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CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS ON COMPACT

SYMMETRIC SPACES

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1987 Math. USSR Izv. 29 19

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HSB. Axaa. Hayx CCCP Math. USSR Izvestiya
Cep. MaieM. TOM 50(1986), N s 4 Vol. 29(1987), No. 1

CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS

ON COMPACT SYMMETRIC SPACES
UDC 514.744.8

A. V. BRAILOV

ABSTRACT. On every compact symmetric space, Riemannian metrics are constructed for
which the geodesic flow is completely integrable in the sense of Liouville. Some of the
metrics constructed in the case of a sphere are conformally equivalent to metrics on n-axial
ellipsoids.
Bibliography: 22 titles.

§1. Introduction
In this paper, we construct a parametric family of Riemannian metrics on each
symmetric space of a compact semisimple Lie group with the property that the geodesic
flows of the metrics in the family are completely integrable in the sense of Liouville. We
consider the case of spheres in more detail. In particular, on each sphere we construct two
additional families of metrics whose geodesic flows are completely integrable. One of these
families contains metrics conformally equivalent to metrics on η-axial ellipsoids.
We formulate a general method of constructing integrable systems. Among these
systems are the geodesic flows of the metrics we study. Let (9ft, ω) be a symplectic
manifold and © a lie group with a Poisson action on 9K (see [1] for the definition of a
Poisson action). Let G be the Lie algebra of the Lie group © and G* its dual. Associated
to the action of © on 9ft is the moment map M: 9ft -> G*. Suppose that there is a
Hamiltonian system on G* with Hamiltonian h and commuting integrals Iv ..., Ik (where
G* is given the standard Poisson bracket of the dual of a Lie algebra). Then the functions
/ t ο Μ,... ,Ik° Μ are commuting integrals of the Hamiltonian system on (9ft, ω) with
Hamiltonian Η = h° M. Suppose also that the Hamiltonian system X = (ad d h{X))*X
is totally integrable on the image M( 9ft) of the moment map. This means that, first, the
system is completely integrable on generic orbits of the coadjoint action of © on Af(9ft),
and, second, the functions 7 l 5 . . . , lk separate generic orbits of © in M(9ft). It seems too
much to expect in general that the integrals IY° M,..., Ik° Μ would suffice for complete
integrability of the Hamiltonian system (9ft, ω, Η). It is all the more astonishing that this
is the case when 9ft = T*N is the cotangent bundle over a symmetric space JV of a Lie

