18.

745 Introduction to Lie Algebras September 28, 2010

Lecture 6 — Generalized Eigenspaces & Generalized Weight Spaces

Prof. Victor Kac Scribe: Andrew Geng and Wenzhe Wei

Definition 6.1. Let A be a linear operator on a vector space V over field F and let λ ∈ F, then
the subspace
Vλ = {v | (A − λI)N v = 0 for some positive integer N}
is called a generalized eigenspace of A with eigenvalue λ. Note that the eigenspace of A with
eigenvalue λ is a subspace of Vλ .

Example 6.1. A is a nilpotent operator if and only if V = V0 .

Proposition 6.1. Let A be a linear operator on a finite dimensional vector space V over an alge-
braically closed field F, and let λ1 , ..., λs be all eigenvalues of A, n1 , n2 , ..., ns be their multiplicities.
Then one has the generalized eigenspace decomposition:
s
M
V = Vλi where dim Vλi = ni
i=1

Proof. By the Jordan normal form of A in some basis e1 , e2 , ...en . Its matrix is of the following
form:  
Jλ1
 Jλ2 
A=
 
. . 
 . 
Jλn ,

where Jλi is an ni × ni matrix with λi on the diagonal, 0 or 1 in each entry just above the diagonal,
and 0 everywhere else.
Let Vλ1 = span{e1 , e2 , ..., en1 }, Vλ2 = span{en1 +1 , ..., en1 +n2 }, ..., so that Jλi acts on Vλi . i.e. Vλi
are A-invariant and A|Vλi = λi Ini + Ni , Ni nilpotent.

From the above discussion, we obtain the following decomposition of the operator A, called the
classical Jordan decomposition
A = As + An
where As is the operator which in the basis above is the diagonal part of A, and An is the rest
(An = A − As ). It has the following 3 properties

(i) As is a diagonalizable operator (usually called semisimple)

(ii) An is a nilpotent operator

(iii) As An = An As .
Ls
(iii) holds since V = i=1 Vλi , AVλi ∈ Vλi , and As |Vλi = λi I. Hence As An = An As .

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Definition 6.2. A decomposition of an operator A of the form A = As + An , for which these three
properities hold is called a Jordan decomposition of A. We have established its existence, provided
that dimV < +∞, F = F̄
Proposition 6.2. Jordan decomposition is unique under the same assumptions
Lemma 6.3. Let A and B be commuting operators on V ; i.e., AB = BA. Then

(a) All generalized eigenspaces of A are B-invariant

(b) if A = As + An is the classical Jordan decomposition, then B commutes with both As and An .

Proof. (a) is immediate from definition of generalized eigenspace. (b) follows from (a) since each Vλi
is B-invariant, As |Vλi = λi Ini , therefore A and As commute on each Vλi , therefore commute.

P roof of the proposition. Consider a Jordan decomposition A = A0s + A0n , and let A = As + An be
the classical Jordan decomposition. Take the difference, we get
As − A0s = An − A0n

But A0s commutes with A0n and itself, hence with A. Hence by taking B = A0s in lemma (b), we
conclude that A0s commutes with As and An . Therefore A0n = A − A0s also commutes with As
and An . So in (2) we we have difference of commutative operators on both sides. Hence LHS is
diagonalizable and RHS is nilpotent (by the binomial formula). But equality of a diagonalizable
operator to a nilpotent one is possible only if both are 0.
Question. Is it true in general that Jordan decomposition is unique?
Exercise 6.1. Show that any nonabelian 3-dimensional nilpotent Lie algebra is isomorphic to the
Heisenberg algebra H3 .

Proof. If g is nonabelian and 3-dimensional, then Z(g) must have dimension less than 3. By a
previous exercise (3.2), dim Z(g) 6= dim g − 1, so this dimension cannot be 2. A proposition from
lecture 4 states that if g is nonzero and nilpotent, Z(g) is nonzero. Hence Z(g) is 1-dimensional.
Now by exercise 3.3, the n-dimensional Lie algebras for which Z(g) has dimension two less than
g are Abn−2 ⊕ g2 and Abn−3 ⊕ H3 , where g2 is the 2-dimensional Lie algebra Fx + Fy defined by
[x, y] = y.
Since g is nilpotent, it cannot be Ab1 ⊕ g2 , because g2 is not nilpotent. Then the only remaining
possibility is g = Ab0 ⊕ H3 = H3 .

