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A Lie algebra representation $V$ is completely reducible when it is a direct sum of irreducible submodules. In finite dimension this is equivalent to saying that every submodule $W\subseteq V$ has an invariant complementary subspace. Indeed, one may split off a minimal nonzero submodule and induct on dimension; conversely, if $V$ is a finite sum of simple submodules, choose a maximal sum $U$ of these with $U\cap W=0$. If $W+U\ne V$, some simple summand $S$ is not contained in $W+U$. Then $S\cap (W+U)=0$ by simplicity, so $U+S$ is a larger sum disjoint from $W$, a contradiction. Thus $V=W\oplus U$.

We prove the required splitting by Haar averaging produces invariant complements. The structural input is the compact real form of a complex semisimple Lie algebra: there is a real semisimple algebra $\mathfrak{k}$ with $L=\mathfrak{k}\oplus i\mathfrak{k}$, whose simply connected integrating Lie group $K$ is compact. This structural fact is independent of the complete-reducibility assertion. One standard construction uses root vectors normalized so that $[e_{\alpha },e_{-\alpha }]=h_{\alpha }$, with real structure constants compatible with the involution $e_{\alpha }\mapsto -e_{-\alpha }$ and $h_{\alpha }\mapsto -h_{\alpha }$. The real spanis closed under brackets, complexifies to $L$, and has negative-definite Killing form. The compactness criterion for real semisimple Lie algebras then gives a compact simply connected $K$. Thus this route uses root structure and compact integration, not the theorem being proved.

Restrict $\rho :L\to {\mathrm{End}}_{\mathbb{C}}(V)$ to $\mathfrak{k}$. The integration of a Lie-algebra representation gives a representation $R:K\to {\mathrm{GL}}_{\mathbb{C}}(V)$, since $K$ is simply connected. Choose any positive-definite Hermitian inner product $⟨,{⟩}_0$ and average using normalized Haar measure:The integral exists by compactness. It is positive-definite because $R(g)v\ne 0$ for $v\ne 0$, and it is $K$-invariant by translation invariance of Haar measure. Equivalently, every $\rho (a)$ with $a\in \mathfrak{k}$ is skew-Hermitian for this inner product.

Let $W$ be an $L$-submodule. It is invariant under $\mathfrak{k}$, hence under the exponentials generating the connected group $K$. For $v\in W^{\perp }$, $w\in W$ and $g\in K$,Consequently the orthogonal complement $W^{\perp }$ is $K$-invariant, and differentiation makes it $\mathfrak{k}$-invariant. It is a complex vector subspace, so it is also invariant under $i\mathfrak{k}$ and hence under $L$. Therefore $V=W\oplus W^{\perp }$ as $L$-modules.

Induction on $\dim V$ now expresses $V$ as a finite direct sum of irreducible submodules. Every finite-dimensional representation of a finite-dimensional complex semisimple Lie algebra is completely reducible. The compact real form need not be the real form originally used to present $L$; in particular the averaging argument does not require the given presentation to be unitary.

Choose a base of a root system and its positive roots, so that the triangular decomposition of a Lie algebra is $L={\mathfrak{n}}^{-}\oplus H\oplus {\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$. A primitive element of a Lie algebra representation of weight $\omega \in H^{\ast }$ is a nonzero vector $v$ such thatEquivalently it is a highest-weight vector. Being primitive depends on the chosen positive system; no integrality condition is part of this definition.

Construct the Verma module for an arbitrary $\omega$. The subalgebra $\mathfrak{b}=H\oplus {\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$ has a one-dimensional module ${\mathbb{C}}_{\omega }$ on which $H$ acts by $\omega$ and ${\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$ acts by zero. This is a representation because $[\mathfrak{b},\mathfrak{b}]\subseteq {\mathfrak{n}}^{+}$. Setwhere $U$ denotes the universal enveloping algebra. The Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt theorem, applied with negative-root vectors first, then Cartan vectors and positive-root vectors, givesas vector spaces. In particular $v_{\omega }=1\otimes 1$ is nonzero, generates $M(\omega )$, and is primitive of weight $\omega$.

