We prove that for simple complex finite dimensional Lie algebras, affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras, the Virasoro algebra and the Heisenberg-Virasoro algebra, simple highest weight modules are characterized by the property that all positive root elements act on these modules locally nilpotently. We also show that this is not the case for higher rank Virasoro and for Heisenberg algebras.

In this paper we study left invariant Einstein-Randers metrics on compact Lie groups. First, we give a method to construct left invariant non-Riemannian Einstein-Randers metrics on a compact Lie group, using the Zermelo navigation data. Then we prove that this gives a complete classification of left invariant Einstein-Randers metrics on compact simple Lie groups with the underlying Riemannian metric naturally reductive. Further, we completely determine the identity component of the group of isometries for this type of metrics on simple groups. Finally, we study some geometric properties of such metrics. In particular, we give the formulae of geodesics and flag curvature of such metrics.

We correct an oversight in the the paper Cartan Subalgebras of $\mathrm{gl}_\infty$, Canad. Math. Bull. 46(2003), no. 4, 597-616. doi: 10.4153/CMB-2003-056-1

Given a complex semisimple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}=\mathfrak{k}+i\mathfrak{k}$ ($\mathfrak{k}$ is a compact real form of $\mathfrak{g}$), let $\pi\colon\mathfrak{g}\to \mathfrak{h}$ be the orthogonal projection (with respect to the Killing form) onto the Cartan subalgebra $\mathfrak{h}:=\mathfrak{t}+i\mathfrak{t}$, where $\mathfrak{t}$ is a maximal abelian subalgebra of $\mathfrak{k}$. Given $x\in \mathfrak{g}$, we consider $\pi(\mathop{\textrm{Ad}}(K) x)$, where $K$ is the analytic subgroup $G$ corresponding to $\mathfrak{k}$, and show that it is star-shaped. The result extends a result of Tsing. We also consider the generalized numerical range $f(\mathop{\textrm{Ad}}(K)x)$, where $f$ is a linear functional on $\mathfrak{g}$. We establish the star-shapedness of $f(\mathop{\textrm{Ad}}(K)x)$ for simple Lie algebras of type $B$.

We count the number of strictly positive $B$-stable ideals in the nilradical of a Borel subalgebra and prove that the minimal roots of any $B$-stable ideal are conjugate by an element of the Weyl group to a subset of the simple roots. We also count the number of ideals whose minimal roots are conjugate to a fixed subset of simple roots.

Let $n=2m$ be even and denote by $\Sp_n(F)$ the symplectic group of rank $m$ over an infinite field $F$ of characteristic different from $2$. We show that any $n\times n$ symmetric matrix $A$ is equivalent under symplectic congruence transformations to the direct sum of $m\times m$ matrices $B$ and $C$, with $B$ diagonal and $C$ tridiagonal. Since the $\Sp_n(F)$-module of symmetric $n\times n$ matrices over $F$ is isomorphic to the adjoint module $\sp_n(F)$, we infer that any adjoint orbit of $\Sp_n(F)$ in $\sp_n(F)$ has a representative in the sum of $3m-1$ root spaces, which we explicitly determine.

Let $V$ be a vector space over a field $\mathbb{K}$ of characteristic zero and $V_*$ be a space of linear functionals on $V$ which separate the points of $V$. We consider $V\otimes V_*$ as a Lie algebra of finite rank operators on $V$, and set $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*) := V\otimes V_*$. We define a Cartan subalgebra of $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*)$ as the centralizer of a maximal subalgebra every element of which is semisimple, and then give the following description of all Cartan subalgebras of $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*)$ under the assumption that $\mathbb{K}$ is algebraically closed. A subalgebra of $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*)$ is a Cartan subalgebra if and only if it equals $\bigoplus_j \bigl( V_j \otimes (V_j)_* \bigr) \oplus (V^0 \otimes V_*^0)$ for some one-dimensional subspaces $V_j \subseteq V$ and $(V_j)_* \subseteq V_*$ with $(V_i)_* (V_j) = \delta_{ij} \mathbb{K}$ and such that the spaces $V_*^0 = \bigcap_j (V_j)^\bot \subseteq V_*$ and $V^0 = \bigcap_j \bigl( (V_j)_* \bigr)^\bot \subseteq V$ satisfy $V_*^0 (V^0) = \{0\}$. We then discuss explicit constructions of subspaces $V_j$ and $(V_j)_*$ as above. Our second main result claims that a Cartan subalgebra of $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*)$ can be described alternatively as a locally nilpotent self-normalizing subalgebra whose adjoint representation is locally finite, or as a subalgebra $\mathfrak{h}$ which coincides with the maximal locally nilpotent $\mathfrak{h}$-submodule of $\mathfrak{gl} (V,V_*)$, and such that the adjoint representation of $\mathfrak{h}$ is locally finite.

An integral formula is derived for the spherical functions on the symmetric space $G/K=\break \SO_0(p,q)/\SO(p)\times \SO(q)$. This formula allows us to state some results about the analytic continuation of the spherical functions to a tubular neighbourhood of the subalgebra $\a$ of the abelian part in the decomposition $G=KAK$. The corresponding result is then obtained for the heat kernel of the symmetric space $\SO_0(p,q)/\SO (p)\times\SO (q)$ using the Plancherel formula. In the Conclusion, we discuss how this analytic continuation can be a helpful tool to study the growth of the heat kernel.