Alexei Skorobogatov
March 20, 2007
Introduction
For this course you need a very good understanding of linear algebra; a good knowledge of group theory and the representation theory of finite groups will also help.
The main sources for these notes are the books [6] and [8].
We give complete proofs of all statements with the exception of the conjugacy
of Cartan subgroups, the uniqueness theorem for semisimple Lie algebras, and the
existence theorem for exceptional semisimple Lie algebras. These results can be
found in [4].
Contents
1 Basic definitions and examples
4 Cartan subalgebras
12
15
6 Root systems
19
27
We have 0 = [a + b, a + b] = [aa] + [bb] + [ab] + [ba] = [ab] + [ba], so that the bracket
is indeed skew-symmetric in the usual sense.
Examples of Lie algebras 1. Abelian Lie algebras. Any vector space with the
zero product [ab] = 0.
2. R3 with vector product a b. It can be defined by bilinearity and skewsymmetry once we postulate
e 1 e2 = e 3 ,
e 2 e3 = e 1 ,
e 3 e1 = e 2 .
n
X
r=1
crlm er .
For example,
H=
1
0
0 1
X+ =
0 1
0 0
X =
0 0
1 0
[H, X+ ] = 2X+ ,
[X+ , X ] = H.
Similarly,
0 0
0
Rx = 0 0 1 ,
0 1
0
0 0 1
Ry = 0 0 0 ,
1 0 0
[Ry , Rz ] = Rx ,
0 1 0
0 0
Rz = 1
0
0 0
[Rz , Rx ] = Ry .
It is clear that g/[gg] is the maximal abelian quotient Lie algebra of g. This
construction can be iterated as follows to define the derived series of g:
g(1) = [gg],
By induction we show that the g(r) are ideals of g (the first inclusion is due to the
Jacobi identity):
[g(r+1) g] = [[g(r) g(r) ]g] [[g(r) g]g(r) ] [g(r) g(r) ] = g(r+1) .
If g(n) = 0 for some n, then g is called solvable. We note that any automorphism of
g preserves g(r) . The last non-zero ideal g(r) is visibly abelian.
An example of a solvable Lie algebra is t(n), or any abelian Lie algebra.
We can also iterate the construction of the derived algebra in another way: g1 =
g = [gg], gr+1 = [gr g]. This means that gr is generated by iterated brackets of r+1
elements [a1 [a2 [a3 . . . [ar ar+1 ] . . .]]]. This series of ideals is called the lower central
series, and if it goes down to zero, then g is called nilpotent. The ideals gr are also
preserved by the automorphisms of g. An example of a nilpotent Lie algebra is n(n).
Any abelian Lie algebra is also nilpotent.
(1)
More exercises. 4. Compute the derived series of t(n), n(n), sl(n). Hence determine which of these Lie algebras are solvable.
5. Compute the lower central series of t(n), n(n), sl(n). Hence determine which
of these Lie algebras are nilpotent.
6. Prove that g(r) gr for any g and r. In particular, this implies that every
nilpotent algebra is solvable. Show by an example that the converse is false. (Hint:
consider the Lie algebra attached to the algebra of affine transformations of the line
x 7 ax + b, a, b k. This algebra can be realized as the algebra of 2 2-matrices
with the zero bottom row.)
by v. Clearly, U has a non-zero vector killed by v, but this vector is killed by the
whole g. QED
Let V be the space of linear functions V k. A linear transformation : V V
induces a linear transformation : V V by the rule f (x) = f ((x)).
If e1 , . . . , en is a basis of V , then V has the dual basis consisting of linear functions
f1 , . . . , fn defined by fi (ej ) = 0 for all i and j such that i 6= j, and fi (ei ) = 1 for all
i. If a linear transformation is given by a n n-matrix A, (x) = Ax, then the
matrix of in the dual basis is AT .
A representation : g gl(V ) defines the dual (or contragredient) representation
(3)
(4)
We want to show that xv W , that is, axv = (a)xv, and for this it is enough to
show that [ax] Ker ((x)).
We define an increasing family of subspaces U0 U1 U2 . . . so that U0 is
spanned by v, and Ur is spanned by v, xv, . . . , xr v. Let n be such that v, xv, . . . , xn v
are linearly independent, but xn+1 v Un . Visibly, xUn Un . By induction we
deduce from (4) that aUi Ui . Indeed, aU0 U0 by the choice of v, formula (4)
shows that axv (a)xv + U1 ,
ax2 v = xaxv + [ax]xv = x2 av + x[ax]v + [ax]xv (a)x2 + U1 ,
and then by induction it follows that axm v (a)xm + Um1 . This implies that in
the basis v, xv, . . . , xn v every a a is given by an upper triangular matrix with all
the diagonal entries equal to (a).
Hence for any a a the trace of a on Un is (n + 1)(a). In particular, this is
true for [ax] a, but Tr[ax] = Tr(ax) Tr(xa) = 0, thus ([ax]) = 0. (It is crucial
here that the characteristic of k is zero: if k has characteristic p and p|n + 1, the
argument will collapse.) QED
7
Theorem 2.7 (Lie) Let k = C, and let g gl(V ) be a solvable Lie subalgebra.