Let g be a finite-dimensional Lie algebra and π its representation on a finite-dimensional vector

space V , over an algebraically closed field F of characteristic 0. We have the following generalized
eigenspace decompositions for a fixed a ∈ g.
M
Vλa Vλa = v ∈ V | (π(a) − λI)N v = 0 for some N ∈ N

V =
λ∈F
M
gaα gaα = g ∈ g | (ad a − αI)N g = 0 for some N ∈ N

g=
α∈F

We’ll prove the following.

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Theorem 6.4. π (gaα ) Vλa ⊆ Vλ+α
a

First, we need a lemma on associative algebras.

Lemma 6.5. Suppose U is a unital associative algebra over F, and let a, b ∈ U and λ, α ∈ F. Then
N  
N 
(ad a − αI)j b (a − λ)N −j .
X
N
(a − α − λ) b =
j
j=0

Proof. Write ad a = La − Ra , where La (x) = ax and Ra (x) = xa. Then

La−α−λ = La − αI − λI (1)
= ad a + Ra − αI − λI
La−α−λ = (ad a − α) + Ra−λ

For any given a, b ∈ U , the operators La and Rb commute by associativity of U . Since ad a is

just the difference La − Ra , it commutes with both La and Ra . Then since αI, λI ∈ FI ⊂ Z(U ),
the terms (ad a − α) and Ra−λ on the right side of (1) commute. Given this, the claimed equality
follows from raising both sides of (1) to the N th power and applying the Binomial Theorem.

Proof of Theorem 6.4. Applying the lemma to π(g), we have the following for all g ∈ g, and thus
for all g ∈ gaα . (Recall that a ∈ g is fixed.)
N  
N
(ad π(a) − α)j π(g) (π(a) − λ)N −j
N
X
(π(a) − α − λ) π(g) =
j
j=0

Apply both sides of this to v ∈ Vλa with N > dim Vλa + dim gaα . By this choice of N , either
j > dim gaα or N − j > dim Vλa . If j > dim gαa , then (ad π(a) − α)j π(g) = 0 since g ∈ gλa .
Otherwise, N − j > dim Vλa , so (π(a) − λ)N −j v = 0 since v ∈ Vλa .

This makes every term in the sum on the right zero, so (π(a) − α − λ)N π(g)v = 0. Then π(g)v is
a . Since this holds for all
a generalized eigenvector of π(a) with eigenvalue α − λ, so π(g)v ∈ Vλ+α
g ∈ gaα and v ∈ Vλa , the claimed inclusion holds.

By analogy to the definition of a generalized eigenspace, we can define generalized weight spaces of
a Lie algebra g.

Definition 6.3. Let g be a Lie algebra with a representation π on a vector space on V , and let
λ ∈ g∗ be a linear functional on g. The generalized weight space of g in V attached to λ is
n o
Vλg = v ∈ V | (π(g) − λ(g)I)N v = 0 for some N depending on g, for all g ∈ g .

Under the right conditions, a nilpotent subalgebra h ⊆ g permits decomposing V as a direct sum
of the generalized weight spaces of h, each of which is a subrepresentation of πh . The following
theorem makes this precise.

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Theorem 6.6. Let g be a finite-dimensional Lie algebra and π its representation on a finite-
dimensional vector space V , over an algebraically closed field F of characteristic 0. Let h be a
nilpotent subalgebra of g. Then the following equalities hold.
M h
V = Vλ (2)
λ∈h∗
 
π ghα Vλh ⊆ Vλ+α
h
(3)

Remark. In the case of the adjoint representation, we may express these as follows.
M
g= ghα (4)
α∈h∗
h i
ghα , ghβ ⊆ ghα+β (5)

Proof of Theorem 6.6.