The same ordered monomials show that $M(\omega )$ is a direct sum of weight spaces, with weights of the formand that its weight-$\omega$ space is exactly $\mathbb{C}{v}_{\omega }$. Each vector has only finitely many weight components. If a submodule contains a vector with nonzero weight-$\omega$ component, choose $h\in H$ that separates $\omega$ from the finitely many other weights of that vector. Polynomial interpolation in the action of $h$ extracts a nonzero multiple of $v_{\omega }$. Such a submodule is all of $M(\omega )$, because $v_{\omega }$ generates it. Consequently every proper submodule has zero component in weight $\omega$.

Let $N$ be the sum of all proper submodules. Every finite sum still has zero weight-$\omega$ component, so $N$ is proper; it contains every proper submodule and is therefore the unique maximal proper submodule. Its quotientis irreducible, and the nonzero image of $v_{\omega }$ is primitive of weight $\omega$. This proves existence for every $\omega \in H^{\ast }$ and gives the irreducible quotient of a Verma module. It also proves uniqueness up to isomorphism among irreducible modules generated by a primitive vector of that weight: the defining relations induce a surjection from $M(\omega )$, whose proper kernel must be $N$.

These modules are not generally finite-dimensional. For example, in an ${\mathfrak{sl}}_2$ root subalgebra, a primitive vector with $hv=\lambda v$ satisfiesIf its irreducible highest-weight module is finite-dimensional, the weight-lowering sequence eventually stops. For the first $m$ with $f^{m+1}v=0$ and $f^{m}v\ne 0$, the identity forces $\lambda =m\in {\mathbb{Z}}_{\ge 0}$. In general a finite-dimensional highest-weight module therefore requires nonnegative integral values on all simple coroots; arbitrary $\omega$ in the request must allow infinite-dimensional representations. This is consistent with the finite-dimensional qualification made in Question 2.

For simple coroots $h_1,\dots ,h_r$ forming a basis of $H$, the fundamental weights are the dual basis ${\omega }_1,\dots ,{\omega }_r\in H^{\ast }$:For the special linear Lie algebra ${\mathfrak{sl}}_3(\mathbb{C})$, take the diagonal trace-zero Cartan subalgebra and positive roots corresponding to upper triangular matrix units. Write ${\epsilon }_i(\mathrm{diag}(t_1,t_2,t_3))=t_i$. The simple roots are ${\alpha }_1={\epsilon }_1-{\epsilon }_2$, ${\alpha }_2={\epsilon }_2-{\epsilon }_3$, and the simple coroots areThe fundamental weights of sl3 are thereforeChecking these on $h_1,h_2$ gives the two coordinate vectors $(1,0)$ and $(0,1)$. In the Euclidean trace-zero plane they can also be writtenThe Fundamental representations of sl3 make these weights concrete: ${\mathbb{C}}^3$ has primitive vector $e_1$ of weight ${\omega }_1$, and ${\Lambda }^2{\mathbb{C}}^3$ has primitive vector $e_1\wedge e_2$ of weight ${\omega }_2$. Every finite-dimensional irreducible highest weight is $a{\omega }_1+b{\omega }_2$ with nonnegative integers $a,b$.

A standard Young tableau has its entries increasing from left to right in each row and from top to bottom in each column. For the convention $h_t=c_t{r}_t$, use column-reading order of standard Young tableaux: read columns from left to right, each from top to bottom, and compare the resulting words lexicographically. This makes the requested product direction explicit. The order and the symmetrizer multiplication convention must be chosen together.

We prove the vanishing claim. Suppose the rows of $t$ and the columns of $u$ have no collision. The argument in Question 1 shows that every column of $u$ contains one entry from each eligible row of $t$. Its first column thus selects one entry from every row. Each selected entry is at least the first entry of that row in $t$. Sorting the selected entries, as the standard tableau $u$ does, gives a column componentwise at least the first column of $t$: increasing individual entries cannot decrease any order statistic. If the columns are equal, equality of their sums forces every selected entry to be that row's first entry. Delete this common column and repeat. At the first differing column, its first differing entry in $u$ is therefore larger; otherwise $u=t$. Thus absence of a collision implies $u\ge t$ in column-reading order of standard Young tableaux.

If $t>u$, there must instead be a transposition in $R_t\cap C_u$. It fixes $r_t$ and negates $c_u$, giving $r_t{c}_u=0$. HenceThis is triangular vanishing of Young-symmetrizer products; it does not assert vanishing in the opposite order.

