Simple smooth modules over the Lie algebras of polynomial vector fields

Abstract

Let $\mathfrak{g}:={\rm Der}(\mathbb{C}[t_1, t_2,\cdots, t_n])$ and $\mathcal{L}:={\rm Der}(\mathbb{C}[[t_1, t_2,\cdots, t_n]])$ be the Witt Lie algebras. Clearly, $\mathfrak{g}$ is a proper subalegbra of $\mathcal{L}$. Surprisingly, we prove that simple smooth modules over $\mathfrak{g}$ are exactly the simple modules over $\mathcal{L}$ studied by Rodakov (no need to take completion). Then we find an easy and elementary way to classify all simple smooth modules over $\mathfrak{g}$. When the height $\ell_{V}\geq2$ or $n=1$, any nontrivial simple smooth $\mathfrak{g}$-module $V$ is isomorphic to an induced module from a simple smooth $\mathfrak{g}_{\geq0}$-module $V^{(\ell_{V})}$. When $\ell_{V}=1$ and $n\geq2$, any such module $V$ is the unique simple quotient of the tensor module $F(P_{0},M)$ for some simple $\gl_{n}$-module $M$, where $P_0$ is a particular simple module over the Weyl algebra $\mathcal{K}^+_n$. We further show that a simple $\mathfrak{g}$-module $V$ is a smooth module if and only if the action of each of $n$ particular vectors in $\mathfrak{g}$ is locally finite on $V$.