Annihilators of Verma modules for Kac-Moody Lie algebras (Q1070325)

Let \(A\) be an indecomposable symmetrizable generalized Cartan matrix and \(G(A)\) an associated Kac-Moody Lie algebra. The author extends an earlier result of his for Euclidean algebras, namely that the center of the universal enveloping algebra \(U\) of \(G(A)\) is the universal enveloping algebra of the center of \(G(A)\). \textit{M. Duflo} [Proc. Summer Sch. János Bolyai Math. Soc., Budapest 1971, 77--93 (1975; Zbl 0313.17005)] showed that the annihilator in \(U(L)\) of a Verma module associated with a finite- dimensional semisimple Lie algebra \(L\) is generated by a maximal ideal in the center of \(U(L)\). The author extends this to irreducible Verma modules over \(G(A)\). The argument is based on the fact, which the author derives, that the Weyl group \(W\) of \(G(A)\) contains an element \(w\) of infinite order such that for every positive integer \(r\) and each \(i=1,\ldots,n\), either \(w^ r\alpha_ i\) or \(-w^ r(\alpha_ i)\) is a positive non-simple root. Here \((\alpha_ 1,\ldots,\alpha_ n)\) is a simple system of roots for \(G\). The author establishes this by induction on the order of \(A\). The inductive step rests on the symmetrizability and indecomposability of \(A\).