VII. Properties of quantum groups

Arun Ram
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Melbourne
Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
aram@unimelb.edu.au

Last update: 2 November 2012

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the Drinfel'd-Jimbo quantum group corresponding to 𝔤 that was defined in V (1.3). We shall often use the presentation of 𝔘h𝔤 given in V (1.6). In this chapter we shall describe some of the structure which quantum groups have. In many cases this structure is similar to the structure of the enveloping algebra 𝔘𝔤.

The proofs of the triangular decomposition and the grading on the quantum group given in §1 can be found in [Jan1995] 4.7 and 4.21. The proof of the statements in (2.1) and (2.3), concerning the pairing ⟨,⟩, can be found in [Jan1995] 6.12, 6.18, 8.28, and 6.22. The statement in (2.2) follows from Chapt I, Prop. (5.5). The theorem giving the existence and uniqueness of the ℛ-matrix is stated in [Dri1990] p.329 and the uniqueness is proved there. The existence follows from (7.4); see also [Lus1993] Theorem 4.1.2. The properties of the ℛ-matrix stated in (3.3) are proved in [Dri1990] Prop. 3.1 and Prop. 4.2. Proofs of the statements in the secion on the Casimir element can be found in [Dri1990] Prop 2.1, Prop 3.2 and Prop. 5.1.

Theorem (5.2a) is proved in [Jan1995] 8.15-8.17 and [Lus1993] 39.2.2. Theorem (5.2b) is a non-trivial, but very natural, extension of well known results which appear, for example, in [Jan1995] Chapt. 8. The proof is a combination of the methods used in [CPr1994] 8.2B and [Jan1995] 8.4 and a calculation similar to that in the proof of [Jan1995] Lemma 8.2. The properties of the element Tw0 given in (5.3) are proved in the following places: The formula for σ(Tw0)Tw0 is proved in [CPr1994] 8.2.4; The formula for Tw0-1 is proved by a method similar to [Jan1995] 8.4; The formula for Δh(Tw0) is proved in [CPr1994] 8.3.11 and the remainder of the formulas are proved in [CPr1994] 8.2.3.

The construction of the Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt basis of 𝔘h𝔤 given in section 6 appears in detail in [Jan1995] 8.18-8.30. The statement that 𝔘h𝔤 is almost a quantum double, Theorem (7.3), appears in [Dri1987] §13, and an outline of the proof can be found in [CPr1994] 8.3. The proof of Theorem (8.4) can be gleaned from a combination of [Jan1995] 6.11 and 6.18. Both of the books [Lus1993] and [Jos1995] also contain this fact.

Triangular decomposition and grading

Triangular decomposition of 𝔘h𝔤

The triangular decomposition of the quantum group 𝔘h𝔤 is analogous to the triangular decomposition of the Lie algebra 𝔤 and the triangular decomposition of the enveloping algebra 𝔘𝔤 given in II (2.3) and II (4.2).

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding Drinfel'd-Jimbo quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Define

𝔘h𝔫- = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1-,X2-,…, Xr-, 𝔘h𝔥 = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by H1,H2,…,Hr, 𝔘h𝔫+ = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1+,X2+,…, Xr+.

The map

𝔘h𝔫-⊗ 𝔘h𝔥⊗𝔘h𝔫+ ⟶ 𝔘h𝔤 u-⊗u0⊗u+ ⟼ u-u0u+

is an isomorphism of vector spaces.

The grading on 𝔘h𝔫+ and 𝔘h𝔫-

The gradings on the positive part 𝔘h𝔫+ and on the negative part 𝔘h𝔫- of the quantum group 𝔘h𝔤 are exactly analogous to the gradings on the positive part 𝔘𝔫+ and the negative part 𝔘𝔫- of the enveloping algebra 𝔘𝔤 which are given in II (4.3).

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding Drinfel'd-Jimbo quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Let α1,…,αr be the simple roots for 𝔤 and let

Q+=∑iℕαi,whereℕ=ℤ≥0.

