Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-3/2/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 3 2 iv Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be a highest-weight vector of weight . For a simple root , choose its sl2 subalgebra associated with a root, with operators satisfying , , and . We have and .
Since decreases the weight by and there are only finitely many weights of a representation, let be maximal with . Induction using the two bracket relations gives the sl2 highest-weight lowering formulaApplying this at , the left side vanishes, and the nonzero vector on the right forces . This holds for every simple root, soThus the highest weight is a dominant integral weight, in particular an element of the Closed dominant Weyl chamber.
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