There exists a non-zero vector which is an eigenvector of every element of g. In
other words, there exist a vector w V , w 6= 0, and a linear function (x) g
such that xw = (x)w for any x g.
Proof We prove this by induction on dim g. If dim g = 1 the statement follows from
linear algebra since we assumed that k = C. Now suppose the statement is proved in
all dimensions less than dim g. Since g0 = [gg] is a proper subspace of g we can choose
a vector subspace a g of codimension 1 such that g0 a. Then [ag] g0 a, so
that a is an ideal of g. Clearly, a is a solvable Lie algebra. By induction hypothesis,
for some linear function a the (x)-eigenspace W V defined as in Dynkins
lemma, is non-zero. Choose x g \ a. By Dynkins lemma xW W . By linear
algebra x has an eigenvector w W , w 6= 0, with eigenvalue 0 C. Any element
of g can be written as a + sx, a a, s k, and (a + sx)w = ((a) + s0 )w. QED
Corollary 2.8 For any representation of a solvable Lie algebra g in a complex vector space V there exist a basis of V such that all the matrices of the elements of g
are upper triangular.
Proof This follows from Lies theorem by induction on dim V (consider the quotient
space V /Cw). QED
Corollary 2.9 A Lie algebra g is solvable if and only if its derived algebra g0 = [gg]
is nilpotent.
Proof If g0 is nilpotent, then g is clearly solvable. Conversely, by Corollary 2.8 g
has a basis in which ad(x) is upper triangular for any x g. Thus ad(y) is strictly
upper triangular for any y g0 . Therefore g0 is a nilpotent Lie algebra, by Corollary
2.5. QED
More exercises. 3. Prove that any complex (resp. real) irreducible representation
of a solvable Lie algebra has dimension 1 (resp. 2).
Recall that the adjoint representation associates to an element a g a linear transformation ad(a) : g g. Let us define a bilinear form K : g g k by the formula
K(a, b) = Tr(ad(a)ad(b)) (the trace of the composition of linear transformations
ad(a) and ad(b), sending x g to [a[bx]]). It is called the Killing form of g. Since
Tr(AB) = Tr(BA) the Killing form is symmetric. We shall see that the properties of
the Killing form of a Lie algebra g say a lot about g. The following lemma exhibits
various functoriality properties of the Killing form.
8
The Lie algebra g acts on the algebra of matrices gl(V ) via the restriction of the
adjoint representation of gl(V ) to g. Clearly, ad(x) = ad(s) + ad(n). The linear
transformation ad(n) is nilpotent (the powers of n pile up on one or the other side of
x, cf. (2)). Since ad is a representation, [sn] = 0 implies ad(s)ad(n) ad(n)ad(s) =
0. The matrix of the linear transformation ad(s) in the standard basis of gl(V )
is diag (si sj ). By the uniqueness part of the Jordan normal form theorem we
conclude that ad(x) = ad(s) + ad(n) is the Jordan decomposition of ad(x). Thus
ad(s) is a polynomial in ad(x). Since the matrix of ad(s) in the standard basis of
gl(V ) is diag (si sj ), we conclude in the same way as above that ad(s) = P (ad(s))
for some P (t) C[t], hence also ad(s) = Q(ad(x)) for some Q(t) C[t]. The
subspace g gl(V ) is ad(x)-invariant, and so is also ad(s)-invariant. In particular,
[sa] g for any a g.
If x g0 , then x is the sum of brackets like [ab] = ab ba, for a, b g. We have
Tr(s [ab]) = Tr(sab sba) = Tr(sab asb) = Tr([sa]b).
Since [sa] g, our assumption implies that this trace is zero. By (5) we see that
P
0
i si si = 0, hence s = 0 and x = n is nilpotent. By Engels theorem g is nilpotent.
QED
Theorem 3.3 (Cartans first criterion) A Lie algebra g is solvable if and only
if K(g, g0 ) = 0.
Proof Consider ad(g) = g/Z(g), where Z(g) = {a g|[ab] = 0 for any b g} is the
centre of g. Obviously K(g, g0 ) = 0 implies K(g0 , g0 ) = 0, that is, Tr(xy) = 0 for
any x, y ad(g)0 = ad(g0 ). By Proposition 3.2 ad(g)00 is nilpotent, and this implies
that ad(g) is solvable. Thus ad(g)(r) = 0 if r is large enough, that is, g(r) Z(g).
But then g(r+1) = 0 so that g is solvable.
Let us prove the converse. In an appropriate basis all the elements of ad(g) are
given by upper triangular matrices, by Lies theorem. Therefore, all the elements
of ad(g0 ), which are sums of expressions like ad(a)ad(b) ad(b)ad(a), a, b g, are
given by strictly upper triangular matrices. This clearly implies that K(x, y) =
Tr(ad(x)ad(y)) = 0 for any x g, y g0 . QED
Exercise. 1. Let g be the Lie algebra of affine transformations of the line. Compute
the Gram matrix of the Killing form of g. Check that the kernel of the Killing form
of g is g0 , so that the Killing form is not identically zero.