Normalize to $e_t=h_t/H_{\lambda }$. List all standard tableaux in increasing shape dictionary order on integer partitions, and within each shape in increasing column-reading order of standard Young tableaux. Then $e_i{e}_j=0$ for $i>j$, using Question 1 between different shapes and the result above within a shape. The left ideals $A{e}_i$ have an internal direct sum: if ${\sum }_i{z}_i=0$ with $z_i\in A{e}_i$, multiply on the right by $e_1$ to get $z_1=0$, since $z_1{e}_1=z_1$ and every later $z_i{e}_1=0$. Repeat with $e_2,e_3,\dots$. This proves directness without incorrectly treating all the idempotents as mutually orthogonal.

Let $f_{\lambda }$ count the standard tableaux of shape $\lambda$ and let $d_{\lambda }=\dim S^{\lambda }$. In the regular representation a simple module of dimension $d_{\lambda }$ occurs $d_{\lambda }$ times, by the Artin–Wedderburn theorem. The direct sum just constructed contains $f_{\lambda }$ copies of $S^{\lambda }$, so $f_{\lambda }\le d_{\lambda }$ for every shape. We supply the needed counting identity independently of the dimension conclusion.

The Robinson–Schensted correspondence bijects permutations with pairs of standard tableaux of the same shape. Here is its row insertion construction and inverse. Insert the successive permutation entries into an increasing row by replacing its first entry larger than the incoming entry, bumping that replaced entry into the next row; if no entry is larger, append at the row end. Continue until a new cell is created. Record the insertion time in that cell of a second tableau. For completeness, the successive bumped entries strictly increase, and their column indices weakly decrease: an entry below a bumped entry was originally larger, so the next replacement occurs no farther right. The entry newly placed in each row is smaller than the entry removed and larger than the entry above it. At a strictly earlier column, that last inequality follows from row increase in the preceding row; at the same column, it follows from the preceding bump. Hence the insertion tableau keeps increasing rows and columns. If a new cell is appended below the first row, the preceding bump guarantees that the row above reaches that column, so the shape stays a Young diagram. Recording times also increase in rows and columns, since every new cell is an outer corner of the current diagram. Thus both tableaux are standard at the end. Conversely, remove the cell with the largest recording label. Reverse its bumping path upward, replacing in each preceding row the rightmost entry smaller than the moving entry and moving the displaced entry upward. This recovers the last inserted letter; iterating recovers the entire permutation. The two rules undo one another at each row. ThusSemisimplicity also gives $n!={\sum }_{\lambda }{d}_{\lambda }^2$. Since $0\le f_{\lambda }\le d_{\lambda }$ termwise, equality of these sums forces $f_{\lambda }=d_{\lambda }$ for every shape. The internal direct sum has dimension $n!$ and hence fills $A$:There is also a useful numerical form. Right multiplication by $e_t$ is an idempotent with image $A{e}_t$. In the permutation basis of $A$, each diagonal coefficient is the coefficient of $1$ in $e_t$, namely $1/H_{\lambda }$. Its trace equals its rank, so $\dim S^{\lambda }=n!/H_{\lambda }$. Together with the count just obtained this recovers the hook-length formula.

For a partition $\nu$ with at most $m$ parts, let $D_{\nu }(V)$ be the Schur module constructed in Question 3, equivalently the image of a Young symmetrizer on $V^{\otimes |\nu |}$. For a weakly decreasing integer tuple $\lambda$, put $k=\max (0,-{\lambda }_m)$ and $\nu =\lambda +k(1,\dots ,1)$. Define the rational Schur module byHere ${\det }^{-k}$ is the one-dimensional representation $g\mapsto \det (g{)}^{-k}$. This is rational, and it is irreducible under the permitted irreducibility assumption; for nonnegative $\lambda$ it is the original polynomial Schur module. Larger shifts give the same module, as will also follow from the character formula below.

Write $s_r(x)={\sum }_{i=1}^m{x}_i^r$ and $p_{\alpha }(x)={\prod }_{r=1}^n{s}_r(x{)}^{{\alpha }_r}$. For a permutation $\sigma$ of the given cycle type, the trace of a permuted tensor power isIn a tensor basis, the trace contracts the matrix entries of $\xi$ around each cycle of $\sigma$; a cycle of length $r$ contributes $\mathrm{tr}({\xi }^r)$. This proof applies to nondiagonalizable endomorphisms as well. The eigenvalues give $\mathrm{tr}({\xi }^r)=s_r(x)$.

