 Fundamental and exterior-square weight systems of type A

For the special unitary group $SU(N)$, put ${\epsilon }_i=e_i-N^{-1}{\sum }_j{e}_j$. Its defining representation has weight system $\{{\epsilon }_i\}$, and its exterior square has weight system $\{{\epsilon }_i+{\epsilon }_j:i<j\}$; each has multiplicity one. Their dual representations negate the weights of a representation. The Dynkin label coordinates are $({\epsilon }_i{)}_r={\delta }_{ir}-{\delta }_{i,r+1}$. These follow by evaluating diagonal traceless generators on coordinate vectors and their exterior products.

Under the standard embedding $SU(N-1)\subset SU(N)$, the last defining weight of a representation restricts to zero and the others become the defining weights of a representation of $SU(N-1)$. Splitting pairs according to whether they contain the last index proves the branching of a representation $V_N\downarrow =V_{N-1}\oplus 1$ and ${\Lambda }^2{V}_N\downarrow ={\Lambda }^2{V}_{N-1}\oplus V_{N-1}$, including multiplicities.