10
Cartans first criterion characterizes solvable Lie algebras as those for which the
derived Lie algebra g0 is contained in the kernel of the Killing form of g. The opposite
case are the algebras for which the Killing form is non-degenerate. To discuss the
properties of such algebras we need a lemma and a definition.
Lemma 3.4 If a and b are solvable ideals of a Lie algebra g, then the ideal a + b is
solvable.
Proof This follows from a more general fact that any extension of a solvable Lie
algebra by a solvable Lie algebra is solvable. (If a is a solvable ideal of g, and g/a is
solvable, then so is g. Indeed, (g/a)(r) = 0 if r is large enough, so that g(r) a. If
a(s) = 0, then g(r+s) = 0.) To conclude we note that the ideal a a + b is solvable,
and (a + b)/a ' b/(a b) is a quotient of a solvable Lie algebra b, and hence is
solvable. QED
Definition 3.5 The union of all solvable ideals of g is called the radical of g. This
is the maximal solvable ideal of g.
The existence of the radical follows from Lemma 3.4. The last non-zero term of
the derived series of the radical is an abelian ideal of g. Therefore, the radical of g is
zero if and only if g has no non-zero abelian ideals. The Lie algebras possessing these
equivalent properties are called semisimple; these algebras and their representation
will be the main focus of this course.
Exercise. 2. Prove that the quotient of a Lie algebra g by its radical is semisimple.
3. A Lie algebra g is called simple if it has no ideals different from 0 and g, and
dim g > 1. Prove that any simple Lie algebra is semisimple.
4. Prove that sl(n) is a simple Lie algebra. (Hint: Let Eij , i 6= j, be the matrix
with the ij-entry equal to 1, and all the other entries equal to 0. If a sl(n) is a
non-zero ideal, and a a, a 6= 0, then [Eij , a] a. Use this to prove that Emn a
for some m and n. Deduce that a = sl(n).)
Theorem 3.6 (Cartans second criterion) A Lie algebra g is semisimple if and
only if its Killing form is non-degenerate.
Proof If g is not semisimple, it contains a non-zero abelian ideal a 6= 0. Choose
a a, a 6= 0. We claim that ad(a) is in the kernel of the Killing form. Indeed,
let x g be an arbitrary element. Since a is an ideal, ad(x)ad(a) sends g to a,
and thus ad(a)ad(x)ad(a) sends g to 0. We see that ad(x)ad(a)ad(x)ad(a) = 0, or
(ad(x)ad(a))2 = 0, so that ad(x)ad(a) is nilpotent. The trace of a nilpotent linear
transformation is 0, by the Jordan normal form theorem. Therefore, K(x, a) =
Tr(ad(x)ad(a)) = 0 for any x g.
11
Cartan subalgebras
r=1
If n is large, then one of r and n r is large. Thus for any y gx and z gx all
the terms in the right hand side vanish. Thus [yz] gx+ . QED
In particular, g0x is a subalgebra of g. Since [xx] = 0 we have x g0x .
13
satisfying the property that for each the space g contains a common eigenvector of h with eigenvalue : h k, and this is the only eigenvalue of h on g .
Moreover, if we set g = 0 for
/ {0}, then for any , h we have
[g , g ] g+ .
(7)
Proof For any x h the linear transformation ad(x) of h is nilpotent, hence h g0x .
It follows that for any x, y h each space gx is ad(y)-invariant. Choose a basis
x1 , . . . , xn of h. A linear function : h k is uniquely determined by its values
i = (xi ). By induction on i one establishes the decomposition
M
gx11 . . . gxii .
g=
1 ,...,i C
14
g .
Each g is h-invariant since h g0h for any h h. Let us denote by the set of
non-zero linear functions h such that g 6= 0. The set is finite since g is
finite-dimensional. Thus we obtain the decomposition in (6). By Lies theorem g
contains a common eigenvector of h. For any common eigenvector v ga lpha we
have v gxii so that ad(xi )v = i v, which says that ad(h)v = (h)v.
It remains to show that g0 = h. If this is not true, Proposition 2.3 shows that h
/ h, but this contradicts
kills a non-zero vector in g0 /h. Then [h, x] h for some x
the condition that h is its own normalizer.
The last property follows from Lemma 4.3. QED
Corollary 4.6 For each and any x g the linear transformation ad(x) of
g is nilpotent.
Proof Recall that does not contain 0, so that 6= 0. By (7) ad(x)r sends each
space g to g+r . Since the direct sum (6) is finite, for some large r we shall have
ad(x)r = 0. QED
The elements of are called the roots of g with respect to h, and the g are called
the root spaces.
The root decomposition (6) behaves nicely regarding the Killing form.
Lemma 4.7 (i) If , {0} are such that + 6= 0, then K(g , g ) = 0.
(ii) For x, y h we have
X
K(x, y) =
(x)(y)dim g .
The root decomposition (6) has particularly nice properties when g is a semisimple
Lie algebra.
15
Theorem 5.1 Let g be a semisimple Lie algebra. Then the following properties
hold:
(i) spans h ;
(ii) the restriction of K(, ) to h is non-degenerate;
(iii) h is abelian;
(iv) = .
