Quantum Sugawara operators in type A

arXiv:2212.11435v1 [math.QA] 22 Dec 2022

Naihuan Jing, Ming Liu and Alexander Molev

Abstract
We construct Sugawara operators for the quantum affine algebra of type A in an ex-
plicit form. The operators are associated with primitive idempotents of the Hecke algebra
and parameterized by Young diagrams. This generalizes a previous construction (2016)
where one-column diagrams were considered. We calculate the Harish-Chandra images of
the Sugawara operators and identify them with the eigenvalues of the operators acting in the
q-deformed Wakimoto modules.

1 Introduction
The Sugawara operators associated with a simple Lie algebra g are elements of the center of
a completed universal enveloping algebra U( e gb) of the affine Lie algebra g
b at the critical level.
A detailed account of Sugawara operators based on the vertex algebra theory along with their
connections with the geometry of opers is given in the book [8]; see also [19] for explicit con-
structions in the classical types.
The q-versions of the operators originate in [22]; these are elements of the center Zq (gb) of
the completion U e (g
q b ) of the quantum affine algebra at the critical level and we call them the
quantum Sugawara operators in this paper. According to [22], a formal Laurent series ℓV (z)
with coefficients in Zq (gb) can be associated with every finite-dimensional representation V of
the quantum affine algebra Uq (gb). By the results of [4], the map V 7→ ℓV (z) possesses properties
of a homomorphism from the Grothendieck ring Rep Uq (gb) to formal series in z and the coeffi-
cients of ℓV (z) generate all singular vectors in Verma modules. Furthermore, the Harish-Chandra
images of the quantum Sugawara operators essentially coincide with the q-characters of finite-
dimensional representations of Uq (gb) and can also be interpreted as elements of the q-deformed
classical W-algebras; see [10].
A key starting point in the above mentioned constructions of the quantum Sugawara operators
is the existence of the universal R-matrix in the Drinfeld presentation of Uq (gb) [6]. The series
ℓV (z) is defined via the L-operators constructed from the universal R-matrix and its properties
imply the centrality property of ℓV (z).

1
 In this paper we take a different viewpoint and define the quantum affine algebra Uq (gb) in
type A via its RLL presentation. Given an arbitrary Young diagram λ containing at most n rows,
we produce explicit formulas for Laurent series SΛ (z) in z, whose coefficients are quantum
Sugawara operators (Theorem 3.1). They are elements of the center of the completed universal
enveloping algebra U e (gl
b ) at the critical level. In the particular case of one-column diagrams λ
q n
these operators were already found in [7].
Our arguments are based on the quantum Schur–Weyl duality [15] between the Hecke algebra
Hm and the quantized enveloping algebra Uq (gln ). Given a Young diagram λ with m boxes, we
choose a standard λ-tableau Λ and consider the corresponding primitive idempotent eλΛ ∈ Hm .
By employing the commuting actions of Hm and Uq (gln ) on the vector space (C n )⊗m , we define
the series SΛ (z) as the weighted trace of the image of eλΛ in the representation, multiplied by a
product of L-operators; see formula (3.14) below. The series SΛ (z) turns out not to depend on
the choice of Λ. The images of the coefficients of SΛ (z) in the vacuum module at the critical
level are invariants of the module (Corollary 3.4).
In the proof that the coefficients of SΛ (z) belong to the center of U e (gl
b ) at the critical
q n
level, we generalize the R-matrix calculations of [7] and use the fusion procedure for the Hecke
algebra [3], [20]; see also [14]. Although the part of the proof involving the Hecke algebra relies
on suitable q-versions of the symmetric group arguments originated in [21], some significant new
ingredients turned out to be necessary for the evaluation of the Harish-Chandra images; cf. the
Yangian versions considered in [16] and [19, Ch. 10].
We will show that, upon a suitable identification of the parameters, the Harish-Chandra im-
ages of the series SΛ (z) coincide with the q-characters of the evaluation modules L(λ◦ ) over
b ) associated with λ (see Remark 4.6). Moreover, the coefficients of the series S (z) are
Uq (gl n Λ
known to act as multiplication by scalars in the q-deformed Wakimoto modules over Uq (gl b ) at
n
the critical level [1]. We show that the eigenvalues essentially coincide with the Harish-Chandra
images of the coefficients. This extends the corresponding results of [7] to arbitrary Young dia-
grams.

2 Schur elements and fusion procedure for Hecke algebras

Throughout the paper we assume that q is a fixed nonzero complex number which is not a root of
unity. We let Hm denote the Hecke algebra over C which is generated by elements T1 , . . . , Tm−1
subject to the relations
(Ti − q)(Ti + q −1 ) = 0,
Ti Ti+1 Ti = Ti+1 Ti Ti+1 ,
Ti Tj = Tj Ti for |i − j| > 1.
The condition on q ensures that the algebra Hm is semisimple and we will recall some basic facts
about its representations; see e.g. [12], [18].
For i = 1, . . . , m − 1 we let σi = (i, i + 1) be the adjacent transpositions in the symmetric
group Sm . Choose a reduced decomposition σ = σi1 . . . σil of any element σ ∈ Sm and set
Tσ = Ti1 . . . Til . This element of the algebra Hm does not depend on the choice of reduced

2
decomposition of σ. The element of maximal length in Sm will be denoted by σ0 and we set
T0 = Tσ0 . The elements Tσ parameterized by σ ∈ Sm form a basis of Hm . Set Tσ∗ = Tσ−1 and
extend this star operation to Hm by linearity. It defines an involutive anti-automorphism of Hm .

Young basis and matrix units. We will use some standard notation on partitions. Any partition
λ = (λ1 , . . . , λl ) will be identified with the corresponding Young diagram which is a left-justified
array of rows of unit boxes such that the top row contains λ1 boxes, the next row contains λ2
boxes, etc. We will need the conjugate partition λ′ = (λ′1 , . . . , λ′r ) so that λ′j is the number
of boxes in the j-th column of the Young diagram λ. If α = (i, j) is a box of λ, then the
corresponding hook length is defined as h(α) = λi +λ′j −i−j +1 and the content is c(α) = j −i.
The irreducible representations of Hm over C are parameterized by partitions of m. Given
such a partition λ ⊢ m, we let Vλ denote the corresponding irreducible representation and let

