The Weyl algebra as a fixed ring (Q1721960)

The main result of the paper under review is as follows. Let \(X\) be a smooth affine variety over \(\mathbb{C}\), \(R\) a \(\mathbb{C}\)-domain, and \(\Gamma\subset \Aut_{\mathbb{C}}(R)\) a finite group of automorphisms of \(R\). Let \(D(X)\) be the corresponding ring of differential operators on \(X\) and let \(R^{\Gamma} = D(X)\) (\(R^{\Gamma}\) is the fixed point ring of \(R\) under the action of \(\Gamma\)). Then there exists a \(\Gamma\)-Galois covering \(Y\rightarrow X\) such that \(R\cong D(Y)\) as \(\Gamma\)-algebras. As a corollary of this theorem, the author obtains that if \(X\) is a smooth variety over \(\mathbb{C}\) such that \(X(\mathbb{C})\) is simply connected, then \(D(X)\), in particular the Weyl algebra \(W_{n}(\mathbb{C})\), cannot be a fixed point ring of any \(\mathbb{C}\)-domain under a nontrivial finite group action. Another important result of the paper is concerned with semi-simple Lie algebras over \(\mathbb{C}\). Let \(\mathfrak{g}\) be such a Lie algebra and \(U\mathfrak{g}\) its enveloping algebra. A central character \(\chi:Z(U\mathfrak{g})\rightarrow \mathbb{C}\) is said to be very generic if its values on the standard generators of \(Z(U\mathfrak{g})\) are algebraically independent over \(Z\). The author shows that in this settings (where \(\chi\) is very generic), there is no integral domain \(R\) with a nontrivial finite group of automorphisms \(\Gamma\subset Aut_{\mathbb{C}}(R)\) so that \(R = U_{\chi}\mathfrak{g}\), where \(U_{\chi}\mathfrak{g}\) denotes the central quotient of \(U\mathfrak{g}\) corresponding to \(\chi\).