The Schur–Weyl duality decomposition, on which $\sigma$ and ${\xi }^{\otimes n}$ act on the two respective factors, gives the same trace asFor a partition, the character extends polynomially to all endomorphisms because the tensor-power action does. This extension is not asserted for determinant-twisted modules at singular matrices.

We now derive the alternant character formula for the general linear group. Put $\delta =(m-1,m-2,\dots ,0)$ andUse the permitted symmetric-group character result, the Frobenius alternant character formula:It concerns characters of $S_n$, rather than assuming the character formula we seek for the general linear group. Substitute the proved trace identity and setThen ${\chi }^{\lambda }(\alpha )={\sum }_{\mu }{c}_{\lambda \mu }{\chi }^{\mu }(\alpha )$ for every conjugacy class. Independence of the irreducible symmetric-group characters forces $c_{\lambda \mu }={\delta }_{\lambda \mu }$.

Each character ${\varphi }_{\mu }$ on diagonal matrices is a symmetric homogeneous polynomial of degree $n$, since conjugation by permutation matrices permutes its arguments. Thus $a_{\delta }{\varphi }_{\mu }$ is alternating of degree $n+\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{m}{2}\right)$. Every alternating polynomial of this degree has a unique expansion in alternants $a_{\lambda +\delta }$: a monomial with repeated exponents has zero coefficient, while each strictly decreasing nonnegative exponent vector is uniquely $\lambda +\delta$ for a partition $\lambda$ of $n$ with at most $m$ parts. Its coefficient at $x^{\lambda +\delta }$ is the coefficient of that alternant. The identities for $c_{\lambda \mu }$ therefore give $a_{\delta }{\varphi }_{\mu }=a_{\mu +\delta }$. We have derived the Weyl character formulaFor partitions the quotient is the Schur polynomial, with removable apparent singularities when eigenvalues coincide. For arbitrary dominant integer tuples, multiply the formula for $\nu$ by $(x_1\cdots x_m{)}^{-k}$; this shifts every numerator exponent by $-k$ and yields the same boxed formula. The variables must then be nonzero. The expression also shows independence of the shift used to define the determinant twist. Equality of characters identifies these irreducible modules: the group-algebra image on a direct sum of two irreducibles is finite-dimensional and semisimple, and its span of group operators detects the traces on every simple block.

Finally, the character of a dual representation evaluates the original character at $x_i^{-1}$. Reverse the numerator's columns after making this substitution. The exponents become $-{\lambda }_{m+1-j}+1-j$. Factoring $(x_1\cdots x_m{)}^{-(m-1)}$ converts these into ${\mu }_j+m-j$ for ${\mu }_j=-{\lambda }_{m+1-j}$. The denominator undergoes the identical column reversal and factor, so both signs and factors cancel. Hence ${\varphi }_{\lambda }(x^{-1})={\varphi }_{\mu }(x)$, andThis tuple is again weakly decreasing, so it is precisely the required dominant label.

The coordinate ring is $\mathbb{C}[W]=\mathrm{Sym}(W^{\ast })$. The induced action is contragredient on functions:It is a group action by degree-preserving algebra automorphisms, extending the dual action on linear polynomial functions. Its polynomial invariant ring isFor a monic polynomial $f(t)={\prod }_{i=1}^d(t-r_i)$, its polynomial discriminant is $\mathrm{disc}(f)={\prod }_{i<j}(r_i-r_j{)}^2$. This is symmetric in the roots, hence polynomial in the coefficients, and is zero exactly when a root is repeated.

For the alternating group action, let $e_1,\dots ,e_n$ be the elementary symmetric polynomials and put $\Delta ={\prod }_{i<j}(X_i-X_j)$. If $p$ is $A_n$-invariant and $\tau$ is any transposition, decomposeNormality and index two of $A_n$ show that $p_{+}$ is symmetric and $p_{-}$ transforms by the sign character of $S_n$. Any alternating polynomial vanishes when $X_i=X_j$, so every $X_i-X_j$ divides it. These pairwise nonassociate prime factors have product $\Delta$, so $p_{-}=\Delta q$ with $q$ symmetric. The Fundamental theorem of symmetric polynomials yieldsThe sum is direct, since a polynomial that is both symmetric and alternating is zero in characteristic zero. Also ${\Delta }^2=D(e_1,\dots ,e_n)$, where $D$ is the discriminant polynomial ofThus, more precisely than the requested quotient assertion,Surjectivity follows from the direct-sum expression. Divide any putative kernel element by the monic quadratic in $Z$; its remainder is $a(T)+Zb(T)$. The direct sum forces $a(e)=b(e)=0$, and algebraic independence of the $e_i$ gives $a=b=0$. Hence the displayed relation is the entire kernel. The argument also covers $n=2$, where $A_2$ is trivial.

