Ideals of the enveloping algebra \(U(sl_2)\) (Q1265530)

The paper under review describes, in terms of generators and highest weight elements, the two-sided ideals of the universal enveloping algebra \(U=U(sl_2(K))\) of the three-dimensional simple Lie algebra \(sl_2(K)\) over any field \(K\) of characteristic 0. In Section 1 the author shows that every ideal of \(U\) is generated by finitely many highest weight elements which may be chosen to be of different weight. This implies that the ideals can be generated by a single element. Section 2 is devoted to the Lie module structure of the ideals generated by \(x^n\), \(n\geq 1\), where \(x\in sl_2(K)\) corresponds to the matrix \(e_{12}\) in the natural two-dimensional representation of \(sl_2(K)\). The author determines the intersection of \((x^n)\) with the centre of \(U\) and shows that \((x^m)=(x^n)\) if and only if \(m=n\). Section 3 establishes that every ideal of \(U\) can be generated by two elements of a special form, the uniqueness of this expression and describes the Lie module structure in terms of these generators. As an application the author gives generators for the sum and the intersection of two ideals and conditions equivalent to the inclusion of one ideal into another. He also provides a new proof of the theorem of \textit{V. V. Bavula} [Ukr. Math. J. 45, No. 3, 329-334 (1993); translation from Ukr. Mat. Zh. 45, No. 3, 307-312 (1993; Zbl 0809.16002)] that the lattice of the ideals of \(U\) is distributive. Section 4 lists the prime ideals of \(U\) and classifies them by height. (The classical Krull dimension of \(U\) is equal to 2.) For \(K=\mathbb C\) the classification was announced by \textit{Y. Nouazé} and \textit{P. Gabriel} [J. Algebra 6, 77-99 (1967; Zbl 0159.04101)], see also \textit{J. Dixmier} [J. Algebra 24, 551-564 (1973; Zbl 0252.17004)]. Section 5 contains more applications: the product of finitely many maximal ideals of finite codimension is equal to their intersection, every ideal can be uniquely written as a product of primes, a product of two ideals is commutative (the last two properties can be found with different proofs in the above cited paper by Bavula), the description of the prime ideal factorizations for radical ideals, for the radical of an ideal, and for the sum and the intersection of two ideals. Finally the author shows that the intersection of an infinite set of distinct ideals is trivial.