For each element ν=∑i=1rνiαi∈Q+ define

(𝔘h𝔫+)ν = span- { Xi1+… Xip+ ∣ Xi1+… Xip+ has νj-factors of type Xj+ } (𝔘h𝔫-)ν = span- { Xi1-… Xip- ∣ Xi1-… Xip- has νj-factors of type Xj- } .

Then

𝔘h𝔫-= ⨁ν∈Q+ (𝔘h𝔫-)ν and 𝔘h𝔫+= ⨁ν∈Q+ (𝔘h𝔫+)ν,

as vector spaces.

The inner product ⟨,⟩

In some sense the nonnegative part 𝔘h𝔟+ of the quantum group is the dual of the nonpositive part 𝔘h𝔟- of the quantum group. This reflected in the fact that there is a nondegenerate bilinear pairing on all of 𝔘h𝔤. The extended pairing is an analogue of the Killing form on 𝔤 in two ways:

  1. it is an ad-invariant form on 𝔘h𝔤, and
  2. upon restriction to 𝔤 it coincides (modh) with the Killing form.

The pairing between 𝔘h𝔟- and 𝔘h𝔟+

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding Drinfel'd-Jimbo quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Define

𝔘h𝔟- = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1-,X2-,…, Xr-and H1,…,Hr, 𝔘h𝔟+ = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1+,X2+,…, Xr+and H1,…,Hr.

  1. There is a unique ℂ[[h]]-bilinear pairing ⟨,⟩: 𝔘h𝔟-× 𝔘h𝔟+⟶ℂ [[h]] which satisfies
    1. ⟨1,1⟩ =1,
    2. ⟨Hi,Hj⟩= αj(Hi) dj ,
    3. ⟨Xi-,Xj+⟩ =δij 1 edih- e-dih ,
    4. ⟨ab,c⟩= ⟨ a⊗b,Δh (c) ⟩ ,for all a,b∈𝔘h𝔟- andc∈ 𝔘h𝔟+,
    5. ⟨a,bc⟩= ⟨ Δhop(a) ,b⊗c ⟩ ,for alla∈ 𝔘h𝔟-and b,c∈ 𝔘h𝔟+.
  2. The pairing ⟨,⟩ is nondegenerate.
  3. The pairing ⟨,⟩ respects the gradings on 𝔘h𝔫+ and 𝔘h𝔫- in the following sense:
    1. Let μ,ν∈Q+. Ifμ≠ν then ⟨ (𝔘h𝔟-)μ, (𝔘h𝔟+)ν ⟩ =0.
    2. Let ν∈Q+. The restriction of the pairing ⟨,⟩ to (𝔘h𝔫-)ν× (𝔘h𝔫+)ν is a nondegenerate pairing ⟨,⟩: (𝔘h𝔫-)ν× (𝔘h𝔫+)ν →ℂ[[h]].

If θ is the Cartan involution of 𝔘h𝔤 as given in V (1.6) and Sh is the antipode of 𝔘h𝔤 then

⟨ θ(u+), θ(u-) ⟩ =⟨u-,u+⟩ and ⟨ Sh(u-), Sh(u+) ⟩ =⟨u-,u+⟩,

for all u-∈𝔘h𝔟- and u+∈𝔘h𝔟+.

Extending the pairing to an ad-invariant pairing on 𝔘h𝔤

The triangular decomposition (1.1) of 𝔘h𝔤 says that 𝔘h𝔤≅𝔘h𝔫- ⊗𝔘h𝔥⊗𝔘h𝔫+ and that

every elementu∈𝔘h𝔤 can be written in the formu-u0 u+,

where u-∈𝔘h𝔫-, u0∈𝔘h𝔥, and u+∈𝔘h𝔫+. We can use this to extend the pairing defined in (2.1) to a pairing