Proof (i) If is contained in a proper subspace of h , then there exists x h, x 6= 0,
such that (x) = 0 for all (for any subspace of h of codimension 1 there
exists x h, x 6= 0, such that this subspace is the set of linear functions f vanishing
at x, f (x) = 0). This x is orthogonal to the g for 6= 0 by Lemma 4.7 (i), and it
is orthogonal to h by Lemma 4.7 (ii). However, the Killing form on g has no kernel
by Cartans second criterion. This contradiction proves that spans h .
(ii) By Lemma 4.7 (i) h is orthogonal to g , and since the Killing form is
non-degenerate, its restriction to h is also non-degenerate.
(iii) Let x [hh]. Then the eigenvalue of ad(x) on g is 0, that is, (x) = 0 for
any . By (ii) we see that x = 0.
(iv) The only space to which g can be non-orthogonal is g , and this must be
non-zero since the Killing form is non-degenerate. QED
Comment A part of this result can be restated by saying that
M
(g g )
g=h
is an orthogonal direct sum, and the restriction of the Killing form to h and to each
g g is non-degenerate. Since the form is zero on each g , the Killing form induces
a non-degenerate pairing (bilinear form) g g C. Let h = [g g ] h.
Lemma 5.2 For each we have
(i) h Ker () = 0 h;
(ii) dim h = 1;
(iii) dim g = 1, and gn = 0 for any n 2;
(iv) every h h acts on g as multiplication by (h).
Proof (i) Choose any . For any x g and y g we consider the action of
ad([xy]) on the -string of , that is, the space nZ g+n . This space is both
ad(x)- and ad(y)-invariant, hence the trace of ad([xy]) = ad(x)ad(y) ad(y)ad(x) is
zero. On the other hand, the trace of any h h on this space is (dim g )(h)+r(h)
for some r Z. Applying this to h = [xy] we see that if ([xy]) = 0, then ([xy]) = 0
as well. Since this is true for any , and spans h by Theorem 5.1 (i), we
must have [xy] = 0.
16
[H X ] = 2X ,
[H X ] = 2X ,
X er = (r + 1)er+1 ,
X+ er = ( + 2m r + 1)er1 . (8)
The first and second properties are clear, so let us prove the last one. We argue by
induction on r. For r = 0 we have X+ e = 0 = e1 , so that the formula is true. Let
r 1. Then we have
rX+ er = X+ X er1 = [X+ X ]er1 + X X+ er1 =
Her1 + ( + 2m r + 2)X er2 =
(( + 2m 2r + 2) + (r 1)( + 2m r + 2))er1 =
r( + 2m r + 1)er1 ,
hence the last formula of (8) is true. In a similar way we obtain
Hfr = ( 2l + 2r)fr , X+ fr = (r + 1)fr+1 , X fr = ( + 2l r + 1)fr1 . (9)
18
Since V is finite-dimensional, there exists an n 0 such that en is the last nonzero term in the sequence e, e1 , e2 , . . . Then 0 = X+ en+1 = ( + 2m n)en implies
that = n 2m Z. This shows that all eigenvalues of H in V are integers.
Consider the case 0. Since n = + 2m, n 2, . . . , n = + 2m 2n
are eigenvalues of H (corresponding to eigenvectors e, e1 , . . . , en ), and m 0 the
integers , 2, . . . , are eigenvalues of H.
In the case 0, define n 0 such that fn is the last non-zero term in the
sequence f, f1 , f2 , . . . The integers n = 2l, n + 2, . . . , n are eigenvalues of
H (corresponding to eigenvectors f, f1 , f2 , . . . , fn ). Since l 0, the integers ,
2, . . . , are eigenvalues of H. The claim is proved.
Proof of Proposition 5.4 (ii). The proof of the claim shows that if l is a nonnegative integer such that either l or l is an eigenvalue of H in V , then V contains
a linearly independent set of vectors vl , vl+2 , . . . , vl2 , vl such that Hvn = nvn ,
X+ vn is a non-zero multiple of vn+2 for n 6= l, X vn is a non-zero multiple of vn2
for n 6= l, and X+ vl = 0, X vl = 0, see (8) and (9).
We can assume that 6= and + . Let q 1 be the maximal number
such that + q , and let p 0 be the maximal number such that p .
The corresponding eigenvalues of H are (H ) 2p and (H ) + 2q. Since these
are respectively the smallest and the greatest eigenvalues of H in n g+n , by what
has been said in the previous paragraph we see that (H ) 2p = ((H ) + 2q),
and the integers of the same parity in the range
[(H ) 2p, (H ) + 2q] = [(p + q), p + q]
are eigenvalues of H . The corresponding eigenvectors can be chosen as Xi u, i =
0, 1, . . . , p+q, where u is non-zero vector in gp . Thus Xi u, where 0 i p+q, is
a non-zero vector in g+(ip) . In particular, Xp u generates g , and Xp+1 u generates
g+ . This proves (ii). QED
Remark. For future reference we point out that in the notation of this proof (H ) =
p q.
Root systems
2
h .
K(h , h )
19
K(h , h )
.
