A definition of Lie algebra
Topics
About: Lie algebra
The table of contents of this article
Starting Context
- The reader knows a definition of %field name% vectors space.
- The reader knows a definition of field.
Target Context
- The reader will have a definition of Lie algebra.
Orientation
There is a list of definitions discussed so far in this site.
There is a list of propositions discussed so far in this site.
Main Body
1: Definition
Any vectors space, \(V\), over any field, \(F\), with any bracket, \([\bullet, \bullet]: V \times V \rightarrow V\), such that for any \(v_1, v_2, v_3 \in V\) and any \(f_1, f_2 \in F\), 1) \([f_1 v_1 + f_2 v_2, v_3] = f_1 [v_1, v_3] + f_2 [v_2, v_3]\) and \([v_3, f_1 v_1 + f_2 v_2] = f_1 [v_3, v_1] + f_2 [v_3, v_2]\); 2) \([v_2, v_1] = - [v_1, v_2]\) 3) \(\sum_{cyclic} [v_1, [v_2, v_3]] = 0\)
2: Note
Lie algebra is not necessarily really an algebra, because the associative-ness, \([ [v_1, v_2], v_3] = [v_1, [v_2, v_3]]\), is not guaranteed to hold.