Now let $G$ be finite with no nontrivial linear characters, and write $R=\mathbb{C}[W]$, $S=R^G$. The polynomial ring $R$ is a unique factorization domain. Factor a nonzero invariant $f$ in $R$; invariance permutes the associate classes of its irreducible factors and makes their exponents constant on each orbit. For an orbit $\mathcal{O}$, choose representatives and form its orbit product of polynomial factorsFor every $g$, $g\cdot q_{\mathcal{O}}=\theta (g)q_{\mathcal{O}}$ for a nonzero scalar $\theta (g)$. Applying two group elements proves that $\theta :G\to {\mathbb{C}}^{\times }$ is a homomorphism. The hypothesis forces $\theta =1$, so $q_{\mathcal{O}}\in S$.

This orbit product is prime in $S$. If it divides $ab$ with $a,b\in S$, one factor $p\in \mathcal{O}$ divides $a$ or $b$ in $R$. Invariance of that chosen polynomial makes every factor in the orbit divide it. Their product therefore divides it in $R$, and the quotient is invariant because numerator and denominator are invariant and cancellation is valid in the integral domain $R$. Thus $q_{\mathcal{O}}$ divides $a$ or $b$ in $S$. Every nonzero $f\in S$ is a scalar times a product of these prime orbit products, and the only units of $S$ are nonzero constants, as they are units in $R$. Therefore $\mathbb{C}[W{]}^G$ is a unique factorization domain. This gives a direct proof, without assuming a divisor-class-group theorem.

For a failure in characteristic zero, let the cyclic group of order two act on ${\mathbb{C}}^2$ by $-I$. Its coordinate invariants areEvery invariant monomial has even total degree: its exponents are either both even, or both odd, giving the indicated generators. Reducing powers of $b$ to at most one shows that $ac-b^2$ is the only relation, since $a^i{c}^j$ and $b{a}^i{c}^j$ map to distinct monomials. The three quadratic invariants are irreducible in $S$: each nonconstant invariant has degree at least two, so a product of two nonunits has degree at least four. They are pairwise nonassociate, butgives two different irreducible factorizations. Hence this invariant ring is not a unique factorization domain. The nontrivial sign character is precisely the kind of character excluded in the preceding theorem.

We use Zorn's lemma, and no basis or other existence theorem from linear algebra. A subset $B\subseteq V$ is linearly independent if every finite relation ${\sum }_{b\in F}{\lambda }_{b}b=0$ forces every coefficient to be zero.

Order the linearly independent subsets by inclusion. This partially ordered set is nonempty, because the empty subset is independent. An empty chain has the empty subset as an upper bound. For any nonempty chain, its union is independent: every finite subset of that union lies in one member of the chain. Indeed choose one chain member containing each of its finitely many vectors, then take the largest among that finite collection of comparable members. Every finite relation in the union is therefore a relation in an independent chain member. The union is an upper bound.

Zorn's lemma gives a maximal independent subset $B$. If $v$ were outside its span, then $B\cup \{v\}$ would still be independent. In a finite relationa nonzero $\lambda$ could be inverted in the field $k$, placing $v$ in the span of $B$. If $\lambda =0$, independence of $B$ forces the remaining coefficients to be zero. This contradicts maximality, so $B$ spans $V$.

Define the free module on $B$ as the direct sum $k^{(B)}={⨁}_{b\in B}k$: its elements are coefficient families with finite support. The mapis a module homomorphism. Spanning proves surjectivity; independence proves injectivity. Hence the vector-space freeness from maximal independence givesFinite support is essential; this is a direct sum, not an unrestricted product. The zero vector space uses $B=\varnothing$ and is free of rank zero. The proof for arbitrary vector spaces explicitly uses the axiom of choice through Zorn's lemma.