This textbook treats Lie groups, Lie algebras and their representations in an elementary but fully rigorous fashion requiring minimal prerequisites. In particular, the theory of matrix Lie groups and their Lie algebras is developed using only linear algebra, and more motivation and intuition for proofs is provided than in most classic texts on the subject. In addition to its accessible treatment of the basic theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, the book is also noteworthy for including: a treatment of the Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff formula and its use in place of the Frobenius theorem to establish deeper results about the relationship between Lie groups and Lie algebras motivation for the machinery of roots, weights and the Weyl group via a concrete and detailed exposition of the representation theory of sl(3;C) an unconventional definition of semisimplicity that allows for a rapid development of the structure theory of semisimple Lie algebras a self-contained construction of the representations of compact groups, independent of Lie-algebraic arguments The second edition of Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations contains many substantial improvements and additions, among them: an entirely new part devoted to the structure and representation theory of compact Lie groups; a complete derivation of the main properties of root systems; the construction of finite-dimensional representations of semisimple Lie algebras has been elaborated; a treatment of universal enveloping algebras, including a proof of the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt theorem and the existence of Verma modules; complete proofs of the Weyl character formula, the Weyl dimension formula and the Kostant multiplicity formula. Review of the first edition: This is an excellent book. It deserves to, and undoubtedly will, become the standard text for early graduate courses in Lie group theory ... an important addition to the textbook literature ... it is highly recommended. — The Mathematical Gazette

In 1977 a symposium was held in Oxford to introduce Lie groups and their representations to non-specialists.

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.

This introduction to the representation theory of compact Lie groups follows Herman Weyl’s original approach. It discusses all aspects of finite-dimensional Lie theory, consistently emphasizing the groups themselves. Thus, the presentation is more geometric and analytic than algebraic. It is a useful reference and a source of explicit computations. Each section contains a range of exercises, and 24 figures help illustrate geometric concepts.

This book has grown out of a set of lecture notes I had prepared for a course on Lie groups in 1966. When I lectured again on the subject in 1972, I revised the notes substantially. It is the revised version that is now appearing in book form. The theory of Lie groups plays a fundamental role in many areas of mathematics. There are a number of books on the subject currently available -most notably those of Chevalley, Jacobson, and Bourbaki-which present various aspects of the theory in great depth. However, 1 feei there is a need for a single book in English which develops both the algebraic and analytic aspects of the theory and which goes into the representation theory of semi simple Lie groups and Lie algebras in detail. This book is an attempt to fiii this need. It is my hope that this book will introduce the aspiring graduate student as well as the nonspecialist mathematician to the fundamental themes of the subject. I have made no attempt to discuss infinite-dimensional representations. This is a very active field, and a proper treatment of it would require another volume (if not more) of this size. However, the reader who wants to take up this theory will find that this book prepares him reasonably well for that task.

Lie groups has been an increasing area of focus and rich research since the middle of the 20th century. In Lie Groups: An Approach through Invariants and Representations, the author's masterful approach gives the reader a comprehensive treatment of the classical Lie groups along with an extensive introduction to a wide range of topics associated with Lie groups: symmetric functions, theory of algebraic forms, Lie algebras, tensor algebra and symmetry, semisimple Lie algebras, algebraic groups, group representations, invariants, Hilbert theory, and binary forms with fields ranging from pure algebra to functional analysis. By covering sufficient background material, the book is made accessible to a reader with a relatively modest mathematical background. Historical information, examples, exercises are all woven into the text. This unique exposition is suitable for a broad audience, including advanced undergraduates, graduates, mathematicians in a variety of areas from pure algebra to functional analysis and mathematical physics.

Introducing finite-dimensional representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras, this example-oriented book works from representation theory of finite groups, through Lie groups and Lie algrbras to the finite dimensional representations of the classical groups.