Lie elements in the group algebra

Abstract

Given a representation V of a group G, there are two natural ways of defining a representation of the group algebra k[G] in the external power V^{\wedge m}. The set L(V) of elements of k[G] for which these two ways give the same result is a Lie algebra and a representation of G. For the case when G is a symmetric group and V = C^n, a permutation representation, these spaces L(C^n) are naturally embedded into one another. We describe L(C^n) for small n and formulate some questions and conjectures. This is a note on research in progress.