ABSTRACT

We shall give first a method due to Tits [1] for associating with a Lie algebra https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_1.tif"/> on which a three dimensional simple Lie algebra https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_2.tif"/> acts as derivations in a certain way which will be specified, a Jordan algebra https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_3.tif"/> and a Lie algebra https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_4.tif"/> of derivations in https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_5.tif"/> containing the inner derivations. Conversely given https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_6.tif"/> and https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_7.tif"/> one can construct https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_8.tif"/> . Taking https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_9.tif"/> to be an exceptional central simple Jordan algebra, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_10.tif"/> its derivation algebra, https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_11.tif"/> as indicated one obtains a Lie algebra of type E7. Tits′ assumption on https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_12.tif"/> are: 1) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_13.tif"/> is an https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_14.tif"/> -module such that x ⟶ [xa], https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_15.tif"/> , https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_16.tif"/> is a derivation, 2) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_17.tif"/> as https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_18.tif"/> -module is a sum of copies of https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_19.tif"/> (under the adjoint action) and the sub-algebra https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_20.tif"/> of https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_21.tif"/> -constants, 3) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_22.tif"/> contains no ideal ≠ 0 of https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_23.tif"/> . We need to recall some results on three dimensional simple Lie algebras over a field of characteristic ≠ 2. We note first that if https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_24.tif"/> is such an algebra then https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_25.tif"/> has a basis (e1, e2, e3) such that [ei ej] = αk ek> αk ≠ 0 in https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_26.tif"/> , (i,j,k) a cyclic permutation of (1,2,3) (see the author’s Lie Algebras, p. 13). Let (a , b) = − 1 2 tr ( ada ) ( adb ) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/eq161.tif"/> so (a, b) is − 1 2 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/eq162.tif"/> the Killing form on https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_27.tif"/> . Relative to the basis (e1, e2, e3) the matrix ((ei, ej)) is diag {α2 α3, α1α3, α1α2}. Hence (a, b) is non-degenerate. Also (a, b) is Lie invariant: ([ac], b) + (a, [bc]) = 0 or, in other words, adc: x ⟶ [ac] is skew relative to (a, b). Since the dimensionality of the Lie algebra of skew linear transformations in the vector space https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_28.tif"/> relative to (a, b) is 3(3–l)/2 =3 it is clear that the Lie algebra ad https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_29.tif"/> is the complete set of skew linear transformations in the vector space https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/pg68_30.tif"/> If i, j, k ≠ then 69[[ei ej]ek] = 0, [[eiej.]ei] = αjαkαj if (i, j, k) is a permutation of (1,2,3) These relations imply that [[eiej]ek] = (ei, ek)ej – (ej, ek) ei for all i, j, k. Hence we have by linearity, () [ [ab]c ] = ( a , c ) b − ( b , c ) a . https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203756478/4cadc9cc-32ae-4840-8f83-07e1ed499955/content/eq163.tif"/>