K(h , h )
Thus for x hR we have K(x, x) = (x)2 . If this equals 0, then (x) = 0 for
all , but since spans h , by Theorem 5.1 (i), we must have x = 0. QED
One consequence of this lemma is that the obvious sum h = hR +ihR of real vector
spaces is a direct sum. Indeed, if v hR ihR , then K(v, v) 0 and K(v, v) 0,
so that v = 0. This can be rephrased by saying that hR is a real form of h, or that
h is the complexification of hR .
We have K(H , H ) = 4/K(h , h ), so that h differs from H by a non-zero
positive multiple. In particular, h hR .
By Lemma 6.1 the restriction of the Killing form of g to hR is non-degenerate.
Hence it defines an isomorphism hR ' hR sending x to the linear form K(x, ). Under
this isomorphism h hR corresponds to hR . Let us write (, ) for the positive
definite symmetric bilinear from on hR which corresponds to the Killing form under
this isomorphism. Then we have
(, ) = K(h , h ) = (h ) = (h ),
hence
2
(, )
= (H ) = n, Z.
(, )
(, x)
= x x(H )
(, )
The pair (hR , ) is thus an example of a pair (V, R) consisting of a finite set R
of non-zero vectors spanning a real vector space V equipped with a positive definite
symmetric bilinear form (, ), such that
(1) any two distinct proportional vectors of R are negatives of each other;
(2) the reflections with respect to the elements of R preserve R; and
2
(, )
Z for any , .
(, )
Definition 6.2 A finite set of vectors R in a real vector space V with a positive
definite symmetric bilinear form satisfying (1) and (2) is called a root system.
The elements of R are called roots, and the dimension of V is called the rank of
R. The group of linear transformations of V generated by the reflections in the roots
of R is called the Weyl group W = W (R).
Since R spans V , and W permutes the roots, W is a subgroup of the symmetric
group on |R| elements. In particular, W is finite.
Note that multiplying the scalar product by a positive multiple does not change
the property of R to be a root system. More generally, we have the following
Definition 6.3 The roots systems (V1 , R1 ) and (V2 , R2 ) are equivalent if the exists
an isomorphism of vector spaces : V1 V2 such that (R1 ) = R2 and for some
constant c R we have ((x), (y)) = c(x, y) for any x, y V1 .
The importance of the concept of a root system is due to the fact that the isomorphism classes of complex semisimple Lie algebras bijectively correspond to equivalence classes of root systems. This is a central result of this course. We mentioned
earlier (without proof) that for any two Cartan subalgebras h1 , h2 of a Lie algebra g there exists an automorphism : g g such that (h1 ) = h2 . Also, the
Killing form is preserved by automorphisms, by Lemma 3.1 (i). Thus for a given
complex semisimple Lie algebra the various choices of a Cartan subalgebra give rise
to equivalent root systems.
We now turn to a study of abstract root systems.
2
Lemma 6.4 Let (V, R) be a root system. The set of vectors = (,)
is a root
system in V , called the dual root system and denoted by R . The Cartan numbers
of R are n = n . The Weyl group of R is canonically isomorphic to W (R).
Proof Indeed, R is a finite set of non-zero vectors which span V . Property (1) holds
because it holds for R. The reflection in is the same orthogonal transformation
as the reflection in , and hence it preserves R . It follows that W (R ) = W (R).
Finally,
( , )
(, )
QED
= n .
n = 2 = 2
( , )
(, )
21
In the above context the dual root system consists of the vectors H ,
(we identify hR and hR using the Killing form on hR , as usual).
Let us explore which metric properties of roots follow from the definition of a root
system. We write |x| = (x, x)1/2 for the length of a vector x. Let , R be roots,
and be the angle between and . Then (, ) = || || cos(). It follows that
||
(10)
cos(), whence 4 cos2 () = n n Z.
||
Thus cos() can be 0, 1/2, 2/2, 3/2 or 1. The last case corresponds to
collinear roots. If = /3 or /3 we must have n = 1, and then and have
the same length. If = /4 or 3/4, then the square of the length of one of the
roots is twice that of the other. Finally, if = /6 or 5/6, then the square of the
length of one of the roots is three times that of the other. We note the following
curious property.
n = 2
S 00
0 (v, v) =
y z (, ) 0,
real vector space V to the finite union of hyperplanes `() = 0, R. For this it
is enough to show that for any ` V there exists w W such that `(w) 0 for
all S. In this case ` is in the Weyl chamber corresponding to the basis wS. But
how to choose such a w?
Lemma 6.9 Define
=
1 X
.
2
+
R
3. Consider the lattice L R8 generated by the basis vectors ei and the vector
(e1 + . . . + e8 )/2, and let L0 L be the sublattice consisting of the vectors with
even sum of coordinates. Let R be the set of vectors v L0 such that (v, v) = 2.
This root system is called E8 .
4. The intersection of the root system of type E8 with the linear span of e1 , . . . , e6
(resp. e1 , . . . , e7 ) defines a root system in R6 (resp. R7 ). This root system is called
E6 (resp. E7 ). (Describe the root system obtained as the intersection of E8 with
the linear span of e1 , . . . , en for n = 2, 3, 4, 5.)