1980 Mathematics Subject Classification (1985 Revision). Primary 58FO7; Secondary 58F17, 34C35, 53C35.

©1987 American Mathematical Society

0025-5726/87 $1.00 + $.25 per page
19
20 A V. BRAILOV

group ® and the symplectic action of © on T*N is that determined by the standard
action of © on N. This fact is based on an observation due to Mishchenko [2] (see the
proof of Theorem 3 below). For an arbitrary homogeneous space N, the integrals of a
similar sort do not, generally speaking, form a complete set. At the same time, systems on
any homogeneous space Ν = ©/.§ with Hamiltonians Η = h° Μ can be obtained from
left-invariant Hamiltonian systems on Γ*@ by reduction with respect to the group £>
acting on Γ*© by lifting left translations. This establishes a connection with the
well-known Poisson reduction. We recall its construction in [1]. The phase space associ-
ated to the problem of motion of a rigid body with a fixed point in the Euler case is the
cotangent bundle r*SO(3). The Hamiltonian is a left-invariant quadratic function. Conse-
quently, carrying out the reduction with respect to the subgroup SO(2) c SO(3) acting by
lifting left translations to T*SO(3) gives us as the reduced system the geodesic flow on
T*N where Ν = S1 = SO(3)/SO(2) is the so-called Poisson sphere. Therefore, the homo-
geneous space Ν plays the role of a generalized Poisson sphere in the examples we
construct of integrable geodesic flows on T*N.
The geometry of the ordinary Poisson sphere Ν = S2 was studied in [4], [13], and [14],
where it was proved that the metric on S1 is conformally equivalent to the metric on a
triaxial ellipsoid. In §3, we construct metrics on S"~l generalizing the metric on the
two-dimensional Poisson sphere. In the case η > 3, as in the case η = 3, the geodesic
flows of these metrics are completely integrable in the sense of Liouville, and the metrics
themselves are conformally equivalent to metrics on η-axial ellipsoids. The latter circum-
stance allows us to interpret the reparametrization of time used to establish the connection
between geodesies on an «-axial ellipsoid and integrals of the Neumann problem originat-
ing from Maupertuis' principle.
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the geometrical meaning of certain Hamiltonian
systems which arise as by-products of the proof of complete integrability, in the sense of
Liouville, Hamiltonian systems which are totally integrable with a noncommuting Lie
algebra of integrals (see Mishchenko and Fomenko [12]). The domain of applicability of
the general construction is not exhausted by the examples cited below and includes many
cases of Hamiltonian systems which are integrable in the "noncommutative" sense. The
main results of this paper were published in the note [7].
The author is grateful to A. T. Fomenko for his attention to this work.
§2. The construction of a (2M - 1)-parameter family of completely
x
integrable geodesic flows of metrics da^ h on the sphere S"
The sphere S" "l is given by the equation
x i + ··· +xl= 1, (1)
l
and its cotangent bundle T*S" ~ is given by the system
Ι γ1 4. . . . 4. v 2 = 1
j Xx I" 1 Λ,, •1, ,^Λ
\*ι/·Ί Η +*„/>„ = 0.
Let a = (α,δ,- •) and b = (6,5,,) be (n + 1) X (n + 1) diagonal matrices. We define a
function on T*sn~l which is quadratic in ρ by setting
 CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS 21

where Mi} — xjpj — JC ./?,-. We suppose further that the diagonal elements of the matrices a
and b satisfy the inequalities ax > • • • > an+1 and bn+1 > bx > • · • > bn. Thus the
l
quadratic function Fah is positive definite. We let da^h be the metric on S"~ corre-
k
sponding to Fa h under the Legendre transformation. Let a = (af5 / y ) be the kth power
of the matrix a. Denote the function Fa fl* by Fk.

THEOREM. For parameters al,...,an + 1 in general position, the geodesic flow of the metric
2
d a a h is completely integrable in the sense of Liouville, and Fl,...,Fn_1 is a set of
independent commuting quadratic integrals.

REMARK. In the case b1 = · · · = bn = an+l = 0, bn + l = 1, the quadratic function Fah

has an especially simple expression:
1 "

To prove Theorem 1 we need to compute the Poisson brackets of all pairs of the
functions M,y and pk.

LEMMA 2.1. Let 3, = 9/3x,, ltj = xfij — xfi, and Dt = ~di + TjXjXjdj be vector fields on
R". Then the following commutation relations hold:
a) Uu, ljkl = /,·*·
b) [£»„ D,] = /,y,
c) [/,.,., D 7 ] = Z),,
In addition, the vector fields ltj and Dj are tangent to the sphere (1).
This is proved by directly computing the commutators of the vector fields.
To the functions M /y and pk on Γ*^"" 1 , which are linear in p, there correspond the
vector fields /,y | ss»-i
»-i and DDk\s - i .
We obtain the following lemma from Lemma 2.1.

LEMMA 2.2. The Poisson bracket ( · , ·> of the symplectic manifold T*Sn~l provides the
linear span of the functions Mtj (i, j = 1,...,«;/ < j) and pk (k = 1,. • ,n) with a Lie
algebra structure making it isomorphic to the Lie algebra so(n, 1). In addition, the following
relations hold:

M
*>){Pi,Pj} = ij-

We introduce the following notation. Let ρ = {pv..., pn) be a row and Μ = (Af ;/ ) an
η Χ η matrix. Let Μ denote the bordered matrix M, i.e.