ϕλ : Hm → End Vλ (2.1)

be the associated homomorphism. The vector space Vλ is equipped with an Hm -invariant inner
product h , i = h , iVλ so that hhv1 , v2 i = hv1 , h∗ v2 i for h ∈ Hm and v1 , v2 ∈ Vλ .
A tableau U of shape λ ⊢ m (or a λ-tableau) is obtained by filling in the boxes of the diagram
with the numbers in a given set {1, . . . , n}. The tableau is called semistandard if the entries
weakly increase along each row from left to right and strictly increase in each column from top
to bottom. We write sh(U) = λ if the shape of U is λ. A λ-tableau with entries in {1, . . . , m}
which are filled in the boxes bijectively is called standard if its entries strictly increase along the
rows and down the columns.
The orthonormal Young basis {vΛ } of Vλ is parameterized by the set of standard λ-tableaux
Λ. We will write fλ = dim Vλ for the number of such tableaux. Given a standard λ-tableau Λ,
we let ck (Λ) denote the content j − i of the box (i, j) of λ occupied by k in Λ. We also set
dk (Λ) = ck+1 (Λ) − ck (Λ) and use the standard notation

q n − q −n
[n]q = and [n]q ! = [1]q · · · [n]q .
q − q −1
The action of the generators of Hm in the orthonormal Young basis of Vλ can be described
explicitly by using the seminormal form of [5] and [13]. Namely, by normalizing the basis
vectors, for any k ∈ {1, . . . , m − 1} we get
v
u
q dk (Λ) u 1
Tk vΛ = vΛ + t1 − v , (2.2)
[dk (Λ)]q [dk (Λ)]2q σk Λ

where the tableau σk Λ is obtained from Λ by swapping the entries k and k + 1, and we assume
that vσk Λ = 0 if the tableau σk Λ is not standard. We will denote the character of the Hm -module
Vλ by χλ .
For any skew diagram θ with m boxes, the same formulas (2.2) define a representation of the
Hecke algebra Hm on the linear span Vθ of vectors vΛ parameterized by standard tableaux Λ of
shape θ. We will write χθ for the character of Vθ .

3
 The symmetrizing trace on the Hecke algebra is the linear map

τ : Hm → C, τ (Tσ ) = δσ,e ,

where e denotes the identity element of Sm . This induces a symmetric algebra structure on Hm
associated with the bilinear form

Hm ⊗ Hm → C, h1 ⊗ h2 7→ τ (h1 h2 ),

which is symmetric and non-degenerate. The dual basis of {Tσ }σ∈Sm with respect to the form is
{Tσ−1 }σ∈Sm [18, Prop. 4.45].
For any u ∈ End Vλ , define I(u) ∈ End Vλ by
X
I(u) = ϕλ (Tσ ) u ϕλ(Tσ−1 ).
σ∈Sm

It is straightforward to verify that the operator I(u) belongs to EndHm Vλ and therefore must be
proportional to the identity operator by Schur’s Lemma. In fact,

I(u) = cλ trVλ (u)idVλ , (2.3)

where the constant factor cλ is the Schur element given by the Steinberg formula
Y
cλ = q c(α) [h(α)]q ;
α∈λ

see e.g. [18, Thm 4.64] for the calculation. We get the following formula for the symmetrizing
trace X χλ
τ= . (2.4)
c
λ⊢m λ

The Hecke algebra Hm is semisimple and isomorphic to the direct sum of matrix algebras
M
Hm ∼
= Matfλ (C). (2.5)
λ⊢m

Via this isomorphism, the matrix units eλΛ,Γ ∈ Matfλ (C) can be identified with elements of Hm
by
1 X
eλΛ,Γ = hTσ−1 vΛ , vΓ iVλ Tσ . (2.6)
cλ σ∈Sm
We also point out the character orthogonality relations
X
χλ (Tσ )χµ (Tσ−1 ) = δλ,µ cλ fλ (2.7)
σ∈Sm

which hold for any partitions λ, µ ⊢ m.

4
Fusion procedure. The diagonal matrix units eλΛ = eλΛΛ are primitive idempotents of Hm . They
will play a special role in what follows so we will produce a few formulas for their calculation.
Note their immediate properties:

eλΛ eλΓ = 0 if Λ 6= Γ and (eλΛ )2 = eλΛ

together with the decomposition of the identity in Hm

X X
1= eλΛ .
λ⊢m sh(Λ)=λ

Lemma 2.1. Let Λ be a standard λ-tableau and let k ∈ {1, . . . , m − 1}. Then
! v
u
q dk (Λ) u 1
eλΛ Tk − = t1 − eλ
[dk (Λ)]q [dk (Λ)]2q Λ,σk Λ

and ! v
u
q −dk (Λ) u 1
Tk + eλσk Λ = t1 − eλ ,
[dk (Λ)]q [dk (Λ)]2q Λ,σk Λ

assuming that eλΛ,σk Λ = 0 if the tableau σk Λ is not standard.

Proof. Both relations are verified in the same way, so we will only consider the first one. Write
X
eλΛ Tk = a(σ) Tσ , a(σ) ∈ C.
σ∈Sm

By applying (2.4) we get

X χµ (eλΛ Tk Tσ−1 ) 1 1
a(σ) = τ (eλΛ Tk Tσ−1 ) = = χλ (eλΛ Tk Tσ−1 ) = χλ (Tσ−1 eλΛ Tk ).
µ⊢m cµ cλ cλ

Since X
χλ (u) = hu vΓ, vΓ i,
Γ, sh(Γ)=λ

we can use (2.2) and the matrix unit formula (2.6) to bring this to the form
v
u
1 X q dk (Γ) D E 1 X u 1 D E
a(σ) = Tσ−1 eλΛ vΓ , vΓ + t1 − Tσ
λ
−1 e v
Λ σ Γ , vΓ
cλ sh(Γ)=λ [dk (Γ)]q cλ sh(Γ)=λ
[dk (Γ)]2q k

v
u
1 q dk (Λ) D E 1 u
t1 −
1 D E
= Tσ−1 vΛ , vΛ + Tσ −1 v , v
Λ σ Λ ,
cλ [dk (Λ)]q cλ [dk (Λ)]2q k

thus yielding the required formula.

