In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced /ˈliː/ ("lee"), not /ˈlaɪ/ ("lye")) is an algebraic structure whose main use is in studying geometric objects such as Lie groups and differentiable manifolds. Lie algebras were introduced to study the concept of infinitesimal transformations. The term "Lie algebra" (after Sophus Lie) was introduced by Hermann Weyl in the 1930s. In older texts, the name "infinitesimal group" is used.
A Lie algebra is a typ...
more
In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced /ˈliː/ ("lee"), not /ˈlaɪ/ ("lye")) is an algebraic structure whose main use is in studying geometric objects such as Lie groups and differentiable manifolds. Lie algebras were introduced to study the concept of infinitesimal transformations. The term "Lie algebra" (after Sophus Lie) was introduced by Hermann Weyl in the 1930s. In older texts, the name "infinitesimal group" is used.
A Lie algebra is a type of algebra over a field; it is a vector space over some field F together with a binary operation [·, ·]
called the Lie bracket, which satisfies the following axioms:
For any associative algebra A with multiplication * , one can construct a Lie algebra L(A). As a vector space, L(A) is the same as A. The Lie bracket of two elements of L(A) is defined to be their commutator in A:
The associativity of the multiplication * in A implies the Jacobi identity of the commutator in L(A). In particular, the associative algebra of n × n matrices over a...
less
