orbits of real forms in complex flag manifolds ANDREA ALTOMANI,COSTANTINO MEDORI AND MAURO NACINOVICH Abstract. We investigate the CR geometry of the orbits M of a real form G0 of a complex semisimple Lie group G in a complex flag manifold X = G/Q.Weare mainly concerned with finite type and holomorphic nondegeneracy conditions, canonical G0-equivariant and Mostow fibrations, and topological properties of the orbits. Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 53C30 (primary); 14M15, 17B20, 32V05, 32V35, 32V40, 57T20 (secondary). Introduction In this paper we study a large class of homogeneous CR manifolds, that come up as orbits of real forms in complex flag manifolds. These objects, that we call here parabolic CR manifolds, were first considered by J. A. Wolf (see [28] and also [12] for a comprehensive introduction to this topic). He studied the action of a real form G0 of a complex semisimple Lie group G on a flag manifold X of G.Heshowed that G0 has finitely many orbits in X,sothat the union of the open orbits is dense in X, and that there is just one that is closed. He systematically investigated their properties, especially for the open orbits and for the holomorphic arc components of general orbits, outlining a framework that includes, as special cases, the bounded symmetric domains. We aim here to give a contribution to the study of the general G0-orbits in X, by considering and utilizing their natural CR structure. In [2] we began this program by investigating the closed orbits.
    [Show full text]
  • Math 222 Notes for Apr. 1
    Math 222 notes for Apr. 1 Alison Miller 1 Real lie algebras and compact Lie groups, continued Last time we showed that if G is a compact Lie group with Z(G) finite and g = Lie(G), then the Killing form of g is negative definite, hence g is semisimple. Now we’ll do a converse. Proposition 1.1. Let g be a real lie algebra such that Bg is negative definite. Then there is a compact Lie group G with Lie algebra Lie(G) =∼ g. Proof. Pick any connected Lie group G0 with Lie algebra g. Since g is semisimple, the center Z(g) = 0, and so the center Z(G0) of G0 must be discrete in G0. Let G = G0/Z(G)0; then Lie(G) =∼ Lie(G0) =∼ g. We’ll show that G is compact. Now G0 has an adjoint action Ad : G0 GL(g), with kernel ker Ad = Z(G). Hence 0 ∼ G = Im(Ad). However, the Killing form Bg on g is Ad-invariant, so Im(Ad) is contained in the subgroup of GL(g) preserving the Killing! form. Since Bg is negative definite, this subgroup is isomorphic to O(n) (where n = dim(g). Since O(n) is compact, its closed subgroup Im(Ad) is also compact, and so G is compact. Note: I found a gap in this argument while writing it up; it assumes that Im(Ad) is closed in GL(g). This is in fact true, because Im(Ad) = Aut(g) is the group of automorphisms of the Lie algebra g, which is closed in GL(g); but proving this fact takes a bit of work.
    [Show full text]
  • Lie Algebras from Lie Groups
    Preprint typeset in JHEP style - HYPER VERSION Lecture 8: Lie Algebras from Lie Groups Gregory W. Moore Abstract: Not updated since November 2009. March 27, 2018 -TOC- Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Geometrical approach to the Lie algebra associated to a Lie group 2 2.1 Lie's approach 2 2.2 Left-invariant vector fields and the Lie algebra 4 2.2.1 Review of some definitions from differential geometry 4 2.2.2 The geometrical definition of a Lie algebra 5 3. The exponential map 8 4. Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff formula 11 4.1 Statement and derivation 11 4.2 Two Important Special Cases 17 4.2.1 The Heisenberg algebra 17 4.2.2 All orders in B, first order in A 18 4.3 Region of convergence 19 5. Abstract Lie Algebras 19 5.1 Basic Definitions 19 5.2 Examples: Lie algebras of dimensions 1; 2; 3 23 5.3 Structure constants 25 5.4 Representations of Lie algebras and Ado's Theorem 26 6. Lie's theorem 28 7. Lie Algebras for the Classical Groups 34 7.1 A useful identity 35 7.2 GL(n; k) and SL(n; k) 35 7.3 O(n; k) 38 7.4 More general orthogonal groups 38 7.4.1 Lie algebra of SO∗(2n) 39 7.5 U(n) 39 7.5.1 U(p; q) 42 7.5.2 Lie algebra of SU ∗(2n) 42 7.6 Sp(2n) 42 8. Central extensions of Lie algebras and Lie algebra cohomology 46 8.1 Example: The Heisenberg Lie algebra and the Lie group associated to a symplectic vector space 47 8.2 Lie algebra cohomology 48 { 1 { 9.