5
 The primitive idempotents eλΛ can be expressed explicitly in terms of the pairwise commuting
Jucys–Murphy elements of Hm which are defined by y1 = 1 and
 
yk = 1 + (q − q −1 ) T(1,k) + T(2,k) + · · · + T(k−1,k) , k = 2, . . . , m,

where the elements T(i,j) ∈ Hm are associated with the transpositions (i, j) ∈ Sm ; see [3], [5].
Let m > 2 and let λ be a partition of m. Fix a standard λ-tableau Λ and denote by Γ the standard
tableau obtained from Λ by removing the box α occupied by m. Then the shape of Γ is a diagram
which we denote by µ. We let c denote the content of the box α and let u be a complex variable.
We have the recurrence relations

u − q 2c  (ym − q 2a1 ) . . . (ym − q 2al )
eλΛ = eµΓ and eλΛ = eµΓ ,
u − ym u=q2c (q 2c − q 2a1 ) . . . (q 2c − q 2al )
where a1 , . . . , al are the contents of all addable boxes of µ except for α, while c is the content of
the latter.
Another way to calculate the primitive idempotents is based on the fusion procedure for the
Hecke algebra Hm , originated in [3] with detailed proofs given in [20]. It will be sufficient for
us to use its simple version obtained in [14] which we recall below. For each k = 1, . . . , m − 1,
introduce the Hm -valued rational functions in two variables x, y by
q − q −1
Tk (x, y) = Tk + ,
x−1 y − 1
which satisfy the relations

Tk (x, y) Tk+1(x, z) Tk (y, z) = Tk+1 (y, z) Tk (x, z) Tk+1 (x, y)

and
2
(q − q −1 ) xy
Tk (x, y) Tk (y, x) = 1 − .
(x − y)2
Let Λ be a standard tableau of shape λ. We will keep the notation ck (Λ) for the content j − i
of the box (i, j) of λ occupied by k in Λ. Equip the set of all pairs (i, j) with 1 6 i < j 6 m
with the following ordering. The pair (i, j) precedes (i ′ , j ′ ) if j < j ′ , or if j = j ′ but i < i ′ . Set
−
→
Y  
TΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) = Tj−i q 2ci (Λ) zi , q 2cj (Λ) zj (2.8)
(i,j)

with the ordered product taken over the set of pairs. This is a rational function in variables
z1 , . . . , zm taking values in Hm . According to [14, Thm 3.3], the primitive idempotent eλΛ can be
obtained by the consecutive evaluations
1   
  
eλΛ = TΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) T0−1   ... , (2.9)
cλ ′ z 1 =1 z 2 =1 zm =1

which are all well-defined; the rational functions are regular at the evaluation points at each step,
and cλ′ is the Schur element associated with λ′ .

6
3 Formulas for Sugawara operators
As before, we regard q as a nonzero complex number which is not a root of unity. We will take
b ) introduced in [22] as its definition.
the RLL presentation of the quantum affine algebra Uq (gl n
We let eij ∈ End C n denote the standard matrix units and consider the R-matrices
X
R(x) = eii ⊗ eii
i

1−x X (q − q −1 ) x X q − q −1 X
+ eii ⊗ ejj + eij ⊗ eji + eij ⊗ eji (3.1)
q − q −1 x i6=j q − q −1 x i>j q − q −1 x i<j

and
R(x) = f (x)R(x), (3.2)
where ∞
X
f (x) = 1 + fk xk , fk = fk (q),
k=1

is a formal power series in x whose coefficients fk are uniquely determined by the relation
(1 − xq 2 )(1 − xq 2n−2 )
f (xq 2n ) = f (x) .
(1 − x)(1 − xq 2n )
b ) is generated by elements
The quantum affine algebra Uq (gl n

+ −
lij [−r], lij [r] with 1 6 i, j 6 n, r = 0, 1, . . . ,

and the invertible central element q c , subject to the defining relations

+ −
lji [0] = lij [0] = 0 for 1 6 i < j 6 n,
lii+ [0] lii− [0] = lii− [0] lii+ [0] = 1 for i = 1, . . . , n,

and

R(u/v)L± ± ± ±
1 (u)L2 (v) = L2 (v)L1 (u)R(u/v), (3.3)
R(uq −c /v)L+ − − + c
1 (u)L2 (v) = L2 (v)L1 (u)R(uq /v). (3.4)
h i
±
In the last two relations we consider the matrices L± (u) = lij (u) , whose entries are formal
−1
power series in u and u ,
∞
X ∞
X
+ +
lij (u) = lij [−r]ur , −
lij (u) = −
lij [r]u−r . (3.5)
r=0 r=0

Here and below we regard the matrices as elements

n
X
L± (u) = ±
eij ⊗ lij b )[[u±1 ]]
(u) ∈ End C n ⊗ Uq (gl n
i,j=1

7
and use a subscript to indicate a copy of the matrix in the multiple tensor product algebra

End b )[[u±1 ]]
C n ⊗ .{z. . ⊗ End C n} ⊗Uq (gl (3.6)
| n
m

so that n
X
L±
a (u) = 1⊗(a−1) ⊗ eij ⊗ 1⊗(m−a) ⊗ lij
±
(u).
i,j=1

In particular, we take m = 2 for the defining relations (3.3) and (3.4).

This notation for elements of algebras of the form (3.6) will be extended as follows. For an
element n X
C= cijrs eij ⊗ ers ∈ End C n ⊗ End C n
i,j,r,s=1

and any two indices a, b ∈ {1, . . . , m} such that a 6= b, we denote by Ca b the element of the
algebra (End C n )⊗m with m > 2 given by
n
X
Ca b = cijrs (eij )a (ers )b , (eij )a = 1⊗(a−1) ⊗ eij ⊗ 1⊗(m−a) . (3.7)
i,j,r,s=1

We regard the matrix transposition as the linear map

t : End C n → End C n , eij 7→ eji .

For any a ∈ {1, . . . , m} we will denote by ta the corresponding partial transposition on the
algebra (3.6) which acts as t on the a-th copy of End C n and as the identity map on all the other
tensor factors.
The R-matrix (3.2) satisfies the crossing symmetry relations [11]:
 t2  t1
R12 (x)−1 D2 R12 (xq 2n )t2 = D2 and R12 (xq 2n )t1 D1 R12 (x)−1 = D1 , (3.8)

where D denotes the diagonal n × n matrix

h i
D = diag q n−1 , q n−3, . . . , q −n+1 (3.9)

with the meaning of subscripts as in (3.7).

