Representations of Lie groups (Q6927176)

The book under review is based on lecture notes from a graduate course taught at MIT. Its aim is to provide an introduction to the representation theory of (real) Lie groups, with particular attention to non-compact real reductive groups, while keeping the exposition accessible and concrete. The text develops the structure theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras together with key tools in the representation theory of real reductive groups, including the theory of (\(\mathfrak{g}\), K)-modules, aspects of Harish-Chandra's theory such as globalization results and elements of harmonic analysis related to the Plancherel formula. It then proceeds to a detailed study of representations via universal enveloping algebras and highest weight methods, including the construction of Verma modules and the classification of finite-dimensional representations. As an application, the author presents the classification of the unitary dual of SL(2, \(\mathbb{R}\)), a fundamental example in the subject. The exposition then delves further into the theory by introducing the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand category \(\mathcal{O}\) and its structural properties, as well as important classes of representations such as principal series representations. Additional tools, including projective functors and related techniques are presented, providing a broader perspective on the algebraic and analytic aspects of the subject. The presentation is concise and pedagogical, making the text suitable for graduate students as well as for anyone wishing to learn more about representation theory.