    [Show full text]
  • REPRESENTATION THEORY of REAL GROUPS Contents 1
    REPRESENTATION THEORY OF REAL GROUPS ZIJIAN YAO Contents 1. Introduction1 2. Discrete series representations6 3. Geometric realizations9 4. Limits of discrete series 14 Appendix A. Various cohomology theories 15 References 18 1. Introduction 1.1. Introduction. The goal of these notes is to survey some basic concepts and constructions in representation theory of real groups, in other words, \at the infinite places". In particular, some of the definitions reviewed here should be helpful towards the formulation of the Langlands program. To be more precise, we first fix some notation for the introduction and the rest of the survey. Let G be a connected reductive group over R and G = G(R). Let K ⊂ G be an R-subgroup such that K := K(R) ⊂ G is a maximal compact subgroup. Let G0 ⊂ GC be the 1 unique compact real form containing K. By a representation of G we mean a complete locally convex topological C-vector space V equipped with a continuous action G × V ! V . We denote a representation by (π; V ) with π : G ! GL(V ): 2 Following foundations laid out by Harish-Chandra, we focus our attention on irreducible admissible representations of G (Definition 1.2), which are more general than (irreducible) unitary representations and much easier to classify, essentially because they are \algebraic". More precisely, by restricting to the K-finite subspaces V fin we arrive at (g;K)- modules. By a theorem of Harish-Chandra (recalled in Subsection 1.2), there is a natural bijection between Irreducible admissible G- Irreducible admissible representations (g;K)-modules ∼! infinitesimal equivalence isomorphism In particular, this allows us to associate an infinitesimal character χπ to each irreducible ad- missible representation π (Subsection 1.3), which carries useful information for us later in the survey.
    [Show full text]
  • Integration on Manifolds
    CHAPTER 4 Integration on Manifolds §1 Introduction Until now we have studied manifolds from the point of view of differential calculus. The last chapter introduces to our study the methods of integraI calculus. As the new tools are developed in the next sections, the reader may be somewhat puzzied about their reievancy to the earlierd material. Hopefully, the puzziement will be resolved by the chapter's en , but a pre­ liminary ex ampIe may be heIpful. Let p(z) = zm + a1zm-1 + + a ... m n, be a complex polynomial on p.a smooth compact region in the pIane whose boundary contains no zero of In Sectionp 3 of the previous chapter we showed that the number of zeros of inside n, counting multiplicities, equals the degree of the map argument principle, A famous theorem in complex variabie theory, called the asserts that this may also be calculated as an integraI, f d(arg p). òO 151 152 CHAPTER 4 TNTEGRATION ON MANIFOLDS You needn't understand the precise meaning of the expression in order to appreciate our point. What is important is that the number of zeros can be computed both by an intersection number and by an integraI formula. r Theo ems like the argument principal abound in differential topology. We shall show that their occurrence is not arbitrary orStokes fo rt uitoustheorem. but is a geometrie consequence of a generaI theorem known as Low­ dimensionaI versions of Stokes theorem are probably familiar to you from calculus : l. Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus: f: f'(x) dx = I(b) -I(a).
    [Show full text]
  • The Symplectic Group Is Obviously Not Compact. for Orthogonal Groups It
    The symplectic group is obviously not compact. For orthogonal groups it was easy to find a compact form: just take the orthogonal group of a positive definite quadratic form. For symplectic groups we do not have this option as there is essentially only one symplectic form. Instead we can use the following method of constructing compact forms: take the intersection of the corresponding complex group with the compact subgroup of unitary matrices. For example, if we do this with the complex orthogonal group of matrices with AAt = I and intersect t it with the unitary matrices AA = I we get the usual real orthogonal group. In this case the intersection with the unitary group just happens to consist of real matrices, but this does not happen in general. For the symplectic group we get the compact group Sp2n(C) ∩ U2n(C). We should check that this is a real form of the symplectic group, which means roughly that the Lie algebras of both groups have the same complexification sp2n(C), and in particular has the right dimension. We show that if V is any †-invariant complex subspace of Mk(C) then the Hermitian matrices of V are a real form of V . This follows because any matrix v ∈ V can be written as a sum of hermitian and skew hermitian matrices v = (v + v†)/2 + (v − v†)/2, in the same way that a complex number can be written as a sum of real and imaginary parts. (Of course this argument really has nothing to do with matrices: it works for any antilinear involution † of any complex vector space.) Now we need to check that the Lie algebra of the complex symplectic group is †-invariant.
    [Show full text]
  • Math 261A: Lie Groups, Fall 2008 Problems, Set 1 1. (A) Show That the Orthogonal Groups On(R)
    Math 261A: Lie Groups, Fall 2008 Problems, Set 1 1. (a) Show that the orthogonal groups On(R) and On(C) have two connected com- ponents, the identity component being the special orthogonal group SOn, and the other consisting of orthogonal matrices of determinant −1. (b) Show that the center of On is {±Ing. ∼ (c) Show that if n is odd, then SOn has trivial center and On = SOn × (Z=2Z) as a Lie group. (d) Show that if n is even, then the center of SOn has two elements, and On is a semidirect product (Z=2Z) n SOn, where Z=2Z acts on SOn by a non-trivial outer automorphism of order 2. 2. Problems 5-9 in Knapp Intro x6, which lead you through the construction of a smooth group homomorphism Φ: SU(2) ! SO(3) which induces an isomorphism of Lie algebras and identifies SO(3) with the quotient of SU(2) by its center {±Ig. 3. Construct an isomorphism of GL(n; C) (as a Lie group and an algebraic group) with a closed subgroup of SL(n + 1; C). 4. Show that the map C∗ × SL(n; C) ! GL(n; C) given by (z; g) 7! zg is a surjective homomorphism of Lie and algebraic groups, find its kernel, and describe the corresponding homomorphism of Lie algebras. 5. Find the Lie algebra of the group U ⊆ GL(n; C) of upper-triangular matrices with 1 on the diagonal. Show that for this group, the exponential map is a diffeomorphism of the Lie algebra onto the group.