⟨,⟩: 𝔘h𝔤×𝔘h𝔤⟶ ℂ[[h]] defined by the formula ⟨ u1-u10 u1+,u2- u20u2+ ⟩ = ⟨ u1-,Sh (u20u2+) ⟩ ⟨ u2-,Sh-1 (u10u1+) ⟩ ,

for all u1-,u2-∈𝔘h 𝔫-, u10,u20∈ 𝔘h𝔥, and u1+,u2+∈𝔘h 𝔫+, where Sh is the antipode of 𝔘h𝔤. Then

⟨ adu(v1),v2 ⟩ = ⟨ v1,adSh(u) (v2) ⟩ ,for allu,v1, v2∈𝔘h𝔤,

This formula says that the extended pairing ⟨,⟩ is an ad-invariant pairing as defined in I (5.5). The pairing ⟨,⟩: 𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤 ℂ[[h]] is not symmetric, see I (5.5).

Duality between matrix coefficients for representations and Uq𝔤.

Let 𝔤 be finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let Uq𝔤 be the rational form of the quantum group over a field k, where char k≠2,3 and q∈k is not a root of unity. Let Q be the root lattice for 𝔤.

Let M be a finite dimensional Uq𝔤 module such that all weights λ of M satisfy 2λ∈Q. Then, for each pair n*∈M* and m∈M there is a unique element u∈Uq𝔤 such that

n*(vm)= ⟨v,u⟩,for all v∈Uq𝔤,

where ⟨,⟩ is the bilinear form on Uq𝔤 given by (2.1) after making the substitutions in V (2.2).

The function

cm,n*: Uq𝔤→ℂ(q) defined bycm,n* (v)= ⟨n*,vm⟩

is the (m,n*)-matrix coefficient of v acting on M. The above theorem gives a duality between matrix coefficient functions and Uq𝔤. IT also says that every element of Uq𝔤 is determined by how it acts on finite dimensional Uq𝔤-modules.

The universal ℛ-matrix

Motivation for the ℛ-matrix

The following theorem states that there is an element ℛ such that the pair (𝔘h𝔤,ℛ) is a quasitriangular Hopf algebra. In particular, this implies that the category of finite dimensional modules for the quantum group 𝔘𝔤 is a braided SRMCwMFF.

Existence and uniqueness of ℛ

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Recall the Killing form on 𝔤 from II (1.6).

Let {Hi} be an orthonormal basis of 𝔥 with respect to the Killing form and define

t0=∑i=1r H∼i⊗H∼i.

If ν∈Q+ (see (1.2)) and ν=∑i=1rνiαi where α1,…,αr are the simple roots, define nν to be the smallest number of positive roots α>0 whose sum is equal to ν.

The element ℛ is not quite an element of 𝔘h𝔤⊗𝔘h𝔤 so we have to make the tensor product just a tiny bit bigger. To do this we let 𝔘h𝔤⨶𝔘h𝔤 denote the h-adic completion of the tensor product 𝔘h𝔤⊗𝔘h𝔤, see III §1.

There exists a unique invertible element ℛ∈𝔘h𝔤⨶𝔘h𝔤 such that

ℛΔh(a) ℛ-1=Δhop (a),for all a∈𝔘h𝔤,and ℛhas the formℛ= ∑ν∈Q+ exp { h ( t0+12 ( Hν⊗1-1⊗Hν ) ) } Pν,where Pν∈ (𝔘h𝔫-)ν⊗ (𝔘h𝔫+)ν, Hν=∑i=1r νiHi,if ν=∑iνiαi, Pνis a polynomial in Xi+⊗1and 1⊗Xi-,1≤i ≤r,with coefficients in ℂ[[h]], such that the smallest power of h inPν with nonzero coefficients ishnν .

Properties of the ℛ-matrix

Recall V (1.6) that 𝔘h𝔤 is a Hopf algebra with comultiplication Δh, counit εh, and antipode Sh and that 𝔘h𝔤 comes with a Cartan involution θ. The following formulas describe the relationship between the ℛ-matrix and the Hopf algebra structure on 𝔘h𝔤. If ℛ=∑ai⊗bi then let

ℛ12=∑ai⊗ bi⊗1,ℛ13 =∑ai⊗1⊗ bi, andℛ23=∑1⊗ ai⊗bi, and letℛ21=∑ bi⊗ai.

