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.
Lie algebraIn mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced liː ) is a vector space together with an operation called the Lie bracket, an alternating bilinear map , that satisfies the Jacobi identity. Otherwise said, a Lie algebra is an algebra over a field where the multiplication operation is now called Lie bracket and has two additional properties: it is alternating and satisfies the Jacobi identity. The Lie bracket of two vectors and is denoted . The Lie bracket does not need to be associative, meaning that the Lie algebra can be non associative.
Simple Lie groupIn mathematics, a simple Lie group is a connected non-abelian Lie group G which does not have nontrivial connected normal subgroups. The list of simple Lie groups can be used to read off the list of simple Lie algebras and Riemannian symmetric spaces. Together with the commutative Lie group of the real numbers, , and that of the unit-magnitude complex numbers, U(1) (the unit circle), simple Lie groups give the atomic "blocks" that make up all (finite-dimensional) connected Lie groups via the operation of group extension.
Cartan decompositionIn mathematics, the Cartan decomposition is a decomposition of a semisimple Lie group or Lie algebra, which plays an important role in their structure theory and representation theory. It generalizes the polar decomposition or singular value decomposition of matrices. Its history can be traced to the 1880s work of Élie Cartan and Wilhelm Killing. Let be a real semisimple Lie algebra and let be its Killing form. An involution on is a Lie algebra automorphism of whose square is equal to the identity.
Real form (Lie theory)In mathematics, the notion of a real form relates objects defined over the field of real and complex numbers. A real Lie algebra g0 is called a real form of a complex Lie algebra g if g is the complexification of g0: The notion of a real form can also be defined for complex Lie groups. Real forms of complex semisimple Lie groups and Lie algebras have been completely classified by Élie Cartan. Using the Lie correspondence between Lie groups and Lie algebras, the notion of a real form can be defined for Lie groups.
Lie group–Lie algebra correspondenceIn mathematics, Lie group–Lie algebra correspondence allows one to correspond a Lie group to a Lie algebra or vice versa, and study the conditions for such a relationship. Lie groups that are isomorphic to each other have Lie algebras that are isomorphic to each other, but the converse is not necessarily true. One obvious counterexample is and (see real coordinate space and the circle group respectively) which are non-isomorphic to each other as Lie groups but their Lie algebras are isomorphic to each other.
Dynkin diagramIn the mathematical field of Lie theory, a Dynkin diagram, named for Eugene Dynkin, is a type of graph with some edges doubled or tripled (drawn as a double or triple line). Dynkin diagrams arise in the classification of semisimple Lie algebras over algebraically closed fields, in the classification of Weyl groups and other finite reflection groups, and in other contexts. Various properties of the Dynkin diagram (such as whether it contains multiple edges, or its symmetries) correspond to important features of the associated Lie algebra.
Reductive groupIn mathematics, a reductive group is a type of linear algebraic group over a field. One definition is that a connected linear algebraic group G over a perfect field is reductive if it has a representation that has a finite kernel and is a direct sum of irreducible representations. Reductive groups include some of the most important groups in mathematics, such as the general linear group GL(n) of invertible matrices, the special orthogonal group SO(n), and the symplectic group Sp(2n).
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.
Cartan subalgebraIn mathematics, a Cartan subalgebra, often abbreviated as CSA, is a nilpotent subalgebra of a Lie algebra that is self-normalising (if for all , then ). They were introduced by Élie Cartan in his doctoral thesis. It controls the representation theory of a semi-simple Lie algebra over a field of characteristic . In a finite-dimensional semisimple Lie algebra over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero (e.g., ), a Cartan subalgebra is the same thing as a maximal abelian subalgebra consisting of elements x such that the adjoint endomorphism is semisimple (i.