A Generalization of Lazard's Elimination Theorem (Q3158359)

Let \(V\) and \(W\) be vector spaces with \(V\cap W = (0)\) and \(L(V \oplus W)\) the free Lie algebra on \(V\oplus W\), graded by giving nonzero elements of \(V\) degree 0 and nonzero elements of \(W\) degree 1. Lazard's elimination thorem gives a decomposition of \(L(V \oplus W)\) into a semidirect product of \(L(V)\) and an ideal derived from \(V\), thus eliminating \(W\). The authors generalize this result to the case of quotients of \(L(V \oplus W)\) by ideals generated by subspaces \(A\) of degree 0 and \(B\) of degree 1. The result again gives a decomposition of the quotient as a semidirect product of the quotient of \(L(V)\) by the ideal generated by \(A\) and an explicitly described ideal coming from elements of \(V\). The theorem is used to give decompositions of generalized Kac-Moody algebras.