Let σ:𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤 be the ℂ-algebra automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤 given by σ(h)=-h, σ(Xi±)=Xi±, and σ(Hi)=Hi. With these notations we have

(Δh⊗id) (ℛ)=ℛ13 ℛ23,and (id⊗Δh) (ℛ)=ℛ13 ℛ12, (εh⊗id)(ℛ) =1=(id⊗εh) (ℛ), (Sh⊗id)(ℛ)= (id⊗Sh-1) (ℛ)=ℛ-1 and(Sh⊗Sh) (ℛ)=ℛ, (θ⊗θ)(ℛ)= ℛ21and (σ⊗σ)(ℛ)= ℛ-1.

An analogue of the Casimir element

Definition of the element u

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding Drinfel'd-Jimbo quantum group as presented in V (1.6). The antipode Sh:𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤 is an antiautomorphism of 𝔘h𝔤, see I (2.1). This means that the map Sh2:𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤 is an automorphism of 𝔘𝔤. The following theorem says that this automorphism is inner!

Let ℛ∈𝔘h𝔤⨶𝔘h𝔤 be the universal ℛ-matrix of 𝔘h𝔤 as defined in (3.2). Suppose that ℛ=∑ai⊗bi and define u=∑S(bi)ai. Then u is invertible and

uau-1=Sh2 (a),for alla ∈𝔘h𝔤.

Properties of the element u.

The relationship of the element u to the Hopf algebra structure of 𝔘h𝔤 is given by the formulas

Δh(u)= (ℛ21ℛ12) -1 (u⊗u),Sh (u)=u,and εh(u)=1,

where ℛ12=ℛ=∑ai⊗bi is the universal ℛ-matrix of 𝔘h𝔤 given in (3.2), and ℛ21=∑bi⊗ai. The inverse of the element u is given by

u-1=∑Sh-1 (dj)cj,where ℛ-1=∑cj⊗ dj.

Why the element u is an analogue of the Casimir element

Let ρ∼ be the element of 𝔥 such that αi(ρ∼)=1 for all simple roots αi of 𝔤. An easy check on the generators of 𝔘h𝔤 shows that

ehρ∼a e-hρ∼= Sh2(a), for alla∈𝔘h𝔤.

It follows that

the elemente-hρ∼u =ue-hρ∼ is a central element in𝔘h𝔤.

Any central element of 𝔘h𝔤 must act on each finite dimensional simple 𝔘h𝔤-module by a constant. For each dominant integral weight λ let L(λ) be the finite dimensional simple 𝔘h𝔤-module indexed by λ (see VI (1.3)). As in II (4.5), let ρ be the element of 𝔥ℝ* given by

ρ=12∑α>0 α,

where the sum is over all positive roots for 𝔤. Then the element

e-hρ∼u acts onL(λ) by the constant q-(λ+ρ,λ+ρ)+(ρ,ρ) ,

where q=eh and the inner product in the exponent of q is the inner product on 𝔥ℝ* given in II (2.7). Note that analogy with II (4.5). It is also interesting to note that

(e-hρ∼u)2 =uSh(u).

The element Tw0

The automorphism ϕ∘θ∘Sh

Let W be the Weyl group corresponding to 𝔤 and let w0 be the longest element of W (see II (2.8)). Let s1,…,sr be the simple reflections in W. For each 1≤i≤r there is a unique 1≤j≤r such that w0siw0-1 =sj. The map given by

ϕ(Xi±)= Xj±,andϕ (Hi)=Hj, wherew0siw0-1 =sj,for1≤i≤r,

extends to an automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤. Let θ∼ be the anti-automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤 defined by θ∼(Xi±)=Xi∓ and θ∼(Hi)=Hi. This is an analogue of the Cartan involution. Let Sh be the antipode of 𝔘h𝔤 as given in V (1.6). There are both anti-automorphisms of 𝔘h𝔤. The composition.

