Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 5 / 3

For a Young tableau $t$, let $R_t$ permute the entries within its rows and $C_t$ within its columns. We use the Young symmetrizer conventionReversing the order gives another usual realization of the same irreducible polynomial module. On the tensor power $T=V^{\otimes n}$, the actions areThey commute because applying $g$ to every factor commutes with permuting the factors.

We state the permitted combinatorial input explicitly. A Young symmetrizer satisfies $h_t^2=H_{\lambda }{h}_t$, where $H_{\lambda }$ is the nonzero hook product of a partition. Thus $e_t=H_{\lambda }^{-1}{h}_t$ is a primitive idempotent. The standard-tableau decomposition of the right regular module is $\mathbb{C}{S}_n={⨁}_{\lambda ,t\mathrm{standard}}{e}_t\mathbb{C}{S}_n$. Tensor this right-module direct sum with the left module $T$. The map $e_t\mathbb{C}{S}_n{\otimes }_{\mathbb{C}{S}_n}T\to e_{t}T$ sending $e_{t}a\otimes v$ to $e_{t}av$ is an isomorphism, with inverse $w\mapsto e_t\otimes w$. Therefore the Young-symmetrizer tensor decomposition isThis is a direct sum of $GL(V)$-modules; individual summands need not be $S_n$-invariant.

We also state the allowed Schur algebra result, namely Schur–Weyl duality: the two actions are mutual commutants, andwhere the $D_{\lambda }(V)$ are pairwise nonisomorphic irreducible homogeneous polynomial representations of degree $n$. We also use the standard Schur algebra equivalence between its modules and homogeneous degree-$n$ polynomial representations, so these exhaust the irreducibles in that category. A primitive idempotent $e_t$ has one-dimensional image on $S^{\lambda }$ and zero image on the other simple factors, so $h_{t}T\cong D_{\lambda }(V)$. This identifies the requested irreducibles. They classify the polynomial degree-$n$ representations in this tensor power, not all rational representations of every degree.

The length bound for a Schur module is $D_{\lambda }(V)\ne 0$ if and only if $\ell (\lambda )\le m$. A column of length greater than $m$ antisymmetrizes more than $m$ vectors and gives zero. Conversely, for $\ell (\lambda )\le m$, fill every tensor position in row $i$ with the $i$th basis vector of $V$. Row symmetrization multiplies it by ${\prod }_i{\lambda }_i!$, and column antisymmetrization is nonzero because the vectors within each column are distinct basis vectors.

A rational representation of an algebraic group is a regular morphism into the general linear group of its representation space. For $G{L}_m$, its matrix entries belong to $\mathbb{C}[g_{ij},\det (g{)}^{-1}]$; rational here permits determinant denominators but not arbitrary poles on $G{L}_m$. A one-dimensional rational character of ${\mathbb{C}}^{\times }$ is a Laurent polynomial $p(z)$ with $p(zw)=p(z)p(w)$ and $p(1)=1$. Comparing Laurent coefficients shows that just one monomial occurs and its coefficient is $1$, hence $p(z)=z^r$ for $r\in \mathbb{Z}$.

Restrict a one-dimensional rational character of $G{L}_m$ to its diagonal torus. The same argument in several variables gives ${\prod }_i{x}_i^{r_i}$. Conjugation by permutation matrices makes all $r_i$ equal. On every diagonalizable invertible matrix it consequently agrees with $(\det g{)}^r$. The allowed Zariski-density statement, and equality of regular functions on a dense subset, giveThese are the one-dimensional rational characters of the general linear group.

For complete reducibility of rational GL and SL representations, use the compact-group averaging argument. Average any positive definite Hermitian inner product over $SU(m)$ using normalized Haar measure. The orthogonal complement of an invariant subspace is then $SU(m)$-invariant. Differentiating makes it invariant under $\mathfrak{su}(m)$ and therefore under its complex span ${\mathfrak{sl}}_m(\mathbb{C})$. The elementary unipotent matrices $\exp (t{E}_{ij})$ generate $S{L}_m(\mathbb{C})$, so the complement is $S{L}_m$-invariant. This proves complete reducibility. Averaging over $U(m)$ similarly gives complete reducibility for rational $G{L}_m$ representations.

Here is an explicit rational extension from SL to GL. Decompose the representation space by the finite scalar center of $S{L}_m$ into subspaces $W_k$ on which $\zeta I$ acts as ${\zeta }^k$, with $0\le k<m$ and ${\zeta }^m=1$. These subspaces are invariant. For $g\in G{L}_m$, choose $a$ with $a^m=\det g$, set $s=a^{-1}g\in S{L}_m$, and defineChanging $a$ to $\zeta a$ changes $s$ to ${\zeta }^{-1}s$, so the two factors cancel. It is a homomorphism, since scalar roots multiply up to the same harmless factor, and it restricts to $\rho$ on $S{L}_m$.

It is rational as well. Every matrix coefficient of $\rho {|}_{W_k}$ has a polynomial representative on $S{L}_m$. Averaging that representative over the finite scalar center selects its homogeneous parts $P_d$ with $d\equiv k(\mathrm{mod}m)$. Substitution in the extension gives ${\sum }_d(\det g{)}^{(k-d)/m}{P}_d(g)$, a regular function on $G{L}_m$. Each $S{L}_m$-invariant subspace decomposes into its $W_k$ parts, and the extension acts on each part by a scalar times an $S{L}_m$ action. Thus these subspaces are also invariant under the chosen extension. Consequently $\rho$ is irreducible if and only if this ${\rho }^{\prime }$ is irreducible. For $m=1$, $S{L}_1$ is trivial and the trivial extension supplies the same conclusion.