Semisimple Lie algebraIn mathematics, a Lie algebra is semisimple if it is a direct sum of simple Lie algebras. (A simple Lie algebra is a non-abelian Lie algebra without any non-zero proper ideals). Throughout the article, unless otherwise stated, a Lie algebra is a finite-dimensional Lie algebra over a field of characteristic 0. For such a Lie algebra , if nonzero, the following conditions are equivalent: is semisimple; the Killing form, κ(x,y) = tr(ad(x)ad(y)), is non-degenerate; has no non-zero abelian ideals; has no non-zero solvable ideals; the radical (maximal solvable ideal) of is zero.
Representation theoryRepresentation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by representing their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essence, a representation makes an abstract algebraic object more concrete by describing its elements by matrices and their algebraic operations (for example, matrix addition, matrix multiplication).
Associative algebraIn mathematics, an associative algebra A is an algebraic structure with compatible operations of addition, multiplication (assumed to be associative), and a scalar multiplication by elements in some field K. The addition and multiplication operations together give A the structure of a ring; the addition and scalar multiplication operations together give A the structure of a vector space over K. In this article we will also use the term [[algebra over a field|K-algebra]] to mean an associative algebra over the field K.
Commutator subgroupIn mathematics, more specifically in abstract algebra, the commutator subgroup or derived subgroup of a group is the subgroup generated by all the commutators of the group. The commutator subgroup is important because it is the smallest normal subgroup such that the quotient group of the original group by this subgroup is abelian. In other words, is abelian if and only if contains the commutator subgroup of . So in some sense it provides a measure of how far the group is from being abelian; the larger the commutator subgroup is, the "less abelian" the group is.
Algebra over a fieldIn mathematics, an algebra over a field (often simply called an algebra) is a vector space equipped with a bilinear product. Thus, an algebra is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with operations of multiplication and addition and scalar multiplication by elements of a field and satisfying the axioms implied by "vector space" and "bilinear". The multiplication operation in an algebra may or may not be associative, leading to the notions of associative algebras and non-associative algebras.
Fundamental groupIn the mathematical field of algebraic topology, the fundamental group of a topological space is the group of the equivalence classes under homotopy of the loops contained in the space. It records information about the basic shape, or holes, of the topological space. The fundamental group is the first and simplest homotopy group. The fundamental group is a homotopy invariant—topological spaces that are homotopy equivalent (or the stronger case of homeomorphic) have isomorphic fundamental groups.
Derivation (differential algebra)In mathematics, a derivation is a function on an algebra which generalizes certain features of the derivative operator. Specifically, given an algebra A over a ring or a field K, a K-derivation is a K-linear map D : A → A that satisfies Leibniz's law: More generally, if M is an A-bimodule, a K-linear map D : A → M that satisfies the Leibniz law is also called a derivation. The collection of all K-derivations of A to itself is denoted by DerK(A). The collection of K-derivations of A into an A-module M is denoted by DerK(A, M).
Adjoint representationIn mathematics, the adjoint representation (or adjoint action) of a Lie group G is a way of representing the elements of the group as linear transformations of the group's Lie algebra, considered as a vector space. For example, if G is , the Lie group of real n-by-n invertible matrices, then the adjoint representation is the group homomorphism that sends an invertible n-by-n matrix to an endomorphism of the vector space of all linear transformations of defined by: . For any Lie group, this natural representation is obtained by linearizing (i.
Jacobi identityIn mathematics, the Jacobi identity is a property of a binary operation that describes how the order of evaluation, the placement of parentheses in a multiple product, affects the result of the operation. By contrast, for operations with the associative property, any order of evaluation gives the same result (parentheses in a multiple product are not needed). The identity is named after the German mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. The cross product and the Lie bracket operation both satisfy the Jacobi identity.
Lie algebra representationIn the mathematical field of representation theory, a Lie algebra representation or representation of a Lie algebra is a way of writing a Lie algebra as a set of matrices (or endomorphisms of a vector space) in such a way that the Lie bracket is given by the commutator. In the language of physics, one looks for a vector space together with a collection of operators on satisfying some fixed set of commutation relations, such as the relations satisfied by the angular momentum operators.