Denote by Uq (gl b ) the quantum affine algebra at the critical level c = −n, which is the
n cri
quotient of Uq (gl e (gl
b ) by the relation q c = q −n . Its completion U b ) is defined as the inverse
n q n cri
limit
e (gl
U b ) = lim U (gl b ) /J , p > 0, (3.10)
q n cri q n cri p
←−

where Jp denotes the left ideal of Uq (gl b ) generated by all elements l− [r] with r > p. Elements
n cri ij
b e b
of the center Zq (gln ) of Uq (gln )cri are known as (quantum) Sugawara operators.
The R-matrix R(x) can be written as
 
1−x q − q −1
R(x) = R + P ,
q − q −1 x x−1 − 1

8
where n
X X X
R=q eii ⊗ eii + eii ⊗ ejj + (q − q −1 ) eij ⊗ eji, (3.11)
i=1 i6=j i<j

and n
X
P = eij ⊗ eji .
i,j=1

Setting Ř = P R, we get

Řk Řk+1 Řk = Řk+1 Řk Řk+1 and (Řk − q)(Řk + q −1 ) = 0,

where Řk = Pk,k+1Rk,k+1 . Hence we obtain a representation of the Hecke algebra Hm on the
tensor product space (C n )⊗m defined by

Tk 7→ Řk , k = 1, . . . , m − 1. (3.12)

We will write Ř0 for the image of the element T0 ∈ Hm . Furthermore, we find that under this
action of the Hecke algebra,

q − q −1
Tk (x, y) 7→ Řk (x/y) with Řk (z) = Řk + .
z −1 − 1

Given a standard tableau Λ of shape λ ⊢ m, we will let ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) denote the image of the
product (2.8) and denote by EΛλ (or just EΛ ) the image of the primitive idempotent eλΛ under the
action (3.12). Clearly, EΛ2 = EΛ , and the fusion formula (2.9) implies the relation
1   
  
EΛ = ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) Ř0−1   ... . (3.13)
cλ′ z1 =1 z2 =1 zm =1

The operator EΛ is zero unless the Young diagram λ contains at most n rows. In what follows,
we will assume that λ satisfies this condition. Introduce the Laurent series SΛ (z) in z by

SΛ (z) = tr1,...,m L+
1 (zq
−2c1 (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (zq
−2cm (Λ)
)
−n−2cm (Λ) −1 −n−2c1 (Λ) −1
(3.14)
× L−
m (zq ) . . . L−
1 (zq ) D1 . . . Dm EΛ ,

where D is the diagonal matrix (3.9) and the trace is taken over all m copies of End C n in (3.6).
e (gl
All coefficients of the series SΛ (z) are elements of the algebra U b ) .
q n cri
The following is our main result which provides explicit formulas for quantum Sugawara
operators.

Theorem 3.1. The coefficients of the series SΛ (z) belong to the center Zq (gl b ) of the completed
n
e b
quantum affine algebra at the critical level Uq (gln )cri . Moreover, SΛ (z) does not depend on the
standard λ-tableau Λ and only depends on the Young diagram λ.

9
 The proof of Theorem 3.1 will be given in the rest of this section. Set
−2c1 (Λ) −2cm (Λ)
L± ±
Λ (z) = L1 (zq ) . . . L±
m (zq )
and LΛ (z) = L+ −
Λ (z)LΛ (zq
−n −1
) . Then SΛ (z) can be written as
SΛ (z) = tr1,...,m LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ .
Lemma 3.2. We have the relations
L+ +
Λ (z)EΛ = EΛ LΛ (z)EΛ ,

L−
Λ (zq
−n −1
) EΛ = EΛ L−
Λ (zq
−n −1
) EΛ ,
and hence
LΛ (z)EΛ = EΛ LΛ (z)EΛ .
Proof. By the RLL-relations (3.3) we have
ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) L+
1 (zm q
−2cm (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (z1 q
−2c1 (Λ)
)
= L+
1 (z1 q
−2c1 (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (zm q
−2cm (Λ)
) ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ). (3.15)

Multiply both sides by the element Ř0−1 from the right and apply consecutive evaluations by
setting z1 = z, z2 = z, . . . , zm = z to derive from (3.13) that
EΛ Ř0 L+
1 (zq
−2cm (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (zq
−2c1 (Λ)
)Ř0−1 = L+
1 (zq
−2c1 (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (zq
−2cm (Λ)
) EΛ .
This shows that the right hand side stays unchanged when it is multiplied by EΛ from the left
thus proving the first relation.
To prove the second relation, we start with the counterpart of (3.15) for the matrix L− (z) in
place of L+ (z). Then multiply both sides by the inverses of the products of the L-matrices to get
−2c1 (Λ) −1 −2cm (Λ) −1
ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ) L−
m (z1 q ) . . . L−
1 (zm q )
−2cm (Λ) −1 −2c1 (Λ) −1
= L−
m (zm q ) . . . L−
1 (z1 q ) ŘΛ (z1 , . . . , zm ).
Now continue with the same argument as for the first relation, but with the consecutive evalua-
tions z1 = zq −n , z2 = zq −n , . . . , zm = zq −n and the application of (3.13).
Introduce an extra copy of the endomorphism algebra End C n in (3.6) and label it by 0 to
work with the algebra  ⊗m
End C n ⊗ End C n ⊗Ue (gl
b ) . (3.16)
q n cri

The R-matrix (3.2) satisfies the Yang–Baxter equation

R(u/v)R02 (w/v)R01 (w/u) = R01 (w/u)R02(u/v)R(u/v)
which implies
Ř(u/v)R02(w/v)R01 (w/u) = R02 (w/u)R01 (u/v)Ř(u/v).
Therefore, by replacing the L-matrices with the elements R0i (zi ) in the proof of Lemma 3.2, we
get its following counterpart.

10
Lemma 3.3. We have the relations
       
zq 2n+2cm (Λ) zq 2n+2c1 (Λ) zq 2n+2cm (Λ) zq 2n+2c1 (Λ)
EΛ R0m . . . R01 EΛ = R0m . . . R01 EΛ
w w w w
and
 −1  −1  −1  −1
zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ) zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ)
EΛ R01 . . . R0m EΛ = R01 . . . R0m EΛ .
w w w w
Now we will show that the coefficients of the series SΛ (z) belong to the center of the com-
pleted quantum affine algebra at the critical level.
It will be sufficient to verify what SΛ (w) commutes with L+ −
0 (z) and L0 (z), regarded as
elements of the algebra (3.16). The calculations are similar in both cases and so we will only
consider L+ 0 (z) and follow the arguments of [7, Sec. 3]. By using (3.3) and (3.4) we get

   
zq 2c1 (Λ) −1 zq 2cm (Λ) −1
L+
0 (z)LΛ (w)D1 . . . Dm EΛ = R01 . . . R0m LΛ (w)
w w
 2n+2cm (Λ)   2n+2c1 (Λ) 
zq zq
× R0m . . . R01 D1 . . . Dm EΛ L+
0 (z).
w w
Therefore, to conclude that L+ +
0 (z)SΛ (w) = SΛ (w)L0 (z) we need to show that the trace

 −1  
zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ) −1
tr1,...,m R01 . . . R0m LΛ (w)
w w
 2n+2cm (Λ)   2n+2c1 (Λ) 
zq zq
× R0m . . . R01 D1 . . . Dm EΛ (3.17)
w w
equals SΛ (w). Note that the product D1 . . . Dm commutes with both the elements of the sym-
metric group Sm and Hecke algebra Hm acting on the tensor product space (C n )⊗m . Hence,
using the relation EΛ2 = EΛ and applying Lemmas 3.2 and 3.3, we bring (3.17) to the form
 −1  
zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ) −1
tr1,...,m R01 . . . R0m EΛ LΛ (w)EΛ
w w
 2n+2cm (Λ)   2n+2c1 (Λ) 
zq zq
× R0m . . . R01 EΛ D1 . . . Dm .
w w
Set  −1  −1
zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ)
X = R01 . . . R0m EΛ LΛ (w)EΛ
w w
and    
zq 2n+2cm (Λ) zq 2n+2c1 (Λ)
Y = R0m . . . R01 EΛ D1 . . . Dm .
w w
Now use the property
tr1,...,m XY = tr1,...,m X t1 ...tm Y t1 ...tm .