(5)

where pT is a column and Τ indicates transposition. We also define an (n + 1) X (n + 1)

matrix Ω = Ω(Μ) by setting
bi - bj _
Ω/j = ———Mjj, 1 < /, y < η + 1, i Φj ; (6)

Ω,.,. = 0, 1 < / < η + 1. (7)

22 Α. V. BRAILOV

LEMMA 2.3. Let xt andpi be the coordinates and momenta of a point moving on the sphere
S"'1 with metric doa2fc in the absence of external forces. Then the matrix Μ satisfies the
differential equation

j-fM=[M,Q]. (8)
PROOF. The elements [Μ, Ω];> of the matrix [Μ, Ω] are

!
[M, Q]ij = Σ \MikMkj. (9)
k
= \ \ ak a
j
a
i
a
kJ
On the other hand,
A
(10)

Computing the Poisson bracket on the right-hand side of (10) using Lemma 2.2, we obtain
an expression coinciding with the right side of (9).
PROOF OF THEOREM 1. It folows from the definition of the matrix Ω (see (6) and (7))
that
[a,U] = [b,M]. (11)
From this, following Manakov [5], we find that (8) admits an equivalent representation
with an independent parameter λ:

j-({M+λα) = [Μ+λα,Ώ+Xb]. (12)

Consequently, for each λ, the trace trace((M +\a)k) of the matrix ((M +\a)k) does not
change with time. We select those of the functions trace((M + Xa)k) which are quadratic
in M. To do this it is convenient to define the polynomial

gk(X; M) = - ~ ^ trace((M
s
Let gks(M) denote the functional coefficient of X in gk(X,M). Thus, gks(M) is a
homogeneous integral of degree k — s + 1 of the geodesic flow of the metric da^h. We
find an explicit expression for the quadratic integrals:

ι«;,./«« ' j 1=1 ' «+1

It follows from (13) that Fk = \gk k_1 is an integral of the geodesic flow of the metric
da^b. We now prove that the integrals Fk and Fs commute for any integers k and s. Up to
this point, we have let the matrix b be arbitrary. Now let b = ak. Then it follows from the
above arguments that Fs is an integral of the Hamiltonian flow with Hamiltonian
Fk = Faak. Consequently, the quadratic functions Fk commute pairwise.
To prove that the integrals F-i,...,Fn_l are independent it suffices to prove that the
matrix (dFJ/Sxi)"jil of partial derivatives is nondegenerate at some point (x, p) e
1
. At the point (x, p) with coordinates xr = • • • = xn_1 = 0, xn = 1, ργ = · · ·
ι = 1, p n = 0, we have

fork+1|->oo.
 CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS 23

After a series of obvious elementary transformations, the matrix L with elements

a
L
_ l - <+ i
iJ
"i~an +x
l
reduces to the matrix (aj~ ), whose determinant is different from zero because the
numbers ax,..., an_x are distinct. It follows that the integrals F1,..., Fn_x are indepen-
dent for parameters ax,..., an in general position.

§3. Complete integrability of the geodesic flows of certain metrics

conf ormally equivalent to the metrics of ellipsoids

As before, the cotangent bundle T*S"~l is given by the system (2.2). We define
functions quadratic in ρ by setting

a
-a
' j

We let as^h denote the limit of the metrics da];h as \an+1\ -> oo and the other parameters
stay fixed. The metrics ds%h form a (2n — 3)-parameter family.

THEOREM 2. a) The geodesic flow of the metric dslh is completely integrable in the sense of
Liouville, and Hx,...,Hn_Yisaset of independent commuting quadratic integrals.
b) // the parameters determining the metric satisfy the relation bt = -a'1 for each
i = 1,...,«, then the substitution ^a~Xj = yt transforms the metric ds^j, into the metric

ί>7 ν Γ Σ (d>>,)2, (1)

i• = 1
J
which is conformally equivalent to the metric E " ( d ^ ) 2 on the ellipsoid given by the equation

PROOF, a) Since l i m i ^ = Hk as | a n + 1 | -» oo, the independence and involutivity of the

integrals Hx,..., Hn_x of the geodesic flow of the metric dsl b follow from the indepen-
dence and involutivity of the integrals of the geodesic flow of da^h.
b) At each point χ e S"~l for which xH > 0 the differentials dxx,..., dx,,_1 form a
basis of the cotangent space T*S"~l. Let px,..., pn_x be the linear coordinate functions
on T*S"~X corresponding to this basis. The functions xx,...,xn_x and p~x, ...,pn_1
constitute a system of coordinates in the domain in T*S"~1 given by xn > 0. In these
coordinates

x
iPj ~ XJP, = xiPj ~ xiPi 0, j < η - 1),
X X
,Pn ~ nPi = ~XnPi ( / =1 , . . . , / I - 1 ) .

