18.

745 Introduction to Lie Algebras September 9, 2010

Lecture 1 — Basic Definitions (I)

Prof. Victor Kac Scribe: Michael Crossley

Definition 1.1. An algebra A is a vector space V over a field F, endowed with a binary operation
which is bilinear:

a(λb + µc) = λab + µac

(λb + µc)a = λba + µca

Example 1.1. The set of n × n matrices with the matrix multiplication, Matn (F) is an associative
algebra: (ab)c = a(bc).

Example 1.2. Given a vector space V , the space of all endomorphisms of V , End V , with the
composition of operators, is an associative algebra.

Definition 1.2. A subalgebra B of an algebra A is a subspace closed under multiplication: ∀a, b ∈

B, ab ∈ B.

Definition 1.3. A Lie algebra is an algebra with product [a, b] (usually called bracket), satisfying
the following two axioms:

1. (skew-commutativity) [a, a] = 0

2. (Jacobi identity) [a, [b, c]] + [b, [c, a]] + [c, [a, b]] = 0

Example 1.3.

1. Take a vector space g with bracket [a, b] = 0. This is called an abelian Lie algebra;

2. g = R3 ,[a, b] = a × b (cross product);

3. Let A be an associative algebra with product ab. Then the space A with the bracket [a, b] =
ab − ba is a Lie algebra, denoted by A .

Exercise 1.1. Show the Jacobi identity holds in Example 1.3.3 for the following cases.

1. 2-member identity: a(bc) = (ab)c

2. 3-member identity: a(bc) + b(ca) + c(ab) = 0 and (ab)c + (bc)a + (ca)b = 0

3. 4-member identity: a(bc) − (ab)c − b(ac) + (ba)c = 0

4. 6-member identity: [a, bc] + [b, ca] + [c, ab] = 0

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Proof. Expanding the Jacobi identity,

[a, [b, c]] + [b, [c, a]] + [c, [a, b]]

= a(bc) − a(cb) − (bc)a + (cb)a + b(ca) − b(ac) − (ca)b + (ac)b + c(ab) − c(ba) − (ab)c + (ba)c
= [a(bc) − (ab)c] + [(cb)a − c(ba)]
+ [b(ca) − (bc)a] + [(ac)b − a(cb)]
+ [c(ab) − (ca)b] + [(ba)c − b(ac)]
= [a(bc) + b(ca) + c(ab)]
− [(ab)c + (bc)a + (ca)b]
− [a(cb) + c(ba) + b(ac)]
+ [(ac)b + (cb)a + (ba)c]
= [a(bc) − (ab)c − b(ac) + (ba)c]
+ [b(ca) − (bc)a − c(ba) + (cb)a]
+ [c(ab) − (ca)b − a(cb) + (ac)b]
= [a(bc) − (bc)a + b(ca) − (ca)b + c(ab) − (ab)c]
− [a(cb) − (cb)a + b(ac) − (ac)b + c(ba) − (ba)c]
= 0 if one of the identities is satisfied.

Example 1.4. A special case of example 1.3.3: glV = (End V ) , where V is a vector space, is a
Lie algebra, called the general Lie algebra. In the case V = Fn , we denote glV = gln (F), the set of
all n × n matrices with the bracket [a, b] = ab − ba.

Remark: Any subalgebra of a Lie algebra is a Lie algebra.

Example 1.5. The two most important classes of subalgebras of glV :

1. sln (F) = {a ∈ gln (F)|tr (a) = 0};

2. Let B be a bilinear form on a vector space V .

oV,B = {a ∈ glV |B(a(u), v) = −B(u, a(v))∀u, v ∈ V }.

Exercise 1.2. Show that tr[a, b] = 0 ∀a, b ∈ Matn (F). In particular, sln is a Lie algebra, called
the special Lie algebra.

Proof. XX
tr [a, b] = (aji bij − bji aij ) = 0
i j

sln is trivially a subspace by the linearity of the trace, and we have shown it to be closed under
the bracket operation. Hence, sln is a subalgebra and is therefore a Lie algebra.