Theorem 6.11 Let S be a basis of the root system R. Then
(i) any other basis of R has the form wS for some w W ;
(ii) R = W S, that is, any root can be obtained from a simple root by applying an
element of W ;
(iii) the Weyl group W is generated by the reflections in the simple roots s , S;
(iv) if the root systems R1 V1 and R2 V2 have bases S1 and S2 , respectively,
with equal Cartan matrices, then R1 and R2 are equivalent.
Proof (i) By Proposition 6.8 any basis has the form S` for some ` V , `() 6= 0 for
all R. Let WS be the subgroup of W generated by the reflections in the simple
roots. Choose w WS such that `(w) is maximal, where is defined in Lemma
6.9. Then
`(w) `(ws ) = `(w) `(w),
where the last equality comes from Lemma 6.9. Thus `(w) > 0 for all S, and
(i) follows from the discussion before Lemma 6.9.
(ii) Let R. Choose a linear form `0 V such that `0 () = 0 but `0 () 6= 0
for all roots R, 6= . There exists a small deformation ` of `0 such that
|`()| > `() > 0. Then S` (see Proposition 6.8), so that is in the W -orbit of
some simple root, by (i).
(iii) It is enough to prove that s WS . By (ii) we have = w for some w WS ,
but
s (x) = sw (x) = w s w1 (x),
whence s WS .
(iv) The bijection between S1 and S2 uniquely extends to an isomorphism V1 V2 .
The Cartan matrix allows us to identify all reflections in the simple roots. By (iii),
the respective Weyl groups are canonically isomorphic. Now (ii) implies that the
isomorphism V1 V2 identifies R1 with R2 . QED
Remark. It can be proved that the Weyl group W = W (R) acts simply transitively
on the set of Weyl chambers (equivalently, on the set of bases) of R.
25
Definition 6.12 Let S be a basis of a root system R of rank n with the Cartan
matrix (n ), , S. The Dynkin diagram of R is the graph with n vertices
defined by the simple roots S, and to each vertex we attach the weight (, ).
The vertices 6= are joined by n n lines.
We agree not to distinguish between the diagrams that can be obtained from each
other by multiplying the weights of the vertices by a common positive multiple.
Since n n = 4 cos2 (), the distinct vertices can be connected by 0, 1, 2 or 3
lines. and are not connected if and only if and are perpendicular. Thus the
Dynkin diagram of R is connected if and only if R is irreducible.
Proposition 6.13 A root system is uniquely determined by its Dynkin diagram.
Proof We have seen in Theorem 6.11 (iv) that two root systems with identical Cartan
matrices are equivalent. It remains to show that the Cartan matrix can be recovered
from the Dynkin diagram. Indeed, n = 2 for any S. Let us use (10), taking
into account the fact that all the angles between simple roots are right or obtuse.
If and are not connected, then n = n = 0. If and are connected
by one line,then n = n = 1. If and are connected by two lines, then
than
cos() = 2/2, and hence n = 2, n = 1, if the weight of is greater
the weight of . If and are connected by three lines, then cos() = 3/2, and
hence n = 3, n = 1, if the weight of is greater than the weight of . QED
Exercise Check that the following sets are bases of the classical root systems.
Compute their Cartan matrices and Dynkin diagrams. (See [1] or [8] for the explicit
description of bases in exceptional root systems.)
An e1 e2 , e2 e3 , . . . , en en+1
Bn e1 e2 , e2 e3 , . . . , en1 en , en
Cn e1 e2 , e2 e3 , . . . , en1 en , 2en
Dn e1 e2 , e2 e3 , . . . , en1 en , en1 + en
Theorem 6.14 Any irreducible root system is one of the classical root systems An ,
n 1, Bn , n 2, Cn , n 3, Dn , n 4, or one of the exceptional root systems
G 2 , F 4 , E 6 , E7 , E 8 .
Proof We temporarily forget the weights of vertices. By multiplying every simple
root by an appropriate non-zero multiple we ensure that all the resulting vectors
have length 1. The possible angles between them are /2, 2/3, 3/4 or 5/6. Call
such a system of vectors an allowable configuration. The allowable configurations
can be classified using elementary geometry, see [4], pages 130135. Then it is not
hard to prove that the only Dynkin diagrams that an irreducible root system can
have are those listed above. QED
26
Let g be a semisimple complex Lie algebra, h its Cartan subalgebra, and hR the
corresponding root system. The choice of a basis S of allows us to define a system
of generators of g as follows. To each simple root S we associate H hR as
before, and X g and X g such that [X , X ] = H .
Theorem 7.1 (Uniqueness and existence) (i) The semisimple Lie algebra g is
generated by 3n elements H , X , X for S.
(ii) These generators satisfy the relations (for all , S)
[H , H ] = 0, [X , X ] = H , [H , X ] = n X , [H , X ] = n X ,
[X , X ] = 0, if 6= , and
ad(X )n +1 (X ) = ad(X )n +1 (X ) = 0
if
6= .
(11)
(12)
(iii) Any two Lie algebras with such generators and relations are isomorphic.
(iv) For any root system R there exists a complex semisimple Lie algebra whose root
system is equivalent to R.
