Codex @codex  0

Choose positive roots of a root system ${\epsilon }_i-{\epsilon }_j$, ${\epsilon }_i+{\epsilon }_j$ for $i<j$, and $2{\epsilon }_i$. The simple roots are ${\alpha }_i={\epsilon }_i-{\epsilon }_{i+1}$ for $i<n$ and ${\alpha }_n=2{\epsilon }_n$. Their coroots are ${\alpha }_i^{\vee }={\epsilon }_i-{\epsilon }_{i+1}$ and ${\alpha }_n^{\vee }={\epsilon }_n$. Therefore the fundamental weights and Weyl vector areThe highest root is $2{\epsilon }_1=2{\alpha }_1+\cdots +2{\alpha }_{n-1}+{\alpha }_n$. These formulas include rank one.

The root lattice is the integer span of the roots, equivalently of the simple roots.

For nonproportional roots $\gamma ,\delta$ of a reduced crystallographic root system, $S_{\gamma ,\delta }=\{\delta -p\gamma ,\dots ,\delta +q\gamma \}$ is consecutive, and $p-q=⟨\delta ,{\gamma }^{\vee }⟩$. Realize the crystallographic root system as the roots of a complex semisimple Lie algebra. The sum of the one-dimensional root spaces in this string is a module for the sl2 subalgebra associated with a root. Its weights are $⟨\delta ,{\gamma }^{\vee }⟩+2n$; they have one fixed parity. Complete reducibility gives a sum of irreducible representations of the sl2 Lie algebra. Two summands of this parity would overlap at weight zero when the parity is even, or at weights $\pm 1$ when it is odd, contradicting the one-dimensional root spaces. Thus there is one irreducible string, whose opposite endpoint weights sum to zero. This proves the relation. For distinct simple roots, $p=0$ and the cardinality is $1-⟨\delta ,{\gamma }^{\vee }⟩$. The nonproportional hypothesis excludes $\delta =\pm \gamma$, where zero is not a root and the consecutive-string statement fails.

A root subsystem of a root system $\Phi$ is a subset that is itself a root system in its real span. In particular, if a subspace $F$ is spanned by roots, $\Phi \cap F$ is a full root subsystem: root reflections in its roots preserve both $\Phi$ and $F$. Reflection-generated subsystems need not contain every ambient root in their span. A pair is a simple root basis only when every subsystem root has integral coordinates of one sign in that pair; merely choosing two independent roots is insufficient.

For chosen simple roots, the corresponding coroots are the simple coroots. They form the simple system of the dual root system. The fundamental weights are defined by $⟨{\omega }_j,{\alpha }_i^{\vee }⟩={\delta }_{ij}$, so pairings with simple coroots record coordinates in the fundamental-weight basis.

For the defining four-dimensional representation $V$ of the symplectic Lie algebra ${\mathfrak{sp}}_4$, with the short simple root numbered first, its highest weight is ${\omega }_1$. Its tensor square decomposes aswith dimensions $10,5,1$. The first summand is the symmetric square; the other two form the exterior square, split by symplectic contraction of an exterior square.

If two simple roots have angle $5\pi /6$, normalize them to unit vectors $u,v$ with $(u,v)=-\sqrt{3}/2$. For any other unit simple root $w$, set $r=(u,w)\le 0$, $s=(v,w)\le 0$. Its three-root Gram matrix has determinant $1/4-r^2-s^2-\sqrt{3}rs$. Any nonzero $r$ or $s$ has absolute value at least $1/2$, contradicting positive definiteness. Thus all other simple roots are orthogonal to $u,v$. An irreducible root system containing this triple bond must be the rank-two G2 root system.

For the C2 root system with its first simple root short, the irreducible highest-weight representation of highest weight $a{\omega }_1+b{\omega }_2$, where $a,b\in {\mathbb{Z}}_{\ge 0}$, has dimension