Extending $pi$-systems to bases of root systems.pdfVIP

a r X i v : m a t h / 0 4 1 0 3 5 7 v 3 [ m a t h .R T ] 4 O c t 2 0 0 5 Extending π-systems to bases of root systems Helmer ASLAKSEN Department of Mathematics National University of Singapore Singapore 117543 Singapore aslaksen@.sg .sg/aslaksen/ Mong Lung LANG Department of Mathematics National University of Singapore Singapore 117543 Singapore matlml@.sg Abstract Let R be an indecomposable root system. It is well known that any root is part of a basis B of R. But when can you extend a set of two or more roots to a basis B of R? A π-system is a linearly independent set of roots, C , such that if α and β are in C , then α ? β is not a root. We will use results of Dynkin and Bourbaki to show that with two exceptions, A3 ? Bn and A7 ? E8, an indecomposable π-system whose Dynkin diagram is a subdiagram of the Dynkin diagram of R can always be extended to a basis of R. 1 Introduction Let R be an indecomposable root system in a Euclidean space V . A subset B of R is called a basis of R if B is a vector space basis of V and each root of R can be written as a linear combination of roots in B with integral coefficients that 1 are all nonnegative or all nonpositive. It is well known that any root is part of a basis B of R. But when can you extend a set of two or more roots to a basis B of R? A π-system ([Dyn, Oni-Vin]) is a linearly independent set of roots, C, such that if α and β are in C, then α ? β is not a root. (It is not assumed to be linearly independent in [Oni-Vin].) A subset of a basis will be a π-system, and a π-system will be a basis of a root subsystem. We can associate a Dynkin diagram to a π-system, and in order to extend to a basis of R, the Dynkin diagram of the π-system must be a subdiagram of the Dynkin diagram of R. By a subdiagram we mean a diagram obtained by deleting some nodes and their corresponding links. We will assume that the nodes corresponding to short roots are marked, and that the subdiagram preserves the marking. Hence two orthogona