Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-3/5/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 3 5 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the standard sl2 Lie algebra relations , and . The classification of finite-dimensional sl2 representations says that every finite-dimensional complex module is a direct sum of , , where has weights . The raising operator and lowering operator move weights by two and minus two. On each therefore has st power zero. There is consequently one integer such that on all of .
The matrix exponentials are thus finite polynomials in nilpotent operators:Each is a well-defined endomorphism, and its inverse is obtained by negating the argument. Their product is therefore a linear automorphism,This Weyl reflection lift in an sl2 representation is algebraically defined by finite sums; no choice of topology or convergence of an infinite series is needed.
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