Let Hah denote the limit of the functions Fab as | a n+1 | -> oo. The geodesic flow of the
metric ds%h is Hamiltonian with Hamiltonian

=^ Σ ' J
24 Α. V. BRAILOV

Furthermore, when ft = -α \ we find that Hah can be expressed in terms of the local
coordinates xt, /?, as
-ι n — 2 #7 — 1
J
Hah(x, p) = ^ Σ Σ _
_
'
' i

- X)pT,

where ρ = (ρί,..., ρη^χ), Τ indicates transposition, A = d'm%(axlc,.... anl_xc) is a diag-

1 2
onal matrix, c = Z^aj ^ , and X is a square matrix with elements Xi} = (alaJ)'lx,xj. The
Lagrangian L(x, x) corresponding to the Hamiltonian Hah(x, p) is
L{x,x) = \x{A - X)"xxr,
where χ = (xu..., χη-λ) is a row. The Lagrangian L(x, x) is the Lagrangian of a free
particle on the sphere Sh~l with metric dsjh = dx(A — X)~y • άχτ. where d.x =
(dxj,..., dx,,_ x). We find the matrix
{A - X)'1 = A-1 + A~lXA'x + A^XA^ +
Since (ΧΑ~1Χ)υ = eXip where e = c^Lr^xl, we have

(A - X)'1 = A'1 + ^—A-'X

1 -e
Furthermore, 1/(1 - e) = cajx\. Therefore,
n-1
ds 2 =
C
-1 V a (Αχ)2 + ra Τ χ ;

Since

we have
n-l
~I ^ XjXjaXjdXj.

Consequently,
1-1

Σ -12

The substitution ^α~χ, = y, carries the metric dslh into the metric (1), which is conform-
ally equivalent to the standard metric on the ellipsoid given by (2). The theorem is proved.
COROLLARY l ^ 1 ) The Hamiltonian system describing the motion of a point particle with
unit mass on the ellipsoid (2) with metric (1) in the force field with potential U(y) =
- YL"aJ2yf is completely integrable in the sense of Liouville. The trajectories of a particle
corresponding to zero energy Ε = 0 coincide, up to reparametrization, with the geodesies on
the ellipsoid (2).

(^Corollary 1 was added on November 15, 1985.

 CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS 25

PROOF. Uhlenbeck [20], [21] found a complete set of commuting integrals for the C.
1
Neumann system on the sphere S"" . These integrals can be written in the form [15]:

τ -
h- a, - a,
/Φι ι J
l
Consider the Hamiltonian system on T*S" ~ with Hamiltonian Η =
Hah{x, p). Since Η is a combination of integrals of the C. Neumann problem, this system
l
is completely integrable. Setting bi = ~aj and {aixl = yt, we obtain the Hamiltonian
system of the corollary. Consider a trajectory of this system for a fixed energy E. It
follows from Maupertuis' principle that the trajectory coincides (up to a reparametrization
of time) with a geodesic of the metric