Exercise 1.3. Show that oV,B is a subalgebra of the Lie algebra glV

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Proof. Consider a, b ∈ oV,B . Then

B(ab(u), v) = −B(b(u), a(v)) = B(u, ba(v)))

from the property of a and b. Similarly,

B(ba(u), v) = −B(a(u), b(v)) = B(u, ab(v)))

subtracting the second of these from the first,

B([a, b](u), v) = B(u, −[a, b](v)) = −B(u, [a, b](v))

by the bilinearity of B. Hence, oV,B is closed under the bracket. As oV,B is trivially a subspace of
glV , it is also a subalgebra and therefore a Lie algebra.

Exercise 1.4. Let V = Fn and let B be the matrix of a bilinear form in the standard basis of Fn .
Show that
oFn ,B = a ∈ gln (F)|aT B + Ba = 0


where aT denotes the transpose of matrix a.

Proof. The condition for members of oV,B ,

B(a(u), v) + B(u, a(v)) = 0

reads, in terms of the standard basis, employing summation convention (a repeated index is summed
over):
B(aij uj e~i , vk e~k ) + B(uj e~j , aik vk e~i ) = 0.
Hence, from the bilinearity of B,

aij Bik uj vk + Bji aik uj vk = 0.

This is true ∀uj , vk . Therefore,

(aT )ji Bik + Bji aik = 0.

Remark Special cases of oFn ,B are the following:

1. son,B (F) if B is a non-degenerate symmetric matrix; this is called the orthogonal Lie algebra.

2. spn,B (F) if B is a non-degenerate skew-symmetric matrix; this is called the symplectic Lie
algebra.

The three series of Lie algebras sln (F), son,B (F) and spn,B (F) are the most important for this
course’s examples.

Convenient notation: If X,Y are subspaces of a Lie algebra g, then [X, Y ] denotes the span of
all vectors [x, y], where x ∈ X,y ∈ Y .

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 Definition 1.4. Let g be a Lie algebra. In the above notation, a subspace h ⊂ g is a subalgebra
if [h, h] ⊂ h. A subspace h of g is called an ideal if [h, g] ⊂ h.

Definition 1.5. A derived subalgebra of a Lie algebra g is [g, g].

Proposition 1.1. [g, g] is an ideal of a Lie algebra g

Proof. Let a ∈ g, b ∈ [g, g] ⊂ g. Then [a, b] ∈ [g, g].

We now classify Lie algebras in 1 and 2 dimensions.

Dim 1. g = Fa, [a, a] = 0 so the Abelian Lie algebra is the only one.

Dim 2. Consider [g, g] ⊂ g. Let g = Fx + Fy, then [g, g] = F[x, y]. Therefore, dim[g, g] ≤ 1.

Case 1. dim[g, g] = 0, Abelian Lie algebra.

Case 2. dim[g, g] = 1, [g, g] = Fb, b 6= 0. Take a ∈ g \ Fb. Then [a, b] ∈ [g, g], hence [a, b] = λb and
λ 6= 0, otherwise [g, g] = 0. So, replacing a by λ−1 a, we get [a, b] = b. Hence, we have
found a basis of g :g = Fa + Fb with bracket
 [a, b] = b. Sothis Liealgebrais isomorphic

α β 1 0 0 1
to the subalgebra ⊂ gl2 (F) , since for a = , b= , we
0 0 0 0 0 0
have [a, b] = b.

Exercise 1.5. Let f : Matn (F) → F be a linear function such that f ([a, b]) = 0. Show that
f (a) = λtr (a), for some λ independent of a ∈ Matn (F).

Proof. The condition f ([a, b]) = 0 means

f (aij bjk eik − bij ajk eik ) = 0.

By linearity of f ,
(aij bjk − bij ajk )f (eik ) = 0 ∀a, b ∈ Matn (F)
where summation convention has been used. Let a = emn , b = enn for some m 6= n. Then
f (emn ) = 0. Hence
f ([a, b]) = (aij bji − bij aji )f (eii ) = 0.
But f (eii ) = f (ejj ) ∀i, j as f (eii ) − f (ejj ) = f (eij eji − eji eij ) = 0. Hence f (eii ) = λ for some
constant λ, and f (a) = tr (a)f (eii ) = λtr (a)