Solid but concise, this account emphasizes Lie algebra's simplicity of theory, offering new approaches to major theorems and extensive treatment of Cartan and related Lie subalgebras over arbitrary fields. 1972 edition.

This book is designed to introduce the reader to the theory of semisimple Lie algebras over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, with emphasis on representations. A good knowledge of linear algebra (including eigenvalues, bilinear forms, euclidean spaces, and tensor products of vector spaces) is presupposed, as well as some acquaintance with the methods of abstract algebra. The first four chapters might well be read by a bright undergraduate; however, the remaining three chapters are admittedly a little more demanding. Besides being useful in many parts of mathematics and physics, the theory of semisimple Lie algebras is inherently attractive, combining as it does a certain amount of depth and a satisfying degree of completeness in its basic results. Since Jacobson's book appeared a decade ago, improvements have been made even in the classical parts of the theory. I have tried to incor porate some of them here and to provide easier access to the subject for non-specialists. For the specialist, the following features should be noted: (I) The Jordan-Chevalley decomposition of linear transformations is emphasized, with "toral" subalgebras replacing the more traditional Cartan subalgebras in the semisimple case. (2) The conjugacy theorem for Cartan subalgebras is proved (following D. J. Winter and G. D. Mostow) by elementary Lie algebra methods, avoiding the use of algebraic geometry.

DIVDefinitive treatment of important subject in modern mathematics. Covers split semi-simple Lie algebras, universal enveloping algebras, classification of irreducible modules, automorphisms, simple Lie algebras over an arbitrary field, etc. Index. /div

This textbook treats Lie groups, Lie algebras and their representations in an elementary but fully rigorous fashion requiring minimal prerequisites. In particular, the theory of matrix Lie groups and their Lie algebras is developed using only linear algebra, and more motivation and intuition for proofs is provided than in most classic texts on the subject. In addition to its accessible treatment of the basic theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, the book is also noteworthy for including: a treatment of the Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff formula and its use in place of the Frobenius theorem to establish deeper results about the relationship between Lie groups and Lie algebras motivation for the machinery of roots, weights and the Weyl group via a concrete and detailed exposition of the representation theory of sl(3;C) an unconventional definition of semisimplicity that allows for a rapid development of the structure theory of semisimple Lie algebras a self-contained construction of the representations of compact groups, independent of Lie-algebraic arguments The second edition of Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations contains many substantial improvements and additions, among them: an entirely new part devoted to the structure and representation theory of compact Lie groups; a complete derivation of the main properties of root systems; the construction of finite-dimensional representations of semisimple Lie algebras has been elaborated; a treatment of universal enveloping algebras, including a proof of the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt theorem and the existence of Verma modules; complete proofs of the Weyl character formula, the Weyl dimension formula and the Kostant multiplicity formula. Review of the first edition: This is an excellent book. It deserves to, and undoubtedly will, become the standard text for early graduate courses in Lie group theory ... an important addition to the textbook literature ... it is highly recommended. — The Mathematical Gazette

In this new textbook, acclaimed author John Stillwell presents a lucid introduction to Lie theory suitable for junior and senior level undergraduates. In order to achieve this, he focuses on the so-called "classical groups'' that capture the symmetries of real, complex, and quaternion spaces. These symmetry groups may be represented by matrices, which allows them to be studied by elementary methods from calculus and linear algebra. This naive approach to Lie theory is originally due to von Neumann, and it is now possible to streamline it by using standard results of undergraduate mathematics. To compensate for the limitations of the naive approach, end of chapter discussions introduce important results beyond those proved in the book, as part of an informal sketch of Lie theory and its history. John Stillwell is Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of several highly regarded books published by Springer, including The Four Pillars of Geometry (2005), Elements of Number Theory (2003), Mathematics and Its History (Second Edition, 2002), Numbers and Geometry (1998) and Elements of Algebra (1994).

Designed to acquaint students of particle physiME already familiar with SU(2) and SU(3) with techniques applicable to all simple Lie algebras, this text is especially suited to the study of grand unification theories. Author Robert N. Cahn, who is affiliated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, has provided a new preface for this edition. Subjects include the killing form, the structure of simple Lie algebras and their representations, simple roots and the Cartan matrix, the classical Lie algebras, and the exceptional Lie algebras. Additional topiME include Casimir operators and Freudenthal's formula, the Weyl group, Weyl's dimension formula, reducing product representations, subalgebras, and branching rules. 1984 edition.

This book provides an introduction to Lie groups, Lie algebras, and repre sentation theory, aimed at graduate students in mathematics and physics. Although there are already several excellent books that cover many of the same topics, this book has two distinctive features that I hope will make it a useful addition to the literature. First, it treats Lie groups (not just Lie alge bras) in a way that minimizes the amount of manifold theory needed. Thus, I neither assume a prior course on differentiable manifolds nor provide a con densed such course in the beginning chapters. Second, this book provides a gentle introduction to the machinery of semi simple groups and Lie algebras by treating the representation theory of SU(2) and SU(3) in detail before going to the general case. This allows the reader to see roots, weights, and the Weyl group "in action" in simple cases before confronting the general theory. The standard books on Lie theory begin immediately with the general case: a smooth manifold that is also a group. The Lie algebra is then defined as the space of left-invariant vector fields and the exponential mapping is defined in terms of the flow along such vector fields. This approach is undoubtedly the right one in the long run, but it is rather abstract for a reader encountering such things for the first time.

This book is an introduction to semisimple Lie algebras. It is concise and informal, with numerous exercises and examples.

In this book, the author convinces that Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington had things a little bit wrong, as least as far as physics is concerned. He explores the theory of groups and Lie algebras and their representations to use group representations as labor-saving tools.

This book is intended as an introductory text on the subject of Lie groups and algebras and their role in various fields of mathematics and physics. It is written by and for researchers who are primarily analysts or physicists, not algebraists or geometers. Not that we have eschewed the algebraic and geo metric developments. But we wanted to present them in a concrete way and to show how the subject interacted with physics, geometry, and mechanics. These interactions are, of course, manifold; we have discussed many of them here-in particular, Riemannian geometry, elementary particle physics, sym metries of differential equations, completely integrable Hamiltonian systems, and spontaneous symmetry breaking. Much ofthe material we have treated is standard and widely available; but we have tried to steer a course between the descriptive approach such as found in Gilmore and Wybourne, and the abstract mathematical approach of Helgason or Jacobson. Gilmore and Wybourne address themselves to the physics community whereas Helgason and Jacobson address themselves to the mathematical community. This book is an attempt to synthesize the two points of view and address both audiences simultaneously. We wanted to present the subject in a way which is at once intuitive, geometric, applications oriented, mathematically rigorous, and accessible to students and researchers without an extensive background in physics, algebra, or geometry.