Fusion rings of loop group representations (Q2376061)

Let \(G\) be a simply-connected simple algebraic group over \(\mathbb{C}\), and let \(F_k[G]\) be the fusion ring of \(G\) over \(\mathbb{Z}\) at level \(k\), where \(k\) is a positive integer. Then, there is a surjective ring homomorphism \(\phi: R[G]\to F_k[G]\), where \(R[G]\) is the representation ring of \(G\) over \(\mathbb{Z}\). Let \(I_k(G)\) be the kernel of \(\phi\), which is called the fusion ideal of \(G\) at level \(k\). In an earlier paper, using a spectral sequence for the twisted equivariant \(K\)-homology of \(G\) (along with the identification of this \(K\)-homology with the fusion ring by Freed-Hopkins-Teleman), the author showed that \(I_k(G)\) is generated by a collection of finite level-independent number of representations [the author, Commun. Math. Phys. 290, No. 1, 335--355 (2009; Zbl 1204.22017)]. In the present paper, the author refining his earlier method, gives an explicit set of finite level-independent number of generators of \(I_k(G)\). It may be mentioned that Gepner has conjectured that \(I_k(G)\) should be generated by exactly \(\ell\) elements, where \(\ell\) is the rank of \(G\). The conjecture of Gepner is known to be true for \(G\) of types \(A_\ell\) and \(C_\ell\) (cf. [\textit{P. Bouwknegt} and \textit{D. Ridout}, Rev. Math. Phys. 18, No. 2, 201--232 (2006; Zbl 1095.81054); \textit{D. Gepner}, Commun. Math. Phys. 141, No. 2, 381--411 (1991; Zbl 0752.17033)] and [\textit{D. Gepner} and \textit{A. Schwimmer}, ``Symplectic fusion rings and their metric'', Nucl. Phys. B 380, No. 1--2, 147--167 (1992; \url{doi:10.1016/0550-3213(92)90519-H})]); and for \(G\) of type \(G_2\) by a recent paper of Troels Andersen. Let me also cite some earlier works in this direction. Bouwknegt and Ridout have shown that the ideal \(I_k(G)\), for any \(G\), is generated by a collection of representations whose number grows polynomially with \(k\) [Bouwknegt and Ridout, loc. cit.]. (In the same paper, in the case of \(B_\ell\), they gave a set of generators of \(I_k(G)\) with the number growing only linearly with \(k\).) Boysal and Kumar have formulated a conjecture giving an explicit finite level-independent number of generators of \(I_k(G)\) for any \(G\) of types \(B_\ell\) and \(D_e\) [\textit{A. Boysal} and the reviewer, ``A conjectural presentation of fusion algebras'', Adv. Stud. Pure Math. 54, 95--107 (2009), \url{arXiv:0802.3035}].