11
By using the relation obtained by applying the transposition t1 . . . tm to both sides of the second
relation in Lemma 3.3, we get

tr1,...,m X t1 ...tm Y t1 ...tm

 t1  tm
 −1  −1
zq 2c1 (Λ) zq 2cm (Λ)
= tr1,...,m EΛt1 ...tm LtΛ1 ...tm (w)R01  . . . R0m 
w w
 tm  t1
zq 2n+2cm (Λ) zq 2n+2c1 (Λ)
× D1 . . . Dm R0m R01 .
w w
As a final step, use the first crossing symmetry relation in (3.8) to conclude that

tr1,...,m X t1 ...tm Y t1 ...tm = tr1,...,m EΛt1 ...tm LtΛ1 ...tm (w)D1 . . . Dm

= tr1,...,m D1 . . . Dm EΛt1 ...tm LtΛ1 ...tm (w)
= tr1,...,m LΛ (w)EΛD1 . . . Dm

which coincides with SΛ (w). This proves the first part of Theorem 3.1.
To prove the second part of Theorem 3.1, it will be enough to verify the relation

tr1,...,m LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ = tr1,...,m LΛ′ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ′ , (3.18)

where Λ′ = σk Λ is also a standard tableau for k ∈ {1, . . . , m − 1}. Set dk = dk (Λ) and note
that both operators Řk (q −2dk ) and Řk (q 2dk ) are invertible. By taking into account the property
P R(x)P = R(x−1 )−1 of the R-matrix (3.1) and using (3.3) we get the relation

LΛ (z)Řk (q −2dk ) = Řk (q −2dk )LΛ′ (z). (3.19)

Hence we can write

LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ = LΛ (z)Řk (q −2dk )Řk (q −2dk )−1 D1 . . . Dm EΛ

= Řk (q −2dk )LΛ′ (z)Řk (q −2dk )−1 EΛ EΛ D1 . . . Dm . (3.20)

Furthermore, the two relations of Lemma 2.1 imply

Řk (q −2dk )EΛ′ = EΛ Řk (q 2dk ) (3.21)

so that (3.20) takes the form

Řk (q −2dk )LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ Řk (q 2dk )−1 EΛ D1 . . . Dm

= Řk (q −2dk )EΛ′ LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ Řk (q −2dk )−1 EΛ D1 . . . Dm
= Řk (q −2dk )EΛ′ LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ D1 . . . Dm Řk (q −2dk )−1 EΛ ,

12
where we also used Lemma 3.2. Now use the cyclic property of trace to write

tr1,...,m LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ = tr1,...,m Řk (q −2dk )−1 EΛ Řk (q −2dk )EΛ′ LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ D1 . . . Dm
= tr1,...,m Řk (q −2dk )−1 EΛ Řk (q 2dk )LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ D1 . . . Dm
= tr1,...,m Řk (q −2dk )−1 Řk (q −2dk )EΛ′ LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ D1 . . . Dm

which coincides with

tr1,...,m LΛ′ (z)EΛ′ D1 . . . Dm = tr1,...,m LΛ′ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ′

thus proving (3.18) and completing the proof of Theorem 3.1.

Since the series SΛ (z) does not depend on the standard λ-tableau Λ, it is unambiguous to set
Sλ (z) = SΛ (z). We will also use the formula
1 X
Sλ (z) = tr1,...,m Tλ (z), Tλ (z) = LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ . (3.22)
fλ sh(Λ)=λ

We will now apply Theorem 3.1 to describe a family of invariants of the vacuum module at
b ) by the left ideal generated
the critical level Vq (gln ). It is defined as the quotient of Uq (gl n cri
−
by all elements lij [r] with r > 0 and by the elements li−j [0] − δi j with i > j. The module
Vq (gln ) is generated by the vector 1 (the image of 1 ∈ Uq (gl b ) in the quotient) such that
n cri
L− (u)1 = I 1, where I denotes the identity matrix. As a vector space, Vq (gln ) can be identified
with the subalgebra Yq (gln ) of Uq (gl b ) generated by the coefficients of all series l+ (u) subject
n cri ij
to the additional relations lii+ [0] = 1. The subspace of invariants of Vq (gln ) is defined by
b ) = {v ∈ V (gl ) | L− (u)v = I v};
zq (gl n q n

cf. [8, Sec. 3.3] and [10, Sec. 8]. Some closely related objects were also studied in [16] and
b ) as a subspace of Y (gl ).
[17] in the context of quantum vertex algebras. One can regard zq (gl n q n
Moreover, this subspace is closed under the multiplication in the quantum affine algebra. There-
b ) can be identified with a subalgebra of Y (gl ).
fore, zq (gl n q n
For any standard λ-tableau Λ introduce the series S Λ (z) with coefficients in Yq (gln ) by

S Λ (z) = tr1,...,m L+
1 (zq
−2c1 (Λ)
) . . . L+
m (zq
−2cm (Λ)
)D1 . . . Dm EΛ .

The following corollary is a generalization of [7, Cor. 3.3] and it is verified in the same way.

Corollary 3.4. The series S Λ (z)1 does not depend on the standard λ-tableau Λ and all its
b ). Moreover, the coefficients of all series
coefficients belong to the algebra of invariants zq (gl n
S Λ (z) pairwise commute.

