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20 votes
3 answers
2k views

Where do root systems arise in mathematics?

One often hears that root systems are ubiquitous in mathematics and physics. The most obvious occurrence of root systems is in the classification of complex simple Lie algebras. Where else do they ...
81 votes
26 answers
7k views

What would you want on a Lie theory cheat poster?

For some long time now I've thought about making a poster-sized "cheat sheet" with all the data about Lie groups and their representations that I occasionally need to reference. It's a moving target, ...
73 votes
6 answers
7k views

Surprisingly short or elegant proofs using Lie theory

Today, I was listening to someone give an exhausting proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra when I recalled that there was a short proof using Lie theory: A finite extension $K$ of $\mathbb{C}$...