    [Show full text]
  • ROOT SPACE DECOMPOSITION of G2 from OCTONIONS
    ROOT SPACE DECOMPOSITION OF g2 FROM OCTONIONS TATHAGATA BASAK Abstract. We describe a simple way to write down explicit derivations of octonions that form a Chevalley basis of g2. This uses the description of octonions as a twisted group algebra of the finite field F8. Generators of Gal(F8/F2) act on the roots as 120–degree rotations and complex conjugation acts as negation. 1. Introduction. Let O be the unique real nonassociative eight dimensional divi- sion algebra of octonions. It is well known that the Lie algebra of derivations Der(O) is the compact real form of the Lie algebra of type G2. Complexifying we get an identification of Der(O) ⊗ C with the complex simple Lie algebra g2. The purpose of this short note is to make this identification transparent by writing down simple formulas for a set of derivations of O ⊗ C that form a Chevalley basis of g2 (see Theorem 11). This gives a quick construction of g2 acting on Im(O)⊗C because the root space decomposition is visible from the definition. The highest weight vectors of finite dimensional irreducible representations of g2 can also be easily described in these terms. Wilson [W] gives an elementary construction of the compact real form of g2 with 3 visible 2 · L3(2) symmetry. This note started as a reworking of that paper in light of the definition of O from [B], namely, that O can be defined as the real algebra x with basis {e : x ∈ F8}, with multiplication defined by exey = (−1)ϕ(x,y)ex+y where ϕ(x, y)= tr(yx6) (1) F F 2 4 F∗ F and tr : 8 → 2 is the trace map: x 7→ x+x +x .
    [Show full text]
  • Real Forms of Complex Semi-Simple Lie Algebras
    Real forms of complex semi-simple Lie algebras Gurkeerat Chhina We give a survey of real forms on complex semi-simple Lie algebras. This is a big piece of the puzzle in understanding real forms on complex semi-simple Lie groups. The material is from Onishchik and Vinberg Chapter 5 x1. 1 Real forms and real structures ∼ Recall from Max's talk that a real form h ⊂ g is subalgebra such that h ⊗R C = g. In other words, and R-basis of h is a C basis for g. The key example is gln(R) ⊂ gln(C) (this is the split real form). There is a 1-to-1 correspondence between real forms of a complex Lie algebra g and anti-linear involutive automorphisms σ. Given h ⊂ g, we produce the automorphism σ given by complex conjugation with respect to h. Given an anti-linear involutive automorphism σ we produce h = gσ = fx 2 g : σ(x) = xg. For simplicity, we call such an automorphism a real structure on g. −1 Proposition 1.1. Let σ; σ0 be real structures and φ 2 Aut(g). Then φσφ−1 is a real structure, and gφσφ = 0 φ(gσ). Furthermore, gσ =∼ gσ if and only if σ0 = φσφ−1 for some φ 2 Aut(g) This shows us that we need to classify involutions up to conjugacy in Aut(g). We can make similar definitions on the group side. Let H be a Lie subgroup of G considered as a real Lie group. H is a real form if the tangent algebra h ⊂ g is a real form, and G = HG0.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Review of Lie Theory 1. the Theory of Lie
    Historical review of Lie Theory 1. The theory of Lie groups and their representations is a vast subject (Bourbaki [Bou] has so far written 9 chapters and 1,200 pages) with an extraordinary range of applications. Some of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of our times have created the tools of the subject that we all use. In this review I shall discuss briefly the modern development of the subject from its historical beginnings in the mid nineteenth century. The origins of Lie theory are geometric and stem from the view of Felix Klein (1849– 1925) that geometry of space is determined by the group of its symmetries. As the notion of space and its geometry evolved from Euclid, Riemann, and Grothendieck to the su- persymmetric world of the physicists, the notions of Lie groups and their representations also expanded correspondingly. The most interesting groups are the semi simple ones, and for them the questions have remained the same throughout this long evolution: what is their structure, where do they act, and what are their representations? 2. The algebraic story: simple Lie algebras and their representations. It was Sopus Lie (1842–1899) who started investigating all possible (local)group actions on manifolds. Lie’s seminal idea was to look at the action infinitesimally. If the local action is by R, it gives rise to a vector field on the manifold which integrates to capture the action of the local group. In the general case we get a Lie algebra of vector fields, which enables us to reconstruct the local group action.
    [Show full text]