13
4 Harish-Chandra images
Now we aim to calculate the Harish-Chandra images of the series Sλ (z). Recall the definition
of the Harish-Chandra homomorphism as introduced in [7]. Observing that the coefficients of
each generator series (3.5) pairwise commute, introduce a total ordering on the series such that
+ −
lij (u) ≺ lkm (u) for all i, j, k, m and
ln+1 (u) ≺ ln−1
+ + + + + +
1 (u) ≺ ln 2 (u) ≺ · · · ≺ l1 1 (u) ≺ · · · ≺ ln n (u) ≺ l1 2 (u) ≺ · · · ≺ l1 n (u),

l1−n (u) ≺ l1−n−1 (u) ≺ l2−n (u) ≺ · · · ≺ l1−1 (u) ≺ · · · ≺ ln−n (u) ≺ l2−1 (u) ≺ · · · ≺ ln−1 (u).
According to [7, Prop. 5.1], the ordered monomials in the generators form a basis of the quantum
affine algebra Uq (gl b ). Denote by U0 the subspace of the algebra spanned by those monomials
n
±
which do not contain any generators lij [r] with i 6= j. Let x0 denote the component of the
linear combination representing the element x, which belongs to U0 . The mapping θ : x 7→ x0
defines the projection θ : Uq (gl b ) → U0 . Extending it by continuity we get the projection
n cri
θ:U e (gl
b ) →U e 0 to the corresponding completed vector space U e 0.
q n cri
The algebra Πq (n) is defined as the quotient of the algebra of polynomials in independent
variables li+ [−r], li− [r] with i = 1, . . . , n and r = 0, 1, . . . by the relations li+ [0]li− [0] = 1 for all
i. The mapping η : U0 → Πq (n) which takes each ordered monomial in the generators lii± [∓r] to
the corresponding monomial in the variables li± [∓r] by the rule lii± [∓r] 7→ li± [∓r] extends to an
isomorphism of vector spaces. Define the completion Π e (n) of the algebra Π (n) as the inverse
q q
limit
Πe (n) = lim Π (n)/I , p > 0,
q q p
←−

where Ip denotes the ideal of Πq (n) generated by all elements li− [r] with r > p; cf. (3.10). The
isomorphism η extends to an isomorphism of the completed vector spaces η : U e0 → Π e (n). Thus
q
we get a linear map
χ:U e (gl
b ) →Π e (n) (4.1)
q n cri q

defined as the composition χ = η ◦ θ. The next proposition provides an analogue of the Harish-
Chandra homomorphism for the quantum affine algebra [7, Prop. 6.1].
Proposition 4.1. The restriction of the map (4.1) to the center Zq (gl e (gl
b ) of the algebra U b )
n q n cri
is a homomorphism of commutative algebras χ : Zq (gl b )→Π e (n).
n q

Combine the generators of the algebra Πq (n) into the series

∞
X ∞
X
li+ (z) = li+ [−r]z r , li− (z) = li− [r]z −r
r=0 r=0

and for i = 1, . . . , n set

li+ (z) l1− (zq −n+2 ) . . . li−1
−
(zq −n+2i−2 )
xi (z) = q n−2i+1 .
l1− (zq −n ) . . . li− (zq −n+2i−2 )
e (n). We
This is a Laurent series in z whose coefficients are elements of the completed algebra Πq
are now in a position to state the main result of this section.

14
Theorem 4.2. The image of the series Sλ (z) under the Harish-Chandra homomorphism is found
by X Y
χ : Sλ (z) 7→ xT (α) (zq −2c(α) ),
sh(T )=λ α∈λ

summed over semistandard tableau T of shape λ with entries in {1, 2, . . . , n}.

In the particular case of one-column diagram λ = (1m ), we recover [7, Thm 6.2]. The
proof in the general case relies on an original argument of [21] which was already used in the
Yangian context in [16]; see also [19, Ch. 10]. However, the quantum affine algebra case requires
some new ingredients with an elaborate use of the Hecke algebra representations. The proof of
Theorem 4.2 will be given in the rest of this section.
Given an m-tuple (i) = (i1 , . . . , im ) with 1 6 i1 6 · · · 6 im 6 n, we let αk denote the
multiplicity of the index k in the multiset {i1 , . . . , im }. We thus get the corresponding compo-
sition µ(i) = (α1 , . . . , αn ) of m. As with partitions, we will identify µ(i) with the associated
left-justified diagram of unit boxes such that the top row contains α1 boxes, the next row con-
tains α2 boxes, etc. Similarly, a µ(i) -tableau is obtained by filling the boxes bijectively with the
numbers 1, . . . , m. Such a tableau is called row-standard if the entries in each row increase from
left to right. We let tµ(i) denote the row-standard µ(i) -tableau obtained by writing the numbers
1, . . . , m in the natural order into the boxes of successive rows starting from the top row.
The Young subgroup S(i) = Sα1 ×· · ·×Sαn of the symmetric group Sm preserves the set of
numbers appearing in each row of tµ(i) . The group Sm acts naturally on the set of µ(i) -tableaux
and we introduce the subset D(i) ⊂ Sm by

D(i) = {ω ∈ Sm | ω tµ(i) is row-standard}.

Clearly D(i) is a set of coset representatives of S(i) in Sm . Given σ ∈ Sm , the unique decompo-
sition σ = ω π with ω ∈ D(i) and π ∈ S(i) is determined by the condition that the set of elements
in each row of ω tµ(i) coincides with the set of elements of the corresponding row of σ tµ(i) . More-
over, by counting the number of inversions in the permutation σ we find that l(σ) = l(ω) + l(π).
This implies the relation Tσ = Tω Tπ in the Hecke algebra Hm .
It will be convenient to use a standard notation for the matrix elements Aij11...im
...jm of an operator
X
A= ei1 ,j1 ⊗ . . . ⊗ eim ,jm ⊗ Aij11...i n ⊗m
...jm ∈ (End C )
m

i1 ,...,im , j1 ,...,jm

by writing
Aij11...i
...jm = hi1 , . . . , im |A|j1 , . . . , jm i,
m

together with the expressions A|j1 , . . . , jm i and hi1 , . . . , im |A, interpreted accordingly.
By formula (3.11) we have the property Ř(ei ⊗ ej ) = ej ⊗ ei for i < j. Therefore, for an
m-tuple (i) = (i1 , . . . , im ) with 1 6 i1 6 · · · 6 im 6 n and any ω ∈ D(i) we have

Řω |i1 , . . . , im i = |iω(1) , . . . , iω(m) i and hi1 , . . . , im | Řω−1 = hiω(1) , . . . , iω(m) |.

