\(A_{2l}^{(2)}\) at level \(-l-\frac{1}{2}\) (Q2161162)

It has been known since [\textit{I. Frenkel} and \textit{Y. Zhu}, Duke Math. J. 66, No. 1, 123--168 (1992; Zbl 0848.17032)] that highest-weight modules for an untwisted affine Lie algebra \(\widehat{\mathfrak{g}}\) at a fixed level \(k\in\mathbb{C}\) can be realized as modules for an affine vertex operator algebra associated to the finite-dimensional simple Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}\) and the level \(k\). If \(L(\mathfrak{g},k)\) denotes the simple affine vertex operator algebra associated to \(\mathfrak{g}\) at level \(k\), and if the highest weight of \(L(\mathfrak{g},k)\) is admissible in the sense of [\textit{V. Kac} and \textit{M. Wakimoto}, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85, No. 14, 4956--4960 (1988; Zbl 0652.17010)], then Arakawa showed that all \(L(\mathfrak{g},k)\)-modules which are in category \(\mathcal{O}\) for \(\widehat{\mathfrak{g}}\) are semisimple, and that \(L(\mathfrak{g},k)\) has finitely many distinct simple highest-weight modules, all of which have admissible highest weights [\textit{T. Arakawa}, Duke Math. J. 165, No. 1, 67-93 (2016; Zbl 1395.17057)]. In this paper, the author proves the analogue of Arakawa's theorem for the twisted affine Lie algebra \(A^{(2)}_{2l}\) at the admissible level \(-l-\frac{1}{2}\). The algebra \(A^{(2)}_{2l}\) can be obtained as the fixed points of the untwisted affine Lie algebra \(\widehat{\mathfrak{sl}}_{2l+1}\) under an order-\(2\) twisted graph automorphism, and one can obtain some highest-weight \(A^{(2)}_{2l}\)-modules of level \(-l-\frac{1}{2}\) as \(\nu\)-twisted \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\) modules, where \(\nu\) is the involution of \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\) induced by the twisted graph automorphism of \(\widehat{\mathfrak{sl}}_{2l+1}\) [\textit{H. Li}, Contemp. Math. 193, 203--236 (1996; Zbl 0844.17022)]. The author proves that all \(\nu\)-twisted \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\)-modules which are in category \(\mathcal{O}\) for \(A^{(2)}_{2l}\) are semisimple, and that \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\) has finitely many distinct simple \(\nu\)-twisted modules which are highest weight for \(A^{(2)}_{2l}\), all of which have admissible highest weights. These results motivate the conjecture that an analogue of Arakawa's theorem holds for twisted affine Lie algebras at admissible levels in general. To determine which simple highest-weight \(A_{2l}^{(2)}\)-modules occur as \(\nu\)-twisted \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\)-modules, the author uses detailed calculations in the \(\nu\)-twisted Zhu algebra of \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\), based on an explicit generator found in [\textit{O. Perše}, Glas. Mat., III. Ser. 43, No. 1, 41--57 (2008; Zbl 1211.17027)] for the maximal proper ideal in the universal affine vertex operator algebra of \(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1}\) at level \(-l-\frac{1}{2}\). The proof that the highest weights of simple \(\nu\)-twisted \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\)-modules are admissible largely uses the argument in [\textit{O. Perše}, J. Algebra 307, No. 1, 215--248 (2007; Zbl 1136.17023)] for the untwisted affine Lie algebra of type \(B_l\) at certain admissible levels. Then the semisimplicity of \(\nu\)-twisted \(L(\mathfrak{sl}_{2l+1},-l-\frac{1}{2})\)-modules which are in category \(\mathcal{O}\) for \(A_{2l}^{(2)}\) follows from a complete reducibility result in [\textit{V. Kac} and \textit{M. Wakimoto}, Adv. Ser. Math. Phys. 7, 138--177 (1989; Zbl 0742.17022)].