When Ε = 0, this is the metric induced on the ellipsoid by the embedding in Euclidean
space.
We remark that, in contrast to [15] and [18], we did not use the "hodographic
transformation" (x, p) -* (p, -x).(2)
The problem of geodesies on a two-dimensional ellipsoid had already been integrated
by Jacobi; for modern developments see [15]—[19].
§4. The construction of completely integrable geodesic flows
on compact symmetric spaces
In §1 we described some methods of constructing integrable systems. In this section, we
will consider more specialized methods, primarily directed towards the construction of
integrable geodesic flows.
Let © be a Lie group acting on a manifold N. To each element g of the Lie algebra G
of @, there corresponds a vector field g on N. Let T*N be the cotangent bundle and G*
the dual space. The moment map M: T*N -* G* is defined for every χ e Ν and
ρ e T*N by setting M(x, p) = ξ, where ξ is the element of G* such that £(g) = p(g(x))
for any g e G . Let φ: G* -* G be a symmetric operator. Suppose that the system
i = (ad(p(£))*£ o n G* possesses commuting integrals Iv...,Ik. Then the functions
/j ο Μ,..., Ik ° Μ are commuting integrals of the Hamiltonian system on Γ*Ν with the
quadratic Hamiltonian Ηφ determined by the formula Ηφ(χ, ρ) = ^ξ(φ(ξ)), ζ = Μ(χ, ρ).
For Ηφ to be the Hamiltonian of a geodesic flow of some metric ds^, it is sufficient that
the operator φ be positive definite and that the grouop © act transitively on N. We
further suppose that Ν is a homogeneous space of the Lie group © on which © acts by
left translations. As a rule, the metrics ds^ are not ©-invariant.
The results of §§2 and 3 fit completely into the above scheme; here the geodesic flows
of the metrics da2h arise in considering the sphere S 1 "" 1 to be a homogeneous space of the
Lie group SO(«, 1). The metrics ds] h can be obtained by considering the sphere S"~1 as a
homogeneous space of SO(n).

( 2 )The author has learned that A. P. Veselov (unpublished) has independently established the connection
between geodesies on a multi-axial ellipsoid and integrals of the C. Neumann problem without using the
" hodographic transformation".
26 Α. V. BRAILOV

We now apply the above construction to construct integrable geodesic flows on each
compact symmetric space. We note that the metrics we obtain on 5 " " 1 in this way will
differ from the metrics da^b and asl h considered earlier and, in particular, depend on
fewer parameters.
Let @ be a compact semisimple Lie group. Fix an inner product ( , ) on G which is
invariant with respect to inner automorphisms of the Lie algebra G. We identify the
spaces G and G* using this inner product. Let α be a regular element of G and G" its
centralizer. Then Ga is a Cartan subalgebra of G. Let b e Ga and let D: Ga -* G" be a
symmetric operator. Define the operator <pah D by the operator matrix
ι
I (adα) 0 1
<Pa,b,D = 1 (i)
0 D,
with respect to the orthogonal decomposition
G=[a,G] + Ga. (2)
u
Let r = dimG be the rank of the Lie algebra G. Let I(G) be the commutative associated
algebra of polynomial functions on G which are invariant with respect to the coadjoint
representation Ad of the Lie group © on G. It is well known that this algebra is generated
by algebraically independent homogeneous invariants Jv...,Jr. Let J/a(X) denote the
functional coefficient of Xj in the polynomial / ; (λ; A') = Jt(X + λα). Here i = 1,..., r
and j = 0,..., m,, where mi + 1 is the degree of the invariant Jr As proved in [3], the
functions J'ia are commuting integrals of the Hamiltonian system

Consequently, the functions J^a ° Μ are commuting integrals of the Hamiltonian system
on T*N with quadratic Hamiltonian

I = M(x, p). It is known that, for any compact Lie algebra G, some (that is, at least one)
of the operators <pahD will be positive definite. For these operators, therefore, the
Hamiltonians Ha b D are Hamiltonians of geodesic flows of suitable Riemannian metrics.
THEOREM 3. Let Ν be a symmetric space of a compact semisimple Lie group &>, let G be
the Lie algebra of ©, and let M: T*N -* G* be the moment map. If a is an element of G in
general position, then the Hamiltonian system on T*N with quadratic Hamiltonian Ha h D is
completely integrable in the sense of Liouville. In addition, the functions J/a ° Μ are
commuting integrals and \ dim T*N of them can be chosen to be independent.