Proof (i) It is clear that H , S, span the Cartan subalgebra h. Because of the
decomposition (6) it is enough to show how to generate g for everyPpositive (not
necessarily simple)Proot , starting from X , S. Write = S m (),
and set m() =
S m (). Let us show by induction in m() that for every
+
\ S there exists a simple root S such that + . Indeed, we
cannot have (, ) 0 for all S since otherwise the vectors in S{} are linearly
independent (by the argument in the proof of Proposition 6.8). If (, ) > 0, then
, by Lemma 6.5. Since m () > 0 for some simple root 6= , and every
root is a linear combination of simple roots with coefficients of the same sign, we see
that + . By induction in m() we conclude that = 1 + . . . + m , where
i S, and the partial sums 1 + . . . + i are roots for all 1 i m. Applying
Proposition 5.4 (ii) m times we see that g is spanned by
[X1 [X2 . . . [Xm1 Xm ]]] 6= 0.
This finishes the proof of (i).
(ii) All the relations in (11) are clear except [X , X ] = 0. But if this element is
not zero, then g 6= 0. However, 6 since the coefficient of is positive,
whereas that of is negative.
Similarly, ad(X )n +1 (X ) has weight n + = s ( ), which is not
in because 6 , as seen above. Thus this element is zero.
27
(iii) and (iv) This (complicated) proof is omitted, see [4]. However, the existence
theorem for classical Lie algebras will follow from their explicit descriptions (see
below). QED
This shows that a semisimple Lie algebra is determined by its root system up
to isomorphism, and that every root system is obtained from some semisimple Lie
algebra. Irreducible root systems correspond to simple Lie algebras.
Definition 7.2 For a semisimple Lie algebra g = h
n+ = + g ,
n = + g ,
g define
b = h n+ .
Proposition 7.3 We have g = n h n+ , where n+ and n are nilpotent subalgebras of g, and b g is a solvable subalgebra. Moreover, [bb] = n+ .
Proof By Engels theorem it is enough to prove that ad(x) is nilpotent for every
x n+ . Consider the following filtration in n+ = n1 n2 n3 . . . given by
M
g ,
nm =
+ , m()m
with the notation m() from the proof of Theorem 7.1 (i). Then ad(x) sends nm to
nm+1 , and so this linear transformation is nilpotent.
From the definition of n+ it follows that [hn+ ] = n+ , and so [bb] = [hh] + [hn+ ] +
[n+ n+ ] = n+ . QED
Definition 7.4 b is called the Borel subalgebra of g defined by the Cartan subalgebra
h and the basis S of the root system .
sl(n + 1), n 1, is a semisimple Lie algebra of type An The semisimplicity of
sl(n+1) follows from Exercise 4 in Section 3; alternatively, this follows from Theorem
7.5 below, since checking that sl(n + 1) has trivial centre is straightforward.
Let Eij be the matrix whose only non-zero entry is 1 in the i-th row and the j-th
column. The vector space sl(n + 1) is spanned by the Eij , i 6= j, and the diagonal
matrices Eii Ejj . Let h be the span of the Eii Ejj ; we shall see in a while that
h is a Cartan subalgebra of sl(n + 1) justifying this choice of notation. Obviously
[hh] = 0, so h is abelian. It is immediate to check that if x = diag(x1 , . . . , xn+1 ) is
a diagonal matrix, then
ad(x)Eij = (xi xj )Eij ,
(13)
so that the Eij are eigenvectors of h. This implies that h is equal to its own normalizer: any element y of the normalizer of h, y 6 h, must contain some Eij , i 6= j,
in its decomposition with respect to our basis of sl(n + 1), but then [yh] 6 h. Thus
h sl(n + 1) is indeed a Cartan subalgebra.
28
The Borel subalgebra b sl(n + 1) is none other than the algebra of upper
triangular matrices with trace zero, n+ (resp. n ) is the algebra of strictly upper
(resp. lower) triangular matrices.
Let i h , i = 1, . . . , n, be the linear forms defined by i (x) = xi xi+1 .
The n n-matrix whose rows are the coefficients of the linear forms 1 , . . . , n
in the basis E11 E22 , . . . , Enn En+1,n+1 of h, is the Cartan matrix of An . By
induction one shows that its determinant is n + 1 6= 0. Thus 1 , . . . , n are linearly
independent, and so form a basis of h . The root defined by the linear form x 7
xi xj , i < j, equals i + i+1 + . . . + j1 . This shows that every root is an
integral linear combination of the roots i with coefficients of the same sign, thus
S = {1 , . . . , n } is a basis of the root system of sl(n + 1). To identify we
compute the Cartan matrix using the remark after the proof of Proposition 5.4: we
have ni i+1 = ni+1 i = 1 and ni j = 0 if |i j| > 1. Thus the root system of
sl(n + 1) is of type An .
To compute the Killing form we use the formula
K(x, x) =
(x)2 = 2
1i<jn+1
(xi xj )2 = 2n
n+1
X
i=1
x2i 4
xi xj ,
1i<jn+1
Proposition 7.8 Let g gl(V ) be the subalgebra consisting of skew-symmetric linear transformations with respect to a non-degenerate symmetric or skew-symmetric
bilinear form, that is, satisfying (14) below. If dim V > 2, then V is an irreducible
representation of g.