Case 1. For each a ∈ h, π(a) has only one eigenvalue.

a
In this case, V is a generalized eigenspace Vλ(a) of every a ∈ h, so we just need to check the linearity
of λ.
Since h is nilpotent, it is solvable. Since we assumed F to be algebraically closed and with char-
acteristic 0, we can then apply Lie’s theorem, which guarantees the existence of a weight λ0 with
some nonzero weight space Vλh0 . Then λ0 (a) must be the eigenvalue of π(a) with which π(a) acts
on Vλh0 , so λ0 = λ. Therefore λ is linear, so V is the generalized weight space Vλh .

Case 2. For some a0 ∈ h, π(a0 ) has at least two distinct eigenvalues.

Since h is nilpotent, ad a is a nilpotent operator on h for all a ∈ h. Thus h ⊂ ga0 . Then by Theorem
6.4, π(h)Vλa ⊆ Vλa for any a ∈ h.
Since F is algebraically closed, V can be written as a direct sum of the generalized eigenspaces of
a0 . Since each Vλa0 is invariant under the action of h, each Vλa0 is also a representation of h. Since
dim Vλa0 < dim V , we may apply induction on dim V . This establishes the equality (2).

To finish, we’ll prove the inclusion (3). Suppose α, λ ∈ h∗ , and suppose g ∈ ghα . Then g ∈ gaα(a) for
all a ∈ h. By Theorem 6.4, π(g)Vλ(a)a a
⊂ Vλ(a)+α(a) for all a ∈ h. Then
\ \
a a
v∈ Vλ(a) =⇒ π(g)v ∈ Vλ(a)+α(a) .
a∈h a∈h
\
Since a
Vλ(a) = Vλh by the definition of a generalized weight space, this establishes (3). 
a∈h

Exercise 6.2. Suppose F has characteristic 2, and V = F[x]/(x2 ) is a representation of H3 where

∂
p 7→ ∂x , q 7→ x, and c 7→ I. Then V = Vλ , but λ is not a linear function on H3 . Compute λ.

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 ∂
Proof. Suppose p acts as ∂x , q acts as multiplication by x, and c acts as the identity on F[x]/(x2 ).
Then:
  
  0 1 a
p(a + bx) = b + 0x = 1 x
0 0 b
  
  0 0 a
q(a + bx) = 0 + ax = 1 x
1 0 b
  
  1 0 a
c(a + bx) = a + bx = 1 x
0 1 b

Then making a basis on F[x]/(x2 ) using 1 and x, we can write the matrix representing some
rp + sq + tc ∈ H3 as the following matrix.
 
t r
s t

Then finding λ is a matter of solving its characteristic polynomial.

 
t−λ r
0 = det
s t−λ
= (t − λ)2 − rs
√
± rs = t − λ
√
λ = t ± rs

In a field of characteristic 2, we can drop the ± sign. By passing to the algebraic closure if necessary,
we can assume the square root of rs always exists. Thus:
√
λ(rp + sq + tc) = t + rs

(To verify that λ is not linear, observe that by this formula, λ(p) = λ(q) = 0, but λ(p + q) = 1.)

Exercise 6.3. By the example of the adjoint representation of a nonabelian solvable Lie algebra,
show that the generalized weight space decomposition fails if the Lie algebra is solvable but not
nilpotent.

Proof. Consider the Lie algebra g2 = Fx + Fy, with the bracket operation defined by [x, y] = y.
It’s apparent by induction that gk2 = [g2 , gk−1
2 ] = Fy (for k ≥ 2), so g2 is not nilpotent. However,
(1) (2)
then g2 = Fy, which is 1-dimensional, so g2 = 0, and thus g2 is solvable.
Taking x and y as the basis elements of g2 , the adjoint representation takes x and y to the following
matrices.
   
0 0 0 0
x 7→ y 7→
0 1 −1 0

So we find their eigenvalues by solving their characteristic polynomials.

λ(λ − 1) = 0 λ2 = 0
λ = 0 or 1 λ=0

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The corresponding generalized eigenvectors can be found by lucky guessing. Specifically, ad x has
x with eigenvalue 0 and y with eigenvalue 1, while ad y has all of g2 with eigenvalue 0.
So we can get weight spaces V0 = span{x} and Vx∗ = span{y}, corresponding to the zero linear
functional and the linear functional defined by x 7→ 1. The vector space decomposes into the direct
sum of these weight spaces, but the representation does not! Specifically, V0 is not closed under
the action of y.

