Questions tagged [lie-groups]
Lie Groups are Groups that are additionally smooth manifolds such that the multiplication and the inverse maps are smooth.
3,059 questions
1
vote
1
answer
182
views
A question from the paper "Hyperbolic rigidity of higher rank lattices" by Thomas Haettel
In the paper "Hyperbolic rigidity of higher rank lattices" by Thomas Haettel, the author has made the following statement in the proof of Corollary D in page no. 18 ( https://arxiv.org/pdf/...
- 331
3
votes
0
answers
152
views
Equivariant classifying space and manifold models
The classifying space $BS^1$ for $S^1$-bundles can be taken to be the colimit of $\mathbb{CP}^n$ which are smooth manifolds and the inclusions $\mathbb{CP}^n \hookrightarrow \mathbb{CP}^{n+1}$ are ...
- 803
3
votes
1
answer
451
views
Topological vector spaces in direct sum
A year ago, I asked this question here at Mathematics Stackexchange, but no one there managed to answer it. So I am elevating it to MathOverflow.
This question had emerged as an offshoot of a bigger ...
- 603
4
votes
1
answer
324
views
The Hausdorff codimension of singular matrices vs. the Hausdorff codimension of points with divergent trajectories
Let $G:=SL(m+n,\mathbb R)$ and $\Gamma :=SL(m+n,\mathbb Z)$ and $X:=G/\Gamma$.
(1) Let $M$ denote the set of all $m \times n$ matrices with real entries. A matrix $A \in M$ is called $\textit{singular}...
- 1,565
2
votes
2
answers
353
views
Particular reduced expression of the longest element of Weyl group
Let $I$ be the Dynkin diagram vertex set and $K$ be a proper nonempty subset of it. Let $w_0^K$ be the longest word of the Dynkin subdiagram $K$, which might be a disjoint union of connected Dynkin ...
- 201
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
When a free action gives rise to a $G$-principal bundle
When a free action gives rise to a $G$-principal bundle
Let a (topological) group $G$ act freely on a (topological) space $X$. Assume that
$G \backslash X$ is Hausdorff. (equivalently the image of ...
- 2,649
6
votes
1
answer
567
views
Finite simple groups and $ \operatorname{SU}_n $
A follow-up question to Alternating subgroups of $\mathrm{SU}_n $.
$\DeclareMathOperator\PU{PU}\DeclareMathOperator\PSU{PSU}\DeclareMathOperator\PSL{PSL}$Let $ \PU_m $ be the projective unitary group, ...
- 4,081
6
votes
1
answer
357
views
How to distinguish conjugacy classes in SO(2n) efficiently?
In a compact connected Lie group $G$, each element is conjugate to an element of a maximal torus $T$. For a classical group, one can pick a basis of the tautological representation such that $T$ is ...
- 3,186
2
votes
1
answer
357
views
Tensor product of fundamental representations
Let $\mathfrak{g}$ be a simple complex Lie algebra. Let $V_1,\cdots, V_n$ be the fundamental representations (the irreducible ones with fundamental weights $\omega_1,\cdots,\omega_n$). Take a $k$-...
- 391
7
votes
1
answer
205
views
Non-recurrent points of $F(a,b)=(b,ba)$ in a compact metric group $G$
Consider a compact metric group $G$ [A compact topological group $G$ where the topology is generated by an invariant metric]. I am particularly interested in the case where $G$ is the $n$-dimensional ...
2
votes
0
answers
185
views
Representation determined by traces
A discrete, faithful representation of a surface group $G:\pi_1(S_g) \to PSL_2(\mathbb{R})$ is determined, up to conjugacy by $PGL_2(\mathbb R)$, among such representations by the squares of traces of ...
- 133
5
votes
1
answer
252
views
Does a compact Lie group action on a family of compact manifolds have diffeomorphic fixed point submanifolds?
Let $\pi: M\to B$ be a fiber bundle of smooth manifolds with $B$ connected and each fiber of $\pi$ is a compact manifold. Let $G$ be a compact Lie group acting smoothly on $M$ such that
$\pi(g\cdot m)=...