Proof A calculation similar to (1) shows that g is indeed a Lie algebra. For any
u, v V the linear transformation Ax = (x, u)v (v, x)u satisfies (14), and so is in
g.
Now let W V be a non-zero g-invariant subspace, W 6= V . Let n = dim V .
Take z W , z 6= 0, and let u 6= 0 be any vector in the orthogonal complement
z , that is, such that (z, u) = 0. Finally, choose v V such that (z, v) 6= 0. Then
Az = (v, z)u 6= 0 is an element of W . Thus z W , hence dim W = n 1 and
W = z for any non-zero vector z W . This means that the restriction of the
non-degenerate form (, ) to W is identically zero. By linear algebra 2dim W n,
thus 2(n 1) n implying n 2. QED
Note that the natural 2-dimensional complex representation of o(2) is a direct
sum of two 1-dimensional representations.
o(2l + 1), l 2, is a semisimple Lie algebra of type Bl Consider a complex
vector space V of dimension 2l + 1 with a non-degenerate symmetric bilinear form,
and define o(2l + 1) as the set of linear transformations A such that
(Ax, y) = (x, Ay).
(14)
If the form is the standard diagonal form, then these are precisely the skewsymmetric matrices, see Example 5 in Section 1. However, to explicitly exhibit
a Cartan subalgebra it is more practical to choose the scalar product with the
(2l + 1) (2l + 1) Gram matrix
1 0 0
0 0 Il ,
0 Il 0
where Il is the identity matrix of size l l. Our ground field is C, so that all nondegenerate symmetric forms are equivalent, that is, can be obtained from each other
by an automorphism of the vector space V . Let us write the (2l +1)(2l +1)-matrix
A as follows
a v 1 v2
A = u1 X Y ,
u2 Z W
0
v1
v2
Y ,
A = v2T X
T
v1 Z X T
31
Xei +ej
Hi = Ei+1,i+1 Ei+l+1,i+l+1 ,
Xei ej = Ej+1,i+1 Ei+l+1,j+l+1 , i 6= j,
= Ei+l+1,j+1 Ej+l+1,i+1 , Xei ej = Ej+1,i+l+1 Ei+1,j+l+1 , i < j,
Xei = E1,i+1 Ei+l+1,1 , Xei = Ei+1,1 E1,i+l+1 ,
for any h h.
(15)
X Y
Z W
Xei +ej
Hi = Ei,i Ei+l,i+l ,
Xei ej = Ej,i Ei+l,j+l , i 6= j,
= Ei+l,j Ej+l,i , Xei ej = Ej,i+l Ei,j+l , i < j.
Let h be the linear span of Hi , i = 1, . . . , l. Then we obtain (15) and the analogue
of Lemma 7.9, and conclude that o(2l) is semisimple, and h is a Cartan subalgebra
in o(2l). The roots 1 = e1 e2 , ..., l1 = el1 el , l = el1 + el form a basis of
the root system of o(2l). The corresponding Dynkin diagram is Dl .
sp(2l), l 3, is a semisimple Lie algebra of type Cl Now we equip a complex
vector space V of dimension 2l with a non-degenerate skew-symmetric bilinear form,
and define sp(2l) as the set of linear transformations A satisfying (14). We choose
the form given by the matrix
0 Il
.
Il 0
A=
X
Y
Z X T
Xei +ej
Hi = Ei,i Ei+l,i+l ,
Xei ej = Ej,i Ei+l,j+l , i 6= j,
= Ei+l,j Ej+l,i , Xei ej = Ej,i+l Ei,j+l , i < j,
X2ei = Ei+l,i , X2ei = Ei,i+l .
The same statements as in the previous cases hold, and the roots 1 = e1 e2 , ...,
l1 = el1 el , l = 2el form a basis of the root system of sp(2l). The corresponding
Dynkin diagram is Cl .
We constructed semisimple Lie algebras of types An , n 1, Bn , n 2, Cn , n 3,
Dn , n 4. This is the full list of classical root systems. Explicit constructions of the
exceptional semisimple Lie algebras are much more involved, see [4] and references
therein for details.
Exercise Determine the positive roots and hence describe b, n+ and n for o(2l+1),
sp(2l), and o(2l).
33
References
[1] N. Bourbaki. Groupes et alg`ebres de Lie. Masson, Paris, 1975, 1981.
[2] R.W. Carter. Lie algebras and root systems. In: R.W. Carter, G. Segal, I.G.
Macdonald. Lectures on Lie groups and Lie algebras. LMS Student Texts 32,
Cambridge University Press, 1995, 144.
[3] W. Fulton and J. Harris. Representation theory. Spriner-Verlag, 1991.
[4] N. Jacobson. Lie algebras. Interscience, 1962.
[5] I. Kaplansky. Lie algebras and locally compact groups. The University of Chicago
Press, 1971.
[6] H. Samelson. Notes on Lie algebras. Van Nostrand, 1969.
[7] J-P. Serre. Lie algebras and Lie groups. Benjamin, 1965.
[8] J-P. Serre. Alg`ebres de Lie semi-simple complexes. Benjamin, 1966.
34