(Sh∘θ∼∘ϕ) :𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤

is an automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤. The following result says that this automorphism is inner.

Definition of the element Tw0

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Let q=eh and for each 1≤i≤r let

Ei(r)= (Xi+)r [r]qdi! , Fi(r)= (Xi+)r [r]qdi! andKi= ehdiHi,

where the notation for q-factorials is as in V (1.5). For each 1≤i≤r, define

Ti=∑a,b,c≥0 (-1)b q b-ac+(c+a-b) (c-a) Ei(a) Fi(b) Ei(c) Kic-a,

where the sum is over all nonnegative integers a,b, and c.

  1. The elements Ti satisfy the relations TiTjTiTj… ⏟mijfactors = TjTiTjTi… ⏟mijfactors fori≠j, where the mij are as given in II (2.8).
  2. Let w0=si1…siN be a reduced word for the longest element of the Weyl group W, see II (2.8). Define Tw0=Ti1 …TiN. Then Tw0 is invertible and Tw0aTw0-1= (Sh⊗θ∼⊗ϕ) (a),for alla∈ 𝔘h𝔤.

Properties of the element Tw0

Let u∈𝔘h𝔤 be the analogue of the Casimir element for 𝔘h𝔤 as given in §4 and let σ be the ℂ-algebra automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤 given in (3.3). Let σ∼ be the ℂ-linear automorphism of 𝔘h𝔤 given in σ∼(h)=-h, σ∼(Xi±) =Xi∓, and σ∼(Hi)=-Hi. Then

σ(Tw0)Tw0 =uandTw0-1 =σ∼(Tw0).

The relationship between the element Tw0 and the Hopf algebra structure of 𝔘h𝔤 is given by the formulas

Δh(Tw0)= ℛ12-1 (Tw0⊗Tw0)= (Tw0⊗Tw0) ℛ21-1, Sh(Tw0)= Tw0ehρ∼, andεh (Tw0)=1,

where ℛ12=ℛ=∑ai⊗bi is the universal ℛ-matrix of 𝔘h𝔤 given in (3.2), and ℛ21=∑bi⊗ai.

The Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt bais of 𝔘h𝔤

Root vectors in 𝔘h𝔤

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Let Ti be the elements of 𝔘h𝔤 given in (5.2). Define an automorphism τi:𝔘h𝔤→𝔘h𝔤 by

τi(u)=Ti uTi-1, for allu∈𝔘h𝔤,

Let W be the Weyl group corresponding to 𝔤. Fix a reduced decomposition w0=si1…siN of the longest element w0∈W, see II (2.8). Define

β1=αi1, β2=si1 (αi2),…, βN=si1 si2…siN-1 (αiN).

The elements β1,…,βN are the positive roots 𝔤. Define elements of 𝔘h𝔤 by

Xβ1±= Xi1±, Xβ2±= τi1(Xi2±) ,…, XβN±=τi1 τi2…τiN-1 (XiN±).

These elements depend on the choice of the reduced decomposition. They are analogues of the elements Xβ and X-β in 𝔘𝔤 which are given in II (4.4).

Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt bases of 𝔘h𝔫-, 𝔘h𝔥, and 𝔘h𝔫+

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Let 𝔘h𝔫-, 𝔘h𝔥, and 𝔘h𝔫+ be the subalgebras of 𝔘h𝔤 defined in (1.1). The following bases of 𝔘h𝔫-, 𝔘h𝔥, 𝔘h𝔫+, and 𝔘h𝔤 are analogues of the Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt bases of 𝔘h𝔫-, 𝔘h𝔥, and 𝔘h𝔫+ which are given in II (4.4).