- 9,019
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Finite subgroups of $\operatorname{U}(2)$
Famously, the finite subgroups of $\operatorname{SU}(2)$ admit an ADE classification.
Question. Is there a similar result for finite subgroups of $\operatorname{U}(2)$? Are they
classified? If this ...
- 489
2
votes
1
answer
248
views
What is the Molien series of the SO(2)-invariant ring on the plane (sometimes written C[X]^{SO(2)} )?
Let SO(2) be the group of rotations in the plane. What is the Molien series (sometimes called the Hilbert-Poincare series) of the SO(2)-invariant ring of polynomials?
N.B. The main goal being to ...
- 21
4
votes
1
answer
132
views
Equivalence between the existence of a nonempty open set of elliptic elements and a compact Cartan subgroup
In Goldman's book on Complex Hyperbolic Geometry, on page 203, it is stated that for a real semisimple Lie group $G$, the following are equivalent:
$G$ contains a nonempty open subset of elliptic ...
- 347
1
vote
0
answers
59
views
K-finiteness of unitary representations of Poincaré-like groups?
$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}\DeclareMathOperator\ISO{ISO}$I'd like to know if there are any papers that study the following problems:
Determine when decomposing the unitary irreps of $\ISO(d,1)$ into ...
- 144
5
votes
0
answers
217
views
Almost conjugate subgroups of compact simple Lie groups
$\DeclareMathOperator\SU{SU}\DeclareMathOperator\Sp{Sp}\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$Let $G$ be a compact connected Lie group.
Definition:
Two finite subgroups $H_1,H_2$ of $G$ are said to be almost ...
- 2,446
7
votes
1
answer
394
views
On fixed point sets of actions of compact Lie groups
Let a compact Lie group $G$ act smoothly on a compact smooth manifold $M$. For any compact subgroup $H\subset G$ denote by $E^H$ the image in $M/G$ of the fixed point set of $H$ in $M$.
Is it true ...
- 21.8k
1
vote
1
answer
524
views
Centralizer of an element in a matrix Lie group whose Jordan form is given
$\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}\DeclareMathOperator\Sp{Sp}\DeclareMathOperator\ad{ad}\DeclareMathOperator\Ad{Ad}$Let $G\subset \GL_n(\mathbb{C})$ be a complex matrix Lie group, ...
- 455
1
vote
0
answers
110
views
Questions on the differential of the Lie logarithm
Let $G$ be a Lie group. Recall the Lie logarithm is well-defined about a neighborhood $U \subset G$ of the identity: $\log:U\to \mathfrak{g}$. I am dealing with a research problem that concerns the ...
- 518
2
votes
1
answer
285
views
Question about maximal compact subgroups of Lie groups
Let $G$ be a compact (connected) semisimple Lie group. Let $G_\mathbb{C}$ be the complexification of $G$.
Is $G$ a maximal compact subgroup of $G_\mathbb{C}$?
- 139
1
vote
0
answers
43
views
Splitting of the conformal group into $PSL(2,\mathbb{R})$ and other factorizations
In 1+1 dimensions of Minkowski spacetime, the conformal group can be split into two copies of $PSL(2,\mathbb{R})$ acting on null lines. I'm curious to know if a similar split exists for the conformal ...
- 424
2
votes
2
answers
519
views
How to use that the Hessian is negative definite in this proof
Let $X$ be a Riemannian compact manifold on which acts a compact Lie group $H^+$. Let $f^+ : X \rightarrow \mathbb{R} $ be a smooth function on $X$. Consider a Lie subgroup $U$ of $H^+$ and suppose ...
- 139
2
votes
0
answers
143
views
Non-uniform lattices and parabolic subgroups in Lie groups
Let $G$ be a semisimple connected Lie group and let $\Lambda < G$ be a non-uniform irreducible lattice.
How does it follows that there exists a minimal parabolic subgroup $P$ of $G$ such that the ...
