Nondegenerate invariant symmetric bilinear forms on simple Lie superalgebras in characteristic 2 (Q2151561): Difference between revisions

It is well known that the space \(B(L)\) of invariant nondegenerate symmetric bilinear forms on a finite-dimensional simple Lie algebra \(L\) (in fact, on any simple nonassociative algebra) over an algebraically closed field is at most \(1\)-dimensional. Here this fact is extended to a finite-dimensional simple Lie superalgebra \(L\): over fields of characteristic \(\ne 2\), the possible dimensions of \(B(L)\) are \(0\), \((1|0)\), and \((1|0)\), while in characteristic \(2\), in addition to that, the dimension \((1|1)\) is possible. Moreover, the latter case occurs if and only if the Lie superalgebra is a queerification of a simple restricted Lie algebra (a notion introduced by the authors earlier; this means that the odd and even part are copies of the initial Lie algebra, with multiplications between them compatible with parity) having a symmetric bilinear invariant form. The peculiarity of characteristic \(2\) case is explained by the fact that in characteristic \(2\) the usual definitions of commutant, ideal, etc., involve the squaring operation. The paper is self-contained, as it contains basic definitions and lot of examples of Lie superalgebras, stressing peculiarities in characteristics \(2\) and \(3\). It also contains interesting examples of deformations of Lie superalgebras with emphasis how presence or absence of invariant forms may change under deformation.