Let Xβ1± ,…, XβN± be the elements of 𝔘h𝔤 defined in (6.1). Then

{ (Xβ1+)p1 (Xβ2+)p2 … (XβN+)pN ∣ p1,…,pN ∈ℤ≥0 } is a basis of 𝔘h𝔫+, { (Xβ1-)n1 (Xβ2-)n2 … (XβN-)nN ∣ n1,…,nN ∈ℤ≥0 } is a basis of 𝔘h𝔫-, { H1s1 H2s2 … H1sr ∣ s1,…,sN ∈ℤ≥0 } is a basis of 𝔘h𝔥.

The PBW-bases of 𝔘h𝔫- and 𝔘h𝔫+ are dual bases with respect to ⟨,⟩ (almost)

Recall the pairing between 𝔘h𝔟- and 𝔘h𝔟+ given in (2.1).

Let w0=si1…siN be a reduced decomposition of the longest element of the Weyl group and let βj and Xβj±, 1≤j≤N, be the elements defined in (6.1). Let p1,…,pN, n1,…,nN∈ℤ≥0. Then

⟨ (Xβ1-)n1 (Xβ2-)n2 … (XβN-)nN , (Xβ1+)p1 (Xβ2+)p2 … (XβN+)pN ⟩ =∏j=1N δnj,pj ⟨ (Xij-)nj , (Xij+)njs ⟩ ,

where δnj,pj is the Kronecker delta.

Furthermore, we have that, for each 1≤i≤r,

⟨ (Xi-)n , (Xi+)n ⟩ =(-1)n q -din(n-1) /2 [n]qdi! (qdi-q-di) n ,whereq=eh.

The quantum group is a quantum double (almost)

The identification of (𝔘h𝔟+)*coop with 𝔘h𝔟-

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let 𝔘h𝔤 be the corresponding quantum group as presented in V (1.6). Define

𝔘h𝔟- = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1-, X2-,…, Xr- and H1,…,Hr, 𝔘h𝔟+ = subalgebra of𝔘h𝔤 generated by X1+, X2+,…, Xr+ and H1,…,Hr,

except let us distinguish the elements Hi which are in 𝔘h𝔟+ from the elements Hi which are in 𝔘h𝔟- by writing Hi+ and Hi- respectively, instead of just Hi in both cases.

The nondegeneracy of the pairing ⟨,⟩ between 𝔘h𝔟+ and 𝔘h𝔟- (see (2.1)) shows that 𝔘h𝔟- is essentially the dual of Uh𝔟+. Furthermore, it follows from the conditions

⟨x1x2,y⟩= ⟨ x1⊗x2, Δh(y) ⟩ and ⟨x,y1y2⟩ = ⟨ Δop(x), y1⊗y2 ⟩

that the multiplication in 𝔘h𝔟- is the adjoint of the comultiplication in 𝔘h𝔟+ and the opposite of the comultiplication in 𝔘h𝔟- is the adjoint of the multiplication in 𝔘h𝔟+. Thus (here we are fudging a bit since 𝔘h𝔟+ is infinite dimensional),

𝔘h𝔟-≃ (𝔘h𝔟+)*coop as Hopf algebras,

where (𝔘h𝔟+)*coop is the Hopf algebra defined in I (5.2).

Recalling the quantum double

Recall, from I (5.3), that the quantum double D(A) of a finite dimensional Hopf algebra A is the new Hopf algebra

D(A)= { aα∣a∈A, α∈A*coop } ≅A⊗A*coop

with multiplication determined by the formulas

αa = ∑α,a ⟨ α(1), S-1 (a(1)) ⟩ ⟨ α(3), a(3) ⟩ a(2)α(2), and aα = ∑α,a ⟨ α(1), a(1) ⟩ ⟨ α(3), S-1 (a(3)) ⟩ α(2) a(2),

where, if Δ is the comultiplication in A and A*coop,

(Δ⊗id)∘ Δ(a)=∑a a(1)⊗ a(2)⊗ a(3),and (Δ⊗id)∘ Δ(α)= ∑αα(1)⊗ α(2)⊗α(3).