- 429
9
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Motivation for construction of associated fiber bundle from a principal bundle
Given a principal $G$ bundle $P(M,G)$ and a manifold $F$ with an action of $G$ on it from left, we construct a fiber bundle over $M$ with fiber $F$ and call this the associated fiber bundle for $P(M,G)...
- 6,023
4
votes
1
answer
240
views
Bounded generation of group by unipotent radicals of opposite parabolic subgroups
Let $G$ be an almost $k$-simple group that is also simply connected (so that $G(k)^{+}=G(k)$). For opposite parabolic subgroups $P$ and $P^{-}$, it is known that $G(k)^{+}$ is generated by the ...
- 949
1
vote
1
answer
410
views
Exterior square of $\operatorname{Sp}(4,\mathbb{C})$ is isomorphic to $\operatorname{SO}(5,\mathbb{C})$
I am studying exceptional isomorphisms recently, which arise due to the coincidence in Dynkin diagram.
I saw two forms of expressing the exceptional isomorphisms, one is isomorphisms between the spin ...
- 455
2
votes
1
answer
325
views
Orbit space of $\mathrm{SO}(3)$ irreducible representations
$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$Consider the $7$-dimensional $\mathbb R^7$ real irreducible orthogonal representation of $\SO(3)$. I am seeking a description of the orbit space (when the action is ...
- 71
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What are some interesting examples of quotients by Lie group actions?
I’ve been going through Lee’s Introduction to Differential Geometry. It’s a great book but I feel it lacks examples and concrete applications of the ideas presented. I want to work out a list of ...
11
votes
3
answers
587
views
Is every $A \in \mathrm{SL}_n(\mathbb C)$ a product of four unipotent matrices?
Is every matrix $A \in \mathrm{SL}_n(\mathbb C)$ a product of four unipotent matrices?
I have verified that this is true if $n = 2$, and I believe I have came across this result before. However, I ...
- 485
0
votes
1
answer
134
views
Sub-coroot lattices
[This is a sequel to the previous question sub-coroot systems, that has been answered! :-) ]
Let $T$ be a maximal torus of a compact Lie group $K$,
and let $\Lambda \subset {\mathfrak t}$ be the ...
- 167
13
votes
1
answer
398
views
Mathematical explanation of orbital shell sizes: why is it sufficient to consider single-electron wave functions?
Motivation
The question "Is there a good mathematical explanation for why orbital lengths in the periodic table are perfect squares doubled?" asks for an explanation of the sequence 2, 8, 8, ...
- 2,549
6
votes
2
answers
380
views
Rank one adjoint operators on a Lie algebra
Let $\mathfrak{g}$ be a (finite dimensional) semi-simple Lie algebra over a field $k$ and let $x \in \mathfrak{g}$. By definition, we have the equivalence:
$$ \mathrm{rk}(\mathrm{ad}_x) = 0 \iff x = 0,...
- 7,300
14
votes
1
answer
360
views
Description of the generalized grassmannians and flag varieties (parabolic quotients) associated to the exceptional groups
If $G$ is a classical semisimple algebraic/Lie group over an algebraically closed field (maybe just say $\mathbb{C}$), viꝫ. $\mathit{SL}_n$, $\mathit{SO}_n$, $\mathit{Sp}_n$ (isogenies irrelevant here)...
- 32.5k
17
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Reference request: Grassmannian and Plucker coordinates in type B, C, D
Grassmannian $Gr(k,n)$ is the set of $k$-dimensional subspace of an $n$-dimensional vector space. What are the Grassmannian in types B, C, D? What are the analog of Plucker coordinates and Plucker ...
- 6,201
2
votes
0
answers
105
views
Embeddings of symplectic group into the orthogonal group
Let $\mathfrak{sp}$ denote the complex symplectic Lie algebra and $\mathfrak{so}$ the complex orthogonal one. Do we have an embedding
$$
\mathfrak{sp}_{2n-2} \hookrightarrow \mathfrak{so}_{2n}?
$$
In ...
