Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-102/1/a/i/solution

Write for the standard generators of the sl2 Lie algebra. For the representation , use the normalization
This is the quadratic Casimir element, and by assumption it commutes with every .
Schur lemma says that an endomorphism of a finite-dimensional irreducible complex representation which commutes with the representation is a scalar. Hence when is irreducible.
Let be a highest-weight vector of highest weight , so and . Since ,
Therefore
It follows from scalarity that
This is the Casimir eigenvalue for sl2 in the chosen normalization.

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