PROOF. Let m = dimG. Choose a basis {g,}™ of G and consider the elements g, as
functions on T*N which are linear in p: g,(x, p) = p(g,(x)). Let d (d = dim M(T*N))
be the number of g, which are independent on T*N. Let k be the maximum rank, over all
(JC, p) e T*N, of the matrix ({ g,, g}}) of pairwise Poisson brackets of the g, at (x, p), and
let s be the dimension of N.
Mishchenko [2] proved that k = 2(d — s) for any symmetric space N. In this connec-
tion, the semisimplicity of the Lie group © does not play an essential role. The relation
k = 2(d - s) allows us to draw a conclusion about the number of integrals J/a ° Μ which
are independent. In fact, let Ο be an orbit of the representation Ad which is contained in
the image of T*N under the moment map and which has maximal dimension among all
 CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS 27

such orbits. Then dim Ο = k. It follows from a result of Dao Chong Thi [6] (see also
Theorem 4 below) that one can choose \ dim Ο of the functions J/a in such a way that
their restrictions to the orbit Ο remain independent. Supplementing these with the
d— dim Ο independent invariants (see Lemma 4.1 below), we find that ^dimO +
(d — dimO) of the functions J/a remain independent after being restricted to the image
of the moment map. Consequently, \ dimO + (d — dimO) = \k + (d - k) = d - \k =
s of the functions Jja ° Μ are independent. Thus, Theorem 3 would be completely proved
if it were not for the inaccuracies, noted in [2], in the proof of the result of Dao Chong Thi
which we just cited. In the next section we correct these inaccuracies. In addition, we will
need the following result.
LEMMA 4.1. One can choose d — dim Ο of the functions J/'a ° Μ to be independent.
PROOF. Let X be an element in Ο and Η any Cartan subalgebra of G containing X. Let
R be the root system and S o = ( a e i : « ( i ) = 0}. Since the dimension of Ο is
maximal, all orbits in M{T*N) close to Ο intersect the linear space Hx = [h e H:a(h)
= 0 Va e RQ}. Consequently, to prove the lemma it suffices to prove that each vector
ξ e Ηχ is a linear combination of the gradients g r a d ^ X ) . We shall prove this. Let
{X0,...,Xm} be the orbit of the Weyl group W passing through X and let Ρ be a
polynomial function on Η such that

, Χ, Φ Χ.

From the properties of root systems (see [11], Chapter V, §3.3, assertion (1)), it follows
that if ω{Χ) = X for ω e W, then ω(Ηχ) = Hx. Therefore the gradient of the function

at the point X is proportional to ξ. The function Pw is invariant wiih respect to W and,

consequently, is the restriction of some invariant J e I(G) to H. Since the invariants Ji
are generators of the algebra I(G), the gradient of / at X is a linear combination of the
gradients grad Jj{X).
§5. The completeness of certain commuting sets of functions on
semisimple orbits in semisimple Lie algebras
Let G be a semisimple Lie algebra and I(G) the algebra of invariants. An orbit Ο of
the associated Lie group is called semisimple if it consists of semisimple elements (see [8])
of G. Let Jx,...,Jr be a set of homogeneous invariants which generate I(G) and let a be
an arbitrary element of G. As above, we let J/a denote the coefficients of λ ; in the
polynomial Jj(X', λ) = Jt(X + λα). It is known (see [3]) that the functions JJa are
integrals of the equations X= [Χ, ψα h D(X)] and that these integrals ensure complete
integrability of the given equations on the general position orbits in G. Thus, the following
theorem is a sharpening of the theorem of Mishchenko and Fomenko [3] in the case of
singular semisimple orbits.
THEOREM 4.(3) For any semisimple orbit Ο in G and any element a of G in general
position, j dim Ο of the functions J/a can be chosen so that they remain independent when
restricted to O.

( 3 )This theorem was proved simultaneously and independently by I. V. Mikityuk [22].

28 Α. V. BRAILOV

Before directly embarking on the proof of Theorem 4, we consider the case of complex
semisimple Lie algebras, which is a little simpler. We make a number of assumptions
which will remain in force for Lemmas 5.1-5.5 below (up to the beginning of the proof of
Theorem 4). Let G be a complex semisimple Lie algebra. Fix a semisimple element
I e G , a Cartan subalgebra Η for which X e H, and a Weyl basis (Xa)a(E R of G modulo
H. Here R = R(G, H) is the root system. For each basis Β of R, we let e+ denote the
element Σα(= BXa- Let R+ denote the set of positive roots and R_ the set of negative roots.
We also define the sets of roots

