I.M. Gelfand and V.A. Ponomarev (1969) proved that the problem of classifying pairs (A,B) of commuting nilpotent operators on a vector space contains the problem of classifying an arbitrary t-tuple of linear operators. Moreover, it contains the problem of classifying representations of an arbitrary quiver, and so it is considered as hopeless. We give a simple normal form of the matrices of (A,B) if the intersection of kernels of A and B is one-dimensional. We prove that this form is canonical if the Jordan matrix of A is a direct sum of Jordan blocks of the same size and the field is of zero characteristic.
We prove that the nilpotent commuting variety of a reductive Lie algebra over an algebraically closed field of good characteristic is equidimensional. In characteristic zero, this confirms a conjecture of Vladimir Baranovsky. As a by-product, we obtain tat the punctual (local) Hilbert scheme parametrising the ideals of colength $n$ in $k[[X,Y]]$ is irreducible over any algebraically closed field $k$.
Let U be the unipotent radical of a Borel subgroup of a connected reductive algebraic group G, which is defined over an algebraically closed field k. In this paper, we extend work by Goodwin-Röhrle concerning the commuting variety of Lie(U) for char(k)=0 to fields, whose characteristic is good for G
We study the variety of n by n matrices with commutator of rank at most one. We describe its irreducible components; two of them correspond to the pairs of commuting matrices, and n-2 components of smaller dimension corresponding to the pairs of rank one commutator. In our proof we define a map to the zero fiber of the Hilbert scheme of points and study the image and the fibers.
We provide a list of canonical forms for all pairs of commuting nilpotent $4\times 4$ matrices over an algebraically closed field under simultaneous similarity.
Let $\mathfrak{g}$ be the $p$-dimensional Witt algebra over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p>3$. Let $\mathscr{N}={x\in\ggg\mid x^{[p]}=0}$ be the nilpotent variety of $\mathfrak{g}$, and $\mathscr{C}(\mathscr{N}):=\{(x,y)\in \mathscr{N}\times\mathscr{N}\mid [x,y]=0\}$ the nilpotent commuting variety of $\mathfrak{g}$. As an analogue of Premet's result in the case of classical Lie algebras [A. Premet, Nilpotent commuting varieties of reductive Lie algebras. Invent. Math., 154, 653-683, 2003.], we show that the variety $\mathscr{C}(\mathscr{N})$ is reducible and equidimens…
The paper studies the dimensions of irreducible components of commuting varieties of (restricted) nilpotent $r$-tuples in a classical Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ defined over an algebraically closed field $k$. As applications, we obtain some new results on the structure of the (even) cohomology ring of Frobenius kernels $G_r$ for each $r\ge 1$, where $G$ is the simply connected, simple algebraic group such that $\text{Lie}(G)=\mathfrak{g}$. Explicit calculations for rank two groups are also presented.
Let $\N_n$ be the set of nilpotent $n$ by $n$ matrices over an algebraically closed field $k$. For each $r\ge 2$, let $C_r(\N_n)$ be the variety consisting of all pairwise commuting $r$-tuples of nilpotent matrices. It is well-kown that $C_2(\N_n)$ is irreducible for every $n$. We study in this note the reducibility of $C_r(\N_n)$ for various values of $n$ and $r$. In particular it will be shown that the reducibility of $C_r(\mathfrak{gl}_n)$, the variety of commuting $r$-tuples of $n$ by $n$ matrices, implies that of $C_r(\N_n)$ under certain condition. Then we prove that $C_r(\N_n)$ is reduc…
In this paper we determine, for all $r$ sufficiently large, the irreducible component(s) of maximal dimension of the variety of commuting $r$-tuples of nilpotent elements of $\mathfrak{gl}_n$. Our main result is that in characteristic $\neq 2,3$, this nilpotent commuting variety has dimension $(r+1)\lfloor \frac{n^2}{4}\rfloor$ for $n\geq 4$, $r\geq 7$. We use this to find the dimension of the (ordinary) $r$-th commuting varieties of $\mathfrak{gl}_n$ and $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ for the same range of values of $r$ and $n$. Our principal motivation is the connection between nilpotent commuting variet…
This paper addresses various questions about pairs of similarity classes of matrices which contain commuting elements. In the case of matrices over finite fields, we show that the problem of determining such pairs reduces to a question about nilpotent classes; this reduction makes use of class types in the sense of Steinberg and Green. We investigate the set of scalars that arise as determinants of elements of the centralizer algebra of a matrix, providing a complete description of this set in terms of the class type of the matrix. Several results are established concerning the commuting of ni…
To any pair of commuting n x n nilpotent matrices it is associated a pair of partitions of n. We describe a maximal nilpotent subalgebra of the centralizer of a given nilpotent n x n matrix and prove a conjecture of Polona Oblak which consists in an algorithm for the determination of the maximum partition which forms with a given partition a pair with the previous property.
