Given an nxn nilpotent matrix over an algebraically closed field K, we prove some properties of the set of all the nxn nilpotent matrices over K which commute with it. Then we give a proof of the irreducibility of the variety of all the pairs (A,B) of nxn nilpotent matrices over K if either char K = 0 or char K isn't less than n/2. We get as a consequence a proof of the irreducibility of the local Hilbert scheme of n points of a smooth algebraic surface over K with the previous condition on char K.
Let $B$ be a nilpotent matrix and suppose that its Jordan canonical form is determined by a partition $λ$. Then it is known that its nilpotent commutator $N_B$ is an irreducible variety and that there is a unique partition $μ$ such that the intersection of the orbit of nilpotent matrices corresponding to $μ$ with $N_B$ is dense in $N_B$. We prove that map $D$ given by $D(λ)=μ$ is an idempotent map. This answers a question of Basili and Iarrobino and gives a partial answer to a question of Panyushev. In the proof, we use the fact that for a generic matrix $A \in N_B$ the algebra generated by $A…
Let K be an infinite field and denote by H(n,K) the family of pairs (A,B) of commuting nilpotent n by n matrices with entries in K. There has been substantial recent study of the connection between H(n,K) and the fibre H[n] of the punctual Hilbert scheme of the plane, over an n-fold point of the symmetric product, by V. Baranovsky, R. Basili, and A. Premet. We study the stratification of H(n,K) by the Hilbert function of the Artinian ring K[A,B]. We show that when dim_K K[A,B] = n, then the generic element of the pencil A+λB, λ\in K, has Jordan partition the maximum partition P(H) whose diagon…
We prove that irreducible complex representations of finitely generated nilpotent groups are monomial if and only if they have finite weight, which was conjectured by Parshin. Note that we consider (possibly, infinite-dimensional) representations without any topological structure. Besides, we prove that for certain induced representations, irreducibility is implied by Schur irreducibility. Both results are obtained in a more general form for representations over an arbitrary field.
Let $X$ be an affine algebraic variety endowed with an action of complexity one of an algebraic torus $\mathbb{T}$. It is well known that homogeneous locally nilpotent derivations on the algebra of regular functions $\mathbb{K}[X]$ can be described in terms of proper polyhedral divisors corresponding to $\mathbb{T}$-variety $X$. We prove that homogeneous locally nilpotent derivations commute if an only if some combinatorial criterion holds. These results are used to describe actions of unipotent groups of dimension two on affine $\mathbb{T}$-varieties.
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…
We obtain a series of new results on the problem of irreducibility of commuting varieties associated with symmetric pairs or, in other words, $Z_2$-graded simple Lie algebras. In particular, we present many examples of reducible commuting varieties and show that the number of irreducible components can be arbitrarily large.
We investigate the irreducibility of the nilpotent Slodowy slices that appear as the associated variety of W-algebras. Furthermore, we provide new examples of vertex algebras whose associated variety has finitely many symplectic leaves.
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…
We consider the space $\mathcal M_{q,n}$ of regular $q$-tuples of commuting nilpotent endomorphisms of $k^n$ modulo simultaneous conjugation. We show that $\mathcal M_{q,n}$ admits a natural homogeneous space structure, and that it is an affine space bundle over $\mathbb P^{q-1}$. A closer look at the homogeneous structure reveals that, over $\mathbb C$ and with respect to the complex topology, $\mathcal M_{q,n}$ is a smooth vector bundle over $\mathbb P^{q-1}$. We prove that, in this case, $\mathcal M_{q,n}$ is diffeomorphic to a direct sum of twisted tangent bundles. We also prove that $\mat…
Let $N(d,n)$ be the variety of all $d$-tuples of commuting nilpotent $n\times n$ matrices. It is well-known that $N(d,n)$ is irreducible if $d=2$, if $n\le 3$ or if $d=3$ and $n=4$. On the other hand $N(3,n)$ is known to be reducible for $n\ge 13$. We study in this paper the reducibility of $N(d,n)$ for various values of $d$ and $n$. In particular, we prove that $N(d,n)$ is reducible for all $d,n\ge 4$. In the case $d=3$, we show that it is irreducible for $n\le 6$.
