Uniqueness of an invariant bilinear form on a simple Lie algebra

ID: uniqueness-of-an-invariant-bilinear-form-on-a-simple-lie-algebra

Every invariant bilinear form on a finite-dimensional complex simple Lie algebra is a scalar multiple of its Killing form. A nondegenerate invariant form identifies the algebra with its dual; comparing this identification with the Killing form gives an endomorphism of the irreducible adjoint representation, so Schur lemma makes it scalar.

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