Let X and Y be commuting nilpotent K-endomorphisms of a vector space V, where K is a field of characteristic p >= 0. If F=K(t) is the field of rational functions on the projective line, consider the K(t)-endomorphism A=X+tY of V. If p=0, or if the (p-1)-st power of A is 0, we show here that X and Y are tangent to the unipotent radical of the centralizer of A in GL(V). For all geometric points (a:b) of a suitable open subset of the projective line, it follows that X and Y are tangent to the unipotent radical of the centralizer of aX+bY. This answers a question of J. Pevtsova.
It is well-known that a nilpotent n by n matrix B is determined up to conjugacy by a partition of n formed by the sizes of the Jordan blocks of B. We call this partition the Jordan type of B. We obtain partial results on the following problem: for any partition P of n describe the type Q(P) of a generic nilpotent matrix commuting with a given nilpotent matrix of type P. A conjectural description for Q(P) was given by P. Oblak and restated by L. Khatami. In this paper we prove "half" of this conjecture by showing that this conjectural type is less than or equal to Q(P) in the dominance order on…
The Jordan type of a nilpotent matrix is the partition giving the sizes of its Jordan blocks. We study pairs of partitions $(P,Q)$, where $Q={\mathcal Q}(P)$ is the Jordan type of a generic nilpotent matrix A commuting with a nilpotent matrix B of Jordan type $ P$. T. Košir and P. Oblak have shown that $Q$ has parts that differ pairwise by at least two. Such partitions, which are also known as "super distinct" or "Rogers-Ramanujan", are exactly those that are stable or "self-large" in the sense that ${\mathcal Q}(Q)=Q$. In 2012 P. Oblak formulated a conjecture concerning the cardinality of the…
It is known that the variety parametrizing pairs of commuting nilpotent matrices is irreducible and that this provides a proof of the irreducibility of the punctual Hilbert scheme in the plane. We extend this link to the nilpotent commuting variety of parabolic subalgebras of $M\_n(\K)$ and to the punctual nested Hilbert scheme. By this method, we obtain a lower bound on the dimension of these moduli spaces. We characterize the numerical conditions under which they are irreducible. In some reducible cases, we describe the irreducible components and their dimension.
Let $G$ be a simple algebraic group defined over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p$ and let $\g$ be the Lie algebra of $G$. It is well known that for $p$ large enough the spectrum of the cohomology ring for the $r$-th Frobenius kernel of $G$ is homeomorphic to the commuting variety of $r$-tuples of elements in the nilpotent cone of $\g$ [Suslin-Friedlander-Bendel, J. Amer. Math. Soc, \textbf{10} (1997), 693--728]. In this paper, we study both geometric and algebraic properties including irreducibility, singularity, normality and Cohen-Macaulayness of the commuting varietie…
Let g be a complex reductive Lie algebra with Cartan algebra h. Hotta and Kashiwara defined a holonomic D-module M, on g x h, called Harish-Chandra module. We relate gr(M), an associated graded module with respect to a canonical Hodge filtration on M, to the isospectral commuting variety, a subvariety of g x g x h x h which is a ramified cover of the variety of pairs of commuting elements of g. Our main result establishes an isomorphism of gr(M) with the structure sheaf of X_norm, the normalization of the isospectral commuting variety. It follows, thanks to the theory of Hodge modules, that th…
We consider the conjugation-action of an arbitrary upper-block parabolic subgroup of the general linear group on the variety of nilpotent matrices in its Lie algebra. Lie-theoretically, it is natural to wonder about the number of orbits of this action. We translate the setup to a representation-theoretic one and obtain a finiteness criterion which classifies all actions with only a finite number of orbits over an arbitrary infinite field. These results are applied to commuting varieties and nested punctual Hilbert schemes.