0}, (1)
R'±= R' Π R±. (2)

LEMMA 5.1. There exists a basis Β such that

(R'++ B)C\R<Z R'+. (3)

PROOF. Let ζ be a complex number such that for each root α e R' the real part
Re a(zX) Φ 0. Choose a basis Β so that the real part satisfies Re a(zX) > 0 for each root
α e B. Then, in the case β e R'+, a e B, we have Κζβ(ζΧ) > 0, Rsa(zX) > 0, and
Re(a + β)(ζΧ) > 0. Consequently, if a + β e R, then a + β e Λ'+. The lemma is
proved.
Each root α e R determines a space
Ga={X<=G:[h,X] = a{h)XVh(EH} (4)

and an element Ha e [G",G~a], <x(Ha) = 2. We also require some results of Kostant [9],
[10]. We cite them in the way in which they were formulated in [8].

LEMMA 5.2 (see [8]). Let G be a complex semisimple Lie algebra of rank r. Let Η be a
Cartan subalgebra, R — R(G, H) the root system, Β a basis of R, and h an element of Η
such that a(h) = 2 for any a e B. Set h = LaeBcaHa. Let b = LaeBc~1X_a and S =
Ce + + Ch + Cb.
a) Then [h, e+ ] = 2e+, [h, b] = -2b, and [e+, b] = h. In addition, dimGe = dimGh = r.
b) Consider G as the S-module corresponding to the adjoint representation. Let G = Ax
θ • · · ®An be a decomposition of this module into a direct sum of simple S-modules of
dimensions vx + 1,... ,vn + 1, where vr < · · · < vn. Then η = r.
c) Let Jx,...,Jr be homogeneous, algebraically independent generators of the algebra of
invariants I(G) of degrees mx + 1,..., mr + 1, where mx < · • • < mr. Then P, = 2m, for
any i = 1, . . . , # · .
d ) The differentials of the functions Jx,...,Jr are linearly independent at any point of the
sete + + Gk.

For h as in Lemma 5.2, all eigenvalues of the endomorphism ad h are even integers. For
each integer η let G" denote the eigenspace of the endomorphism ad h with eigenvalue
In. The space G" is called the wth diagonal of the Lie algebra G. Let a e R b e a root and
α = E^egW^yS, where the m^ are suitable integers. The number \a\ = Σβ£Βηΐβ is called
the height of the root a. It follows from the definition of the diagonals of G that G° = Η
and G" = φ G" for η Φ 0. Let Jx,...,Jr be a set of homogeneous generators of the
algebra I(G) of degrees mx + \,... ,mr + 1. For an arbitrary element a&G, the
 CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLETELY INTEGRABLE GEODESIC FLOWS 29

differentials dJ/a(X) satisfy the following equalities (see [3]):

0,
1
[X,dJ$(X)\ +\a,dJfi- (X)] = 0,
[a,dJ£(X)]=0.
For each integer ρ > 0, we let Vp(X,a) denote the linear span of the differentials
dJ/u(X) for which j «ξ p. We let V(X,a) denote the linear span of all differentials

LEMMA 5.3 (see [3]). Let Jv...,Jr be homogeneous generators of the algebra I(G). Then,
for any basis Β of the root system R and for any ρ > 0,

Vp(X,e+)cG°+ ••• + GP,

where G' (i = 0 , . . . , p) is the ith diagonal of G.

LEMMA 5.4. Let Jv...,Jr be algebraically independent homogeneous generators of the

algebra I(G) of degrees m1 + l,...,mr+ 1. For each integer ρ > 0, define the spaces

Gp = G° + • • • + Gp, G/+ = Gp Π Ge+.

For each ρ > 0,

G/+c Vp(X,e+).