The comultiplication D(A) is determined by the formula

Δ(aα)= ∑a,α a(1) α(1)⊗ a(2) α(2),

where Δ(a)= ∑aa(1)⊗ a(2) and Δ(α)=∑α α(1)⊗α(2) .

The relation between D(𝔘h𝔟+) and 𝔘h𝔤

With the definition of the quantum double in mind it is natural that we should define the quantum double of 𝔘h𝔟+ to be the algebras

D(𝔘h𝔟+)= (𝔘h𝔟+)*coop ⊗𝔘h𝔟+≅ 𝔘h𝔟-⊗ 𝔘h𝔟+

with multiplication and comultiplcation given by the formulas in (7.2). The following theorem says that the quantum group 𝔘h𝔤 is almost the quantum double of 𝔘h𝔟+, in other words, 𝔘h𝔤 is almost completely determined by pasting two copies of 𝔘h𝔟+ together.

Let (Bij)=C-1 be the inverse of the Cartan matrix corresponding to 𝔤 and, for each 1≤i≤r, define

Hi*=∑j=1r BijHj∈ 𝔘h𝔤.
  1. There is a surjective homomorphism ϕ:D (𝔘h𝔟+)⟶ 𝔘h𝔤 determined by ϕ: D(𝔘h𝔟+) ⟶ 𝔘h𝔤 Xi+ ⟼ Xi+ Hi+ ⟼ Hi Xi- ⟼ Xi- Hi- ⟼ Hi* and thus D(𝔘h𝔟+) kerϕ ≅𝔘h𝔤. (Recall (7.1) that we distinguish the elements Hi which are in 𝔘h𝔟+ from the elements Hi which are in 𝔘h𝔟- by writing Hi+ and Hi- respectively, instead of just Hi in both cases.)
  2. The ideal kerϕ is the ideal generated by the relations Hi-- ( ∑j=1r BijHj+ ) ,where 1≤i≤r.

Using the ℛ-matrix of D(𝔘h𝔟+) to get the ℛ-matrix of 𝔘h𝔤

Recall (7.2) that the double D(𝔘h𝔟+) comes with a natural universal ℛ-matrix given by

ℛ∼=∑ibi ⊗bi.

where the sum is over a basis {bi} of 𝔘h𝔟+ and {bi} is the dual basis in 𝔘h𝔟- with respect to the form ⟨,⟩ given in (2.1). We have used the notation ℛ∼ here to distinguish it from the element ℛ in Theorem (3.2). The element ℛ∼ is not exactly in the tensor product D(𝔘h𝔟+)⊗ D(𝔘h𝔟+) but if we make the tensor product just a tiny bit bigger by taking the h-adic completion D(𝔘h𝔟+)⨶ D(𝔘h𝔟+) of D(𝔘h𝔟+)⊗ D(𝔘h𝔟+) then we do have

ℛ∼∈D(𝔘h𝔟+) ⨶D(𝔘h𝔟+).

The image of ℛ∼ under the homomorphism

ϕ⊗ϕ: D(𝔘h𝔟+)⨶ D(𝔘h𝔟+) ⟶ 𝔘h𝔤⨶𝔘h𝔤 ℛ∼⟼ℛ

coincides with the element ℛ given in Theorem (3.2). This means that we actually get the element ℛ in Theorem (3.2) for free by realising the quantum group as a quantum double (almost).

The quantum Serre relations occur naturally

In this section we will see that the most complicated of the definiing relations in the quantum group can be obtained in quite a natural way. More specifically, the ideal generated by them is the radical of a certain bilinear form.

Definition of the algebras Uh𝔟+ and Uh𝔟-

Let 𝔤 be a finite dimensional complex simple Lie algebra and let C= (αj(Hi)) 1≤i,j≤r be the corresponding Cartan matrix.