Recently, V.Ginzburg introduced the notion of a principal nilpotent pair (= pn-pair) in a semisimple Lie algebra {\frak g}. It is a double counterpart of the notion of a regular nilpotent element. A pair (e_1,e_2) of commuting nilpotent elements is called a pn-pair, if the dimension of their simultaneous centralizer is equal to the rank of {\frak g} and some bi-homogeneity condition is satisfied. Ginzburg proved that many familiar results of the `ordinary' theory have analogues for pn-pairs. The aim of this article is to develop the theory of nilpotent pairs a bit further and to present some a…
Let $g$ be a classical Lie algebra, i.e., either $gl_n$, $sp_n$, or $so_n$ and let $e\in g$ be a nilpotent element. We study various properties of centralisers $g_e$. The first four sections deal with rather elementary questions, like the centre of $g_e$, commuting varieties associated with $g_e$, or centralisers of commuting pairs. The second half of the paper addresses problems related to different Poisson structures on $g_e^*$ and symmetric invariants of $g_e$.
The nilpotent bicone of a finite dimensional complex reductive Lie algebra g is the subset of elements in g x g whose subspace generated by the components is contained in the nilpotent cone of g. The main result of this note is that the nilpotent bicone is a complete intersection. This affirmatively answers a conjecture of Kraft-Wallach concerning the nullcone. In addition, we introduce and study the characteristic submodule of g. The properties of the nilpotent bicone and the characteristic submodule are known to be very important for the understanding of the commuting variety and its ideal o…
Recently, V.Ginzburg introduced and studied in depth the notion of a principal nilpotent pair in a semisimple Lie algebra \g. Our aim is to contribute to the general theory of nilpotent pairs. Roughly speaking, a nilpotent pair (e_1,e_2) consists of two commuting elements in \g that can independently be contracted to the origin. A principal nilpotent pair is a double counterpart of a regular nilpotent element. Consequently, the theory of nilpotent pairs should stand out as double counterpart of the theory of nilpotent orbits. We show that any nilpotent pair has a characteristic (h_1,h_2), whic…
This is the first of a series of papers devoted to certain pairs of commuting nilpotent elements in a semisimple Lie algebra that enjoy quite remarkable properties and which are expected to play a major role in Representation theory. The properties of these pairs and their role is similar to those of the principal nilpotents. To any principal nilpotent pair we associate a two-parameter analogue of the Kostant partition function, and propose the corresponding two-parameter analogue of the weight multiplicity formula. In a different direction, each principal nilpotent pair gives rise to a harmon…
We consider the (direct sum over all $n$ of the) $K$-theory of the semi-nilpotent commuting variety of $\mathfrak{gl}_n$, and describe its convolution algebra structure in two ways: the first as an explicit shuffle algebra (i.e. a particular $\mathbb{Z}[q_1^{\pm 1}, q_2^{\pm 1}]$-submodule of the equivariant $K$-theory of a point) and the second as the $\mathbb{Z}[q_1^{\pm 1}, q_2^{\pm 1}]$-algebra generated by certain elements $\{\bar{H}_{n,d}\}_{(n,d) \in \mathbb{N} \times \mathbb{Z}}$.