- 2,751
4
votes
2
answers
670
views
Conjugacy classes in the automorphism group of a simple Lie algebra
A lower bound of the number of conjugacy classes in the automorphism group of a simple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{s}$, of finite dimension over an arbitrary field $\mathbb{F}$, can be the size of the ...
0
votes
1
answer
194
views
Sum of weights of an irreducible representation of $U(N)$
Let $R$ be a finite-dimensional irreducible representation of $U(N)$, with the set of weights $W_R$. Each element of $W_R$ is a vector of length $N$ with integer entries.
Firstly, I would like to know ...
- 111
4
votes
0
answers
120
views
Why are all "non-swinging" representations self-dual?
Let $\mathfrak{g}$ be a semisimple (say complex) Lie algebra, and $V$ an irreducible finite-dimensional representation of $\mathfrak{g}$. Denote by $w_0$ the longest element of the Weyl group, i.e. ...
- 1,574
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why are coroots needed for the classification of reductive groups?
As we know reductive groups up to isomorphism corresponds to root data up to isomorphism. My question is why in the definition of root data do we need the coroots?
Let's break it down to two questions:...
- 2,071
12
votes
3
answers
950
views
Smooth map homotopic to Lie group homomorphism
Let $G$ and $H$ be connected Lie groups. A Lie group homomorphism $\rho:G\to H$ is a smooth map of manifolds which is also a group homomorphism.
Question: Can we find a smooth (or real-analytic) map $...
- 2,789
7
votes
1
answer
387
views
Torsion-free Cartan connections
Let $M$ a differentiable manifold and $H\subset G$ a Lie group with a closed subgroup such that $G/H$ is connected. A $H\subset G$-Cartan connection on $M$ can be defined by
A principal $G$-bundle on ...
- 141
4
votes
0
answers
134
views
Finite subgroups of $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{O})$
What are the finite subgroups (subloops that are groups) of $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{O})$? In particular, are there any not contained in a $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{H})$?
- 2,773
2
votes
1
answer
120
views
Ree groups and Moufang octagons
Consider a Ree group of type $^2\mathrm{F}_4$, defined over the field $k$. Tits showed that every Moufang generalized octagon arises as a natural geometric module on which a Ree group of this type ...
- 4,547
22
votes
6
answers
2k
views
About the definition of E8, and Rosenfeld's "Geometry of Lie groups"
I've been searching the literature for a direct definition of the group $E_8$ (over a general field, but even a definition of just one incarnation would be great). I knew (from talking to people) that ...
- 2,287
31
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is Lie group cohomology determined by restriction to finite subgroups?
Consider the restriction of the group cohomology $H^*(BG,\mathbb{Z})$, where $G$ is a compact Lie group and $BG$ is its classifying space, to finite subgroups $F \le G$. If we consider the product of ...
- 413
19
votes
1
answer
1k
views
A result on Lie group actions on 15-dimensional spheres?
In this interview by Eric Weinstein to Roger Penrose, Timestamp 1:24:05., what result is the host talking about?
Transcription of the relevant part:
"If you have two sets of symmetries, known as ...
- 23.3k
7
votes
2
answers
440
views
Quadratic forms on $\mathbb{R}^{16}$ coming from octonions
$\DeclareMathOperator\RRe{Re}\DeclareMathOperator\Spin{Spin}\DeclareMathOperator\Sym{Sym}$Let $\mathcal{H}_2(\mathbb{O})$ denote the (10-dimensional) real vector space of octonionic Hermitian matrices ...
- 21.8k
3
votes
2
answers
649
views
Representations of $\mathrm{SO}_n$ versus representations of $\mathrm{Spin}_n$ [duplicate]
$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}\DeclareMathOperator\Spin{Spin}$Since $\Spin_n$ is a compact simply connected simple Lie group, its irreducible representations are equivalent to the irreducible ...
- 327
7
votes
2
answers
775
views
Why is the generalized flag variety a “variety”?
In several places (for example, Chriss & Ginzburg’s book “Representation Theory and Complex Geometry”), the author says that the set $X$ of Borel subalgebras of a semi-simple Lie algebra $\...
- 159