Exercise 6.4. Take g = gln (F) and h = {diagonal matrices}. Find the generalized weight space
decomposition in both the tautological and the adjoint representations, and check the inclusions
(3) and (5) in Theorem 6.6.

Proof. Suppose g = gln (F) and h ⊂ g consists of diagonal matrices. Then the generalized eigenvec-
tors of h ∈ h are actual eigenvectors, so every standard basis element of Fn is an eigenvector. Also,
given any linear combination aei +bej of more than one basis element, there is some diagonal matrix
that takes ei to ei and ej to zero, so these linear combinations are not generalized eigenvectors of
everything in h. Thus the only candidates for generalized weight spaces are the n axes, each of
which is the span of a single standard basis element of Fn .
For the axis Vi spanned by ei , the linear functional on h that takes h to the component hi,i is a
weight making Vi a weight space. Thus in the tautological representation, Fn decomposes as a
direct sum of n copies of F.
To do the same with the adjoint representation, suppose the diagonal entries of h ∈ h are hi . Then
for a ∈ g, we have:

((ad h)a)i,j = (ha − ah)i,j

= hi ai,j − ai,j hj
= (hi − hj )ai,j

This shows that ad h is diagonalizable, which again implies that its generalized eigenvectors are
actual eigenvectors, and so its generalized weight spaces are actually weight spaces.
Possible pairs of eigenvalues are

1. hi − hj vs. hi − hk ,

2. hi − hj vs. hk − h` ,

3. hi − hj vs. hj − hi , and

4. hi − hi vs. hj − hj .

By appropriate choice of h, we can always make distinct eigenvalues in (1) and (2), so the basis
elements ei,j of g satisfying i < j lie in distinct eigenspaces for some h, and thus they lie in distinct
candidate weight spaces. This weight space can be achieved with the linear functional λi,j taking
h to hi − hj .
Since for the theorem we assume the characteristic of F is not 2, the eigenvalues in (3) will be
distinct, so we’ll also have λi,j with i > j. Finally, both eigenvalues in (4) are always zero, so the
zero linear functional has h as its weight space.

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Combining all of this, the generalized weight space decomposition of g in the adjoint representation
is h plus some 1-dimensional weight spaces:
M
g=h⊕ span{ei,j }
i6=j

To check the assertion of the theorem from class, first we verify for the tautological representation
that:  
π ghα Vλh ⊆ Vλ+αh

Each Vλh is the span of some basis element ei , with λ corresponding to the map h 7→ hi , so we really
only need to check that, for some appropriate j:
 
π ghα ei ∝ ej

In the case α = 0 we should get j = i, and we do; the space gh0 consists of all diagonal matrices, so
they act on ei by scaling.
In the case αh = hk − h` , we then have ghα = ek,` , and α + λ = hk − h` + hi . We should expect zero
if i 6= `, since we only have nonzero weight spaces for λ of the form h 7→ hsomething ; and indeed this
is the case, since if i 6= ` then ek,` ei = 0. Furthermore, if i = ` then we should get the span of ek ,
which is the weight space corresponding to h 7→ hk . We verify this by observing that ek,i ei = ek .
So in fact we have equality:  
h
π ghα Vλh = Vλ+α

The second assertion in (b) of the theorem is essentially the same statement for the adjoint repre-
sentation. First, if α = β = 0, then both ghα and ghβ are equal to h. Since h consists of diagonal
matrices, it’s commutative, so the bracket is zero and thus is contained in any weight space we like.
If α = 0 and β = {h 7→ hi − hj }, then we end up with [h, span{ei,j }]. Observe that:

[h, ei,j ] = hei,j − ei,j h

= (hi − hj )ei,j ∈ span{ei,j }

Finally, if α maps h to hi −hj and β maps h to hk −h` , we have essentially [ei,j , ek,` ]. We need either
j = k or i = ` for α + β to be a weight, and we indeed see that if neither holds, then ei,j ek,` = 0.
Otherwise, by relabeling α and β, we can assume without loss of generality that j = k. This gives
us ei,` if i 6= ` and 0 if i = `, so either way it’s in the weight space of h 7→ hi − h` .