On simplicity of vacuum modules (Q877735)

A vacuum module over an affine (super)algebra \(\hat{\mathfrak{g}}=\mathfrak{g}[t,t^{-1}]+\mathbb{C}K\) is the induced module \(\mathrm{Ind}_{\mathfrak{g}}[t]+\mathbb{C}K^{\hat{\mathfrak{g}}} \mathbb{C}_k\), where \(\mathbb{C}_k\) is the one-dimensional module with the trivial action of \(\mathfrak{g}[t]\) and the action of \(K\) given by \(k\in \mathbb{C}\). In the paper under review the authors present sufficient and necessary conditions for irreducibility of vacuum modules over several classes of affine Lie (super)algebras, including the cases when \(\mathfrak{g}\) is a simple finite-dimensional Lie algebra, a simple Lie superalgebra \(\mathfrak{osp}(1,2n)\), and an almost simple finite-dimensional Lie superalgebra of positive defect. As a corollary some conditions of simplicity for minimal \(W\)-algebras are obtained. The proof uses the technique of the Shapovalov form on generalized Verma modules, in particular, the authors obtain some explicit formulae for what they call vacuum determinants (special cases of the determinants for Shapovalov form) in the case of Virasoro and Neveu-Schwarz algebras.