Partial abelianization of free product of algebras (Q2242584)

Let \(R\) be a unital associative algebra over an algebraically closed field \(k\) of characteristic zero. In the paper under review, the authors study \textit{partial abelianizations} of \(R\) with respect to subalgebras \(R_1 \subset R\), that is the quotients of \(R\) by the two-sided ideals generated by \([R_1,R_1]\). As an example, one can consider the algebras \(S_x\), parameterized by \(\mathbb{P}^3 \ni x = [x_{11}:x_{12}:x_{21}:x_{22}]\), which are generated by rank \(2\) orthogonal projectors \(p_1,p_2\) and \(q_1,q_2\) subject to the relation \[ \sum_{i,j = 1}^2 x_{ij}[p_i,q_j] = 0. \] It turns out that \(S_x\) are partial abelianizations of the free product \(k^{\oplus 3} * k^{\oplus 3}\) and in the case of \(x = [1:0:0:-1]\) it coincides with the algebra constructed by \textit{R. Nicoarǎ} in [J. Oper. Theory 55, No. 2, 295--310 (2006; Zbl 1115.46052)]. Main result of the paper (see Theorem 1 in the text) claims that for generic \(x\) the algebra \(S_x\) has dimension \(18\) and is the direct sum of the matrix algebra of dimension \(3\) and of \(9\) copies of \(k\). The authors also provide interpretation of their result in terms of Quantum Mechanics. The proof is combinatorial and employs, on the one hand, an explicit computation of a basis in \(S_x\) (see Section 3 of the paper), and on the other hand representation theory of \(S_x\) is also used in an essential way (see Section 4). Note that the above Nicoarǎ's algebra is, amazingly, \textit{infinite-dimensional} (see [\textit{A.S. Kocherova} and \textit{I.Yu. Zhdanovskiy}, Lobachevskii J. Math. 38, No. 4, 670- 687 (2017; Zbl 1373.81130)]).