15
Formula (3.22) for Sλ (z) then implies
n
X
Sλ (z) = hj1 , . . . , jm |Tλ (z)|j1 , . . . , jm i
j1 ,...,jm =1
X X
= hi1 , . . . , im | Řω−1 Tλ (z)Řω |i1 , . . . , im i.
i1 6···6im ω∈D(i)

Lemma 4.3. For any σ ∈ Sm and λ ⊢ m we have

Řσ Tλ (z) = Tλ (z)Řσ .
Proof. We will use the isomorphism (2.5) between the algebra Hm and the direct sum of matrix
µ
algebras. We will show that the element Tλ (z) commutes with the image EST of an arbitrary
matrix unit eµST under the action of the Hecke algebra Hm in (C n )⊗m , where S and T are standard
µ-tableaux. By Lemma 3.2 we have
1 X
Tλ (z) = EΛλ D1 . . . Dm LΛ (z)EΛλ .
fλ sh(Λ)=λ

Hence, if µ 6= λ, then
µ µ
EST Tλ (z) = Tλ (z)EST = 0.
Now suppose µ = λ. In the case where S = T we have
1 λ
ESλ Tλ (z) = Tλ (z)ESλ = ES D1 . . . Dm LS (z)ESλ .
fλ
Finally, suppose S and T are different standard tableaux of shape λ. It suffices to consider the
case where T is obtained from S by swapping the entries k and k+1 for some k ∈ {1, . . . , m−1}
so that T = σk S. In this case, Lemma 2.1 implies
λ 1 1
Tλ (z)EST = Tλ (z)ESλ Řk (q 2dk ) = LS (z)D1 . . . Dm ESλ Řk (q 2dk ),
δ δ fλ
where we set v
u
u
t1 −
1
dk = dk (S) and δ= .
[dk ]2q
Due to (3.21), we have
λ 1 1
Tλ (z)EST = LS (z)D1 . . . Dm Řk (q −2dk )ETλ = LS (z)Řk (q −2dk )ETλ D1 . . . Dm .
δ fλ δ fλ
Now use (3.19) to write this expression as
1 1
Řk (q −2dk )LT (z)ETλ D1 . . . Dm = Řk (q −2dk )ETλ LT (z)ETλ D1 . . . Dm
δ fλ δ fλ
which equals
1 1
Řk (q −2dk )ETλ Tλ (z) = ESλ Řk (q 2dk Tλ (z) = EST
λ
Tλ (z),
δ δ
thus completing the proof.

16
 Lemma 4.3 allows us to write the expression for Sλ (z) in the form
X X
Sλ (z) = hi1 , . . . , im |Tλ (z)Řω−1 Řω |i1 , . . . , im i
i1 6···6im ω∈D(i)

1 X X X
= hi1 , . . . , im |LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm EΛ Řω−1 Řω |i1 , . . . , im i.
fλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ

By formula (2.4),
X X 1
EΛ Řω−1 Řω = τ (eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tσ−1 ) Řσ = χλ (eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tσ−1 )Řσ .
σ∈Sm σ∈Sm cλ

Therefore, Sλ (z) equals

1 X X X
χλ (eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tσ−1 ) hi1 , . . . , im |LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm Řσ |i1 , . . . , im i.
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ
σ∈Sm

Using the decomposition Sm = D(i) S(i) , we can write this expression in the form

1 X X X X  
χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ−1 Tω′−1
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) ω ′ ∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ
π∈S(i)
× hi1 , . . . , im |LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm Řω′ Řπ |i1 , . . . , im i.

For an m-tuple (i1 , . . . , im ) with 1 6 i1 6 · · · 6 im 6 n and π ∈ S(i) one easily verifies that

Řπ |i1 , . . . , im i = q l(π) |iπ(1) , . . . , iπ(m) i = q l(π) |i1 , . . . , im i.

Moreover, we have

Řω′ Řπ |i1 , . . . , im i = q l(π) Řω′ |i1 , . . . , im i = q l(π) |iω′ (1) , . . . , iω′ (m) i.

Hence
1 X X X X  
Sλ (z) = q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ−1 Tω′−1
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) ω′ ∈D sh(Λ)=λ
(i)
π∈S(i)
× hi1 , . . . , im |LΛ (z)D1 . . . Dm |iω′ (1) , . . . , iω′ (m) i

which equals

1 X X X X X  
q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ−1 Tω′−1
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) ω ′ ∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ j1 ,...,jm
π∈S(i)

× li+1 ,j1 (zq −2c1 (Λ) ) . . . li+m ,jm (zq −2cm (Λ) ) lejm ,iω′ (m) (zq −n−2cm (Λ) ) . . . lej1 ,iω′ (1) (zq −n−2c1 (Λ) ),

17
where we used the entries of the matrix L− (z)−1 D = [ leij (z)]. As with the particular case of
one-column diagram λ considered in [7], the definition of the homomorphism (4.1) implies that
a nonzero contribution to the Harish-Chandra image of Sλ (z) comes only from the terms with
ω ′ = 1 and jk = ik for all k = 1, . . . , m. Therefore, the image is given by

1 X X X  
q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ−1
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ
π∈S(i)

× li+1 ,i1 (zq −2c1 (Λ) ) . . . li+m ,im (zq −2cm (Λ) ) leim ,im (zq −n−2cm (Λ) ) . . . lei1 ,i1 (zq −n−2c1 (Λ) )

which coincides with

1 X X X  
q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ xi1 (zq −2c1 (Λ) ) . . . xim (zq −2cm (Λ) ).
fλ cλ i1 6···6im ω∈D(i) sh(Λ)=λ
π∈S(i)

Given an m-tuple (i1 , . . . , im ) with i1 6 i2 6 · · · 6 im , we let T = i(Λ) denote the tableau

obtained from a standard λ-tableau Λ by replacing the entry r with ir for r = 1, . . . , m. The
entries of T weakly increase along the rows and down the columns. Changing the order of
summation in the above expression for the Harish-Chandra image of Sλ (z), we can write it as
 
1 X X X X   Y
 q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ  xT (α) (zq −2c(α) ),
fλ cλ i1 6···6im T , sh(T )=λ sh(Λ)=λ ω∈D(i) α∈λ
i(Λ)=T π∈S(i)

where T runs over λ-tableaux with entries in {1, . . . , n} such that the entries of T weakly in-
crease along the rows and down the columns. To complete the proof of Theorem 4.2, it will
therefore be enough to show that for a given T we have

X X   f
λ cλ if T is semistandard,
q l(π) χλ eΛ Tω−1 Tω Tπ = (4.2)
0 otherwise.
sh(Λ)=λ ω∈D(i)
i(Λ)=T π∈S(i)

Let H(i) denote the subalgebra of Hm corresponding to the Young subgroup S(i) of Sm . Intro-
duce the notation
X X
s(i) = q l(π) Tπ ∈ H(i) and eT = eΛ .
π∈S(i) sh(Λ)=λ
i(Λ)=T

Then Cs(i) is the trivial representation of H(i) , and the induced representation Hm ⊗H(i) Cs(i) is
the permutation representation of Hm corresponding to the composition µ(i) = (α1 , . . . , αn ) of
m. The element s(i) is proportional to a central idempotent so that
n
Y
s2(i) = [αr ]q ! q αr (αr −1)/2 s(i) . (4.3)
r=1

18
 The left hand side of (4.2) can now be written as
X   X  
χλ eT Tω−1 Tω s(i) = χλ Tω s(i) eT Tω−1 . (4.4)
ω∈D(i) ω∈D(i)