PROOF. We note that dJ^(X) = d/-(e + ). Let Wp denote the linear span of the
dJj™' (X) for which mi < p. On account of Lemma 5.2a), d) we have d i m C 4 = r, and the
differentials dJt{e+) generate the space Ge*. Therefore, the differentials d J , ( e + ) =
dJ^'J^X) are linearly independent. Consequently, dim Wp/Wp_l = m{p), where m(p) is
the number of mt equal to p. Let the spaces Ax,..., Ar and the element h be as in Lemma
5.2. Define the spaces A[ = Αλ Π Gp,...,Ap = ArD Gp. Since Gp is an eigenspace of
P e r e
t h e e n d o m o r p h i s m a d ^ w e h a v e G ' ' = A[ + ·•• +A a n d C η G -= ® i=ml{Af Π G -).
e
Note that Af Π C+Φ 0 only in the case when mi = p, and then dim(^f η G *) = 1.
Therefore, dim(Gp η Ge+) = m(p). Consequently, dimWp = dimGp +. According to
e + +
Lemma 5.3, Wp c G p\ from which we obtain Wp = G/ . Finally, G/ = Wpa Vp(X, e+).
The lemma is proved.

LEMMA 5.5. Let G be a complex semisimple Lie algebra. Let X e G be a semisimple

element, Η a Cartan subalgebra containing X, and Β a basis of the root system R = R{G, H)
such that the inclusion (3) holds. Let Jl,...,Jr be a set of homogeneous generators of the
algebra of invariants I(G) and, for each element a e G, let Vp(x, a) denote the linear span
of the differentials dJ/a(X) for which j ^p and V(x,a) the linear span of all the
p
differentials dJ/a(X). Set Τ = [X,G], Τ" = Τ Π G , where G" is a diagonal of G, and
+ ρ
T = Σρ>0Τ . Let (Xa) be a Weyl basis of G modulo H. Then, for the element a = e + =
Σα(ΕΒΧα, the inclusions T+c V(X, e + ) and Tp c Vp(X, e + ) hold for each ρ > 0.

PROOF. We show that Tp c Vp(X, e+) by induction. If ρ is greater than all the degrees
of the invariants J1,..., Jr, then Τ (Ί Gp = 0 and the initial assumption of the induction
is satisfied. Let α be a root of height ρ and a{X) Φ 0. Since the basis Β was chosen so
30 Α. V. BRAILOV

that (3) is satisfied, we have [e+, Xa] e Tp+l. Let U e Tp+l be an element such that
[X,U]+[e + ,Xa] = 0. (6)
By the induction assumption, Tp+1 c Vp+l(X,e+). Consequently

U= £Icfd^(l) (7)
;=iy=i
for suitable complex numbers c/. Using (5) with a = e+, we obtain

[χ,υ] +, Σ Σ c/d^- =0 (8)

from (7). Subtracting (8) from (6), we find that

+
,Xa~ Σ = 0. (9)
7
Consequently,

Because Xa e Γ ρ and dJ/J+l(X) e Gp for all i = 1,..., r and j = 1,..., ρ + 1 (on

account of Lemma 5.3), we also have

xa- Σ fc;
' = 1 7= 1

On account of Lemma 5.4 we have Gep* c F p (x,e + ). Consequently, Xa e ^ ( X , e + ) .

Since a was an arbitrary root for which \a\ = ρ and a(X) Φ 0, it follows that Tp c
Fp(X,e + ). By induction, we find that Tp c ^(A",e + ) for any integer ρ > 0. Conse-
quently T+ c F(x, e+). The lemma is proved.
PROOF OF THEOREM 4. Fix an arbitrary element X e O . Since Ο is a semisimple orbit
by hypothesis, X is a semisimple element of G. Let Gc be the complexification of the real
Lie algebra G, let Η be a Cartan subalgebra of Gc containing X, and let R = R(GC, H)
be the root system. Fix a basis Β of i? so that (3) holds. Choose a Weyl basis (Xa)a<= R of
G c modulo //. Applying Lemma 5.5 to Gc, we find that, for the element a = e + = Σ ο ε Β λ"«,
+
we can choose d i m c r = ^ dim R 0 of the functions J(a to be independent and such that
they remain independent after restriction to the orbit O. Since the functions J(a depend
algebraically on the parameter a, this is true not only for the element a — e+, but also for
any element α in a Zariski open subset Ζ of Gc. For an element a of G in general
position, we have a e Z. The theorem is proved.
Received 13/JUNE/83 and 15/NOV/85

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Translated by D. B. O'SHEA