Harish-Chandra isomorphism

In mathematics, the Harish-Chandra isomorphism, introduced by ,
is an isomorphism of commutative rings constructed in the theory of Lie algebras. The isomorphism maps the center "Z"("U"("g")) of the universal enveloping algebra "U"("g") of a reductive Lie algebra "g" to the elements "S"("h")"W" of the symmetric algebra "S"("h") of a Cartan subalgebra "h" that are invariant under the Weyl group "W".
Fundamental invariants.
Let "n" be the rank of "g", which is the dimension of the Cartan subalgebra "h". H. S. M. Coxeter observed that "S"("h")"W" is a polynomial algebra in "n" variables (see Chevalley–Shephard–Todd theorem for a more general statement). Therefore, the center of the universal enveloping algebra of a reductive Lie algebra is a polynomial algebra. The degrees of the generators are the degrees of the fundamental invariants given in the following table.
For example, the center of the universal enveloping algebra of "G"2 is a polynomial algebra on generators of degrees 2 and 6.
Introduction and setting.
Let "g" be a semisimple Lie algebra, "h" its Cartan subalgebra and λ, μ ∈ "h"* be two elements of the weight space and assume that a set of positive roots Φ+ have been fixed. Let "V"λ, resp. "V"μ be highest weight modules with highest weight λ, resp. μ.
Central characters.
The "g"-modules "V"λ and "V"μ are representations of the universal enveloping algebra "U"("g") and its center acts on the modules by scalar multiplication (this follows from the fact that the modules are generated by a highest weight vector). So, for "v" in "V"λ and "x" in "Z"("U"("g")),
and similarly for "V"μ.
The functions formula_2 are homomorphisms to scalars called "central characters".
Statement of Harish-Chandra theorem.
For any λ, μ ∈ "h"*, the characters formula_3 if and only if λ+δ and μ+δ are on the same orbit of the Weyl group of "h"*, where δ is the half-sum of the positive roots.
Another closely related formulation is that the Harish-Chandra homomorphism from the center of the universal enveloping algebra "Z"("U"("g")) to "S"("h")"W" (the elements of the symmetric algebra of the Cartan subalgebra fixed by the Weyl group) is an isomorphism.
Applications.
The theorem may be used to obtain a simple algebraic proof of Weyl's character formula for finite-dimensional representations.
Further, it is a necessary condition for the existence of a nonzero homomorphism of some highest weight modules (a homomorphism of such modules preserves central character). A simple consequence is that for Verma modules or generalized Verma modules "V"λ with highest weight λ, there exist only finitely many weights μ such that a nonzero homomorphism "V"λ → "V"μ exists.