We will use the homomorphism ϕλ associated with the Hm -module Vλ ; see (2.1).
Lemma 4.4. We have the relation
X   n
Y 1
ϕλ Tω s(i) eT Tω−1 = cλ χλ (s(i) eT ) idVλ . (4.5)
ω∈D(i) r=1 [αr ]q ! q αr (αr −1)/2

Proof. Denote by VT the linear span of the basis vectors vΛ ∈ Vλ such that i(Λ) = T . It
follows from (2.2) that the subspace VT of Vλ is invariant under the action of the subalgebra H(i) .
Therefore, if a standard λ-tableau Λ is such that i(Λ) = T , then ϕλ (eT s(i) )(vΛ ) = ϕλ (s(i) )(vΛ ).
Otherwise, if i(Λ) 6= T then
X X
ϕλ (eT s(i) )(vΛ ) = hs(i) vΛ , vΓ ieT vΓ = hvΛ , s∗(i) vΓ ieT vΓ
sh(Γ)=λ sh(Γ)=λ
X X
= hvΛ , s(i) vΓ ieT vΓ + hvΛ , s(i) vΓ ieT vΓ = 0.
sh(Γ)=λ sh(Γ)=λ
i(Γ)=T i(Γ)6=T

On the other hand, we also have


0 if i(Λ) 6= T ,
ϕλ (s(i) eT )(vΛ ) =
ϕλ (s
(i) )(vΛ ) if i(Λ) = T .

Therefore, we may conclude that ϕλ (s(i) eT ) = ϕλ (eT s(i) ).

Furthermore, taking into account (4.3), we can write
X n
Y X  
1
ϕλ (Tω s(i) eT Tω−1 ) = ϕλ Tω s(i) eT s(i) Tω−1 .
ω∈D(i) r=1 [αr ]q !q αr (αr −1)/2 ω∈D(i)

Since Tπ s(i) = q l(π) s(i) for π ∈ S(i) , we have

X   X  
ϕλ Tω s(i) eT s(i) Tω−1 = ϕλ q l(π) Tω s(i) eT Tπ−1 Tω−1
ω∈D(i) ω∈D(i)
π∈S(i) X  
= ϕλ Tω Tπ s(i) eT Tπ−1 Tω−1 .
ω∈D(i)
π∈S(i)

Now observe that {Tω Tπ |ω ∈ D(i) , π ∈ S(i) } and {Tπ−1 Tω−1 |ω ∈ D(i) , π ∈ S(i) } are dual bases
of Hm . Hence (2.3) yields
X   n
Y 1  
ϕλ Tω s(i) eT Tω−1 = cλ trVλ ϕλ (s(i) eT ) idVλ ,
ω∈D(i) r=1 [αr ]q !q αr (αr −1)/2

which equals the right hand side of (4.5).

19
 Returning to the proof of (4.2), note that by Lemma 4.4 the expression (4.4) equals
X   n
Y 1
χλ Tω s(i) eT Tω−1 = cλ fλ χλ (s(i) eT ).
ω∈D(i) r=1 [αr ]q ! q αr (αr −1)/2

Thus, the following lemma will complete the proof of Theorem 4.2.

Lemma 4.5. We have

 n
 Q
 [αr ]q ! q αr (αr −1)/2 if T is semistandard,
χλ (s(i) eT ) = r=1

0 otherwise.

Proof. Write
X n
Y X
l(π)
s(i) eT = q Tπ eT = q l(σr ) Tσr eT .
π∈S(i) r=1 σr ∈Sαr

Hence
X n
Y X n
Y X
χλ (s(i) eT ) = q l(σr ) hTσr vΛ , vΛ i = q l(σr ) χωr (Tσr ),
sh(Λ)=λ r=1 σr ∈Sαr r=1 σr ∈Sαr
i(Λ)=T

where ωr is the skew diagram which consists of the boxes of T occupied by r, and χωr denotes the
skew character of Hαr associated with ωr . Since q l(σr ) = χι (Tσr−1 ) for the trivial representation ι
of the Hecke algebra Hαr , we can write
n
Y X
χλ (s(i) eT ) = χι (Tσr−1 )χωr (Tσr ).
r=1 σr ∈Sαr

The multiplicity of the trivial representation ι in the skew representation of Hαr associated with
ωr is zero unless ωr does not contain two boxes in the same column, in which case the multiplicity
is 1. Then by (2.7),
X X
q l(σr ) χωr (Tσr ) = χι (Tσr )χι (Tσr−1 ) = [αr ]q ! q αr (αr −1)/2 .
σr ∈Sαr σr ∈Sαr

This proves the lemma and completes the proof of Theorem 4.2.
Remark 4.6. By replacing each series xi (zq −2c ) with a formal variable xi,c we find that the
Harish-Chandra image of Sλ (z) found in Theorem 4.2 takes the form of the q-character of the
b ) with λ◦ = (λ , . . . , λ , 0, . . . , 0); cf. [2, Sec. 7.4] and [9,
evaluation module L(λ◦ ) over Uq (gl n 1 m
Sec. 4.5]. This agrees with the observation that the subspace EΛλ (C n )⊗m carries the irreducible
representation of Uq (gln ) isomorphic to L(λ◦ ).

20
 Consider the q-deformed Wakimoto modules over the quantum affine algebras in type A
constructed in [1]. At the critical level, such modules W(κ(z)) are parameterized by power
series κ1+ (z), . . . , κn+ (z) in z and a power series κ − (z) in z −1 ; see [7, Sec. 7] for the definition
in terms of the RLL presentation. It was shown in loc. cit. that, under a suitable identification of
parameters, the Harish-Chandra images of the elements of the center of the algebra U e (gl
b ) at the
q n
critical level coincide with the eigenvalues of the central elements acting in W(κ(z)). Namely,
the generator series of the algebra Πq (n) should be specialized as

li+ (z) 7→ κi+ (z) and li− (z) 7→ κ − (z)

for i = 1, . . . , n. The following corollary is therefore immediate from Theorem 4.2.

Corollary 4.7. The eigenvalues of the coefficients of the series Sλ (z) in the module W(κ(z))
are found by X Y
Sλ (z) 7→ κT (α) (zq −2c(α) ),
sh(T )=λ α∈λ

where
κi (z) = q n−2i+1 κi+ (z)κ − (zq −n )−1 , i = 1, . . . , n.

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N.J.:
Department of Mathematics
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
jing@math.ncsu.edu

M.L.:
School of Mathematical Sciences
South China University of Technology
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640, China
mamliu@scut.edu.cn

A.M.:
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
alexander.molev@sydney.edu.au

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