Let Uh𝔟+ be the associative algebra over ℂ[[h]] generated (as a complete ℂ[[h]]-algebra in the h-adic topology) by

H1,H2,…,Hr, X1r,X2r, …,Xr+,

with relations

[Hi,Hj]=0, and [Hi,Xj+]= αj(Hi) Xj+,for all 1≤i,j≤r,

and define an algebra homomorphism Δh: Uh𝔟+→ Uh𝔟+⨶ Uh𝔟+ by

Δh(Hi)= Hi⊗1+1⊗Hi, andΔh (Xi+)= Xi+⊗ edihHi+1⊗ Xi+,

where Uh𝔟+⨶Uh𝔟+ denotes the h-adic completion of the tensor product Uh𝔟+ ⊗ℂ[[h]] Uh𝔟+.

Let Uh𝔟- be the associative algebra over ℂ[[h]] generated (as a complete ℂ[[h]]-algebra in the h-adic topology) by

X1-,X2-,…, Xr-,H1, H2,…,Hr,

with relations

[Hi,Hj]=0, and[Hi,Xj-] =-αj(Hi) Xj-,for all 1≤i,j≤r,

and define an algebra homomorphism Δh: Uh𝔟-→ Uh𝔟-⨶ Uh𝔟- by

Δh(Hi) =Hi⊗1+1⊗Hi, andΔh (Xi-)= Xi-⊗1+ e-dihHi ⊗Xi-,

where Uh𝔟-⨶Uh𝔟- denotes the h-adic completion of the tensor product Uh𝔟- ⊗ℂ[[h]] Uh𝔟-.

The difference between the algebras Uh𝔟± and the algebras 𝔘h𝔟±

The algebras Uh𝔟+ are much larger than the algebras 𝔘h𝔟+ used in (2.1) since they have fewer relations between Xi± generators.

A pairing between Uh𝔟+ and Uh𝔟-

In exactly the same way that we had a pairing between 𝔘h𝔟+ and 𝔘h𝔟- in (2.1), there is a unique ℂ[[h]]-bilinear pairing

⟨,⟩: Uh𝔟-× Uh𝔟+ ⟶ℂ[[h]] which satisfies
  1. ⟨1,1⟩=1,
  2. ⟨Hi,Hj⟩= αj(Hi) dj ,
  3. ⟨Xi-,Xj+⟩ =δij h edih- e-dih ,
  4. ⟨ab,c⟩= ⟨ a⊗b,Δh (c) ⟩ , for all a,b∈Uh𝔟- and c∈Uh𝔟+,
  5. ⟨a,bc⟩= ⟨ Δhop (a),b⊗c ⟩ , for all a∈Uh𝔟- and b,c∈Uh𝔟+.

The radical of ⟨,⟩ is generated by the quantum Serre relations

Let 𝔯- and 𝔯+ be the left and right radicals, respectively, of the form ⟨,⟩ defined in (8.3), i.e.

𝔯- = { a∈Uh𝔟- ∣ ⟨a,b⟩=0 for all b∈Uh𝔟+ } ,and 𝔯+ = { b∈Uh𝔟+ ∣ ⟨a,b⟩=0 for all a∈Uh𝔟- } .

The sets 𝔯- and 𝔯+ are the ideals of Uh𝔟- and Uh𝔟+ generated by the elements

∑s+t=1-αj(Hi) (-1)s [ 1-αj(Hi) s ] edih (Xi-)s Xj- (Xi-)t, fori≠j,

and

∑s+t=1-αj(Hi) (-1)s [ 1-αj(Hi) s ] edih (Xi+)s Xj+ (Xi+)t, fori≠j,

respectively.

It follows from this theorem that the quantum group 𝔘h𝔤 is determined by the algebras Uh𝔟+, Uh𝔟- and the form ⟨,⟩. A construction of the quantum group along these lines would be very similar to the standard construction of Kac-Moody Lie algebras (see [Kac1983] §1.3).

Notes and References

This is an excerpt from a paper entitled Quantum groups: A survey of definitions, motivations and results by Arun Ram. Research and writing supported in part by an Australian Research Council fellowship and a National Science Foundation grant DMS-9622985.

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