We study the anti-commuting variety which consists of pairs of anti-commuting $n\times n$ matrices. We provide an explicit description of its irreducible components and their dimensions. The GIT quotient of the anti-commuting variety with respect to the conjugation action of $GL_n$ is shown to be of pure dimension $n$. We also show the semi-nilpotent anti-commuting variety (in which one matrix is required to be nilpotent) is of pure dimension $n^2$ and describe its irreducible components.
Subsets of a matrix algebra over a field that are invariant under conjugation and contain the linear span of each two of their commuting elements are described. They obviously include the subsets of diagonalizable and nilpotent matrices. In the paper, the case of an algebraically closed field is considered. The problem is easily reduced to description of subsets of diagonalizable matrices and subsets of nilpotent matrices with the given properties. So, among diagonalizable matrices, there are four of such subsets. As for the nilpotent case, it is proved that the subset should be defined by the…
Let $A$ be an algebra over a field $K$ of characteristic zero, let $\d_1, >..., \d_s\in \Der_K(A)$ be {\em commuting locally nilpotent} $K$-derivations such that $\d_i(x_j)=\d_{ij}$, the Kronecker delta, for some elements $x_1,..., x_s\in A$. A set of algebra generators for the algebra $A^\d:= \cap_{i=1}^s\ker (\d_i)$ is found {\em explicitly} and a set of {\em defining relations} for the algebra $A^\d$ is described. Similarly, given a set $\s_1, ..., \s_s\in \Aut_K(A)$ of {\em commuting} $K$-automorphisms of the algebra $A$ such that the maps $\s_i-{\rm id_A}$ are {\em locally nilpotent} and …
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 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.
Let g be a semisimple Lie algebra of finite dimension. The nullcone N of g is the set of (x,y) in g x g such that x and y are nilpotents and are in the same Borel sualgebra. The main result of this paper is that N is a closed and irreducible subvariety of g x g, its normalisation has rational singularities and its normalization morphism is bijective.
Let $A$ be the polynomial ring over $k$ (a field of characteristic zero) in $n+1$ variables. The commuting derivations conjecture states that $n$ commuting locally nilpotent derivations on $A$, linearly independent over $A$, must satisfy $A^{D_1,...,D_m}=k[f]$ where $f$ is a coordinate. The conjecture can be formulated as stating that a $(G_m)^n$-action on $k^{n+1}$ must have invariant ring $k[f]$ where $f$ is a coordinate. In this paper we prove a statement (theorem \ref{CDH2}) where we assume less on $A$ ($A$ is a {\sc UFD} over $k$ of transcendence degree $n+1$ satisfying $A^*=k$) and prove…
Let $G$ be a connected reductive algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $k$, and assume that the characteristic of $k$ is zero or a pretty good prime for $G$. Let $P$ be a parabolic subgroup of $G$ and let $\mathfrak p$ be the Lie algebra of $P$. We consider the commuting variety $\mathcal C(\mathfrak p) = \{(X,Y) \in \mathfrak p \times \mathfrak p \mid [X,Y] = 0\}$. Our main theorem gives a necessary and sufficient condition for irreducibility of $\mathcal C(\mathfrak p)$ in terms of the modality of the adjoint action of $P$ on the nilpotent variety of $\mathfrak p$. As a conseque…
The nilpotent cone of a reductive Lie algebra has a desingularization given by thecotangent bundle of the flag variety. Analogously, the nullcone of a cartesianpower of the algebra has a desingularization given by a vector bundle over theflag variety. As for the nullcone, the subvariety of elements whose componentsare in a same Borel subalgebra, has a desingularization given by a vector bundle overthe flag variety. In this note, some properties of these varieties are given. Forthe study of the commuting variety, the analogous variety to the flag variety isthe closure in the Grassmannian of the…
