Classifies the maximal subgroups of the finite groups of Lie type up to dimension 12, using theoretical and computational methods.

The celebrated Schur-Weyl duality gives rise to effective ways of constructing invariant polynomials on the classical Lie algebras. The emergence of the theory of quantum groups in the 1980s brought up special matrix techniques which allowed one to extend these constructions beyond polynomial invariants and produce new families of Casimir elements for finite-dimensional Lie algebras. Sugawara operators are analogs of Casimir elements for the affine Kac-Moody algebras. The goal of this book is to describe algebraic structures associated with the affine Lie algebras, including affine vertex algebras, Yangians, and classical -algebras, which have numerous ties with many areas of mathematics and mathematical physics, including modular forms, conformal field theory, and soliton equations. An affine version of the matrix technique is developed and used to explain the elegant constructions of Sugawara operators, which appeared in the last decade. An affine analogue of the Harish-Chandra isomorphism connects the Sugawara operators with the classical -algebras, which play the role of the Weyl group invariants in the finite-dimensional theory.

The Clifford algebras of real quadratic forms and their complexifications are studied here in detail, and those parts which are immediately relevant to theoretical physics are seen in the proper broad context. Central to the work is the classification of the conjugation and reversion anti-involutions that arise naturally in the theory. It is of interest that all the classical groups play essential roles in this classification. Other features include detailed sections on conformal groups, the eight-dimensional non-associative Cayley algebra, its automorphism group, the exceptional Lie group G(subscript 2), and the triality automorphism of Spin 8. The book is designed to be suitable for the last year of an undergraduate course or the first year of a postgraduate course.

This ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MATHEMATICS aims to be a reference work for all parts of mathema tics. It is a translation with updates and editorial comments of the Soviet Mathematical Encyclo paedia published by 'Soviet Encyclopaedia Publishing House' in five volumes in 1977 - 1985. The annotated translation consists of ten volumes including a special index volume. There are three kinds of articles in this ENCYCLOPAEDIA. First of all there are survey-type articles dealing with the various main directions in mathematics (where a rather fine subdivision has been used). The main requirement for these articles has been that they should give a reason ably complete up-to-date account of the current state of affairs in these areas and that they should be maximally accessible. On the whole, these articles should be understandable to mathematics students in their first specialization years, to graduates from other mathematical areas and, depending on the specific subject, to specialists in other domains of science, en gineers and teachers of mathematics. These articles treat their material at a fairly general level and aim to give an idea of the kind of problems, techniques and concepts involved in the area in question. They also contain background and motivation rather than precise statements of pre cise theorems with detailed definitions and technical details on how to carry out proofs and con structions.

This book is designed to introduce the reader to the theory of semisimple Lie algebras over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, with emphasis on representations. A good knowledge of linear algebra (including eigenvalues, bilinear forms, euclidean spaces, and tensor products of vector spaces) is presupposed, as well as some acquaintance with the methods of abstract algebra. The first four chapters might well be read by a bright undergraduate; however, the remaining three chapters are admittedly a little more demanding. Besides being useful in many parts of mathematics and physics, the theory of semisimple Lie algebras is inherently attractive, combining as it does a certain amount of depth and a satisfying degree of completeness in its basic results. Since Jacobson's book appeared a decade ago, improvements have been made even in the classical parts of the theory. I have tried to incor porate some of them here and to provide easier access to the subject for non-specialists. For the specialist, the following features should be noted: (I) The Jordan-Chevalley decomposition of linear transformations is emphasized, with "toral" subalgebras replacing the more traditional Cartan subalgebras in the semisimple case. (2) The conjugacy theorem for Cartan subalgebras is proved (following D. J. Winter and G. D. Mostow) by elementary Lie algebra methods, avoiding the use of algebraic geometry.

Finite Coxeter groups and related structures arise naturally in several branches of mathematics such as the theory of Lie algebras and algebraic groups. The corresponding Iwahori-Hecke algebras are then obtained by a certain deformation process which have applications in the representation theory of groups of Lie type and the theory of knots and links. This book develops the theory of conjugacy classes and irreducible character, both for finite Coxeter groups and the associated Iwahori-Hecke algebras. Topics covered range from classical results to more recent developments and are clear and concise. This is the first book to develop these subjects both from a theoretical and an algorithmic point of view in a systematic way, covering all types of finite Coxeter groups.