Solvable Lie algebra
Let be a Lie algebra (finite or infinite dimensional). By using the commutator subalgebra we can construct the derived series of
If this series arrives to 0 in a finite number of steps it is said that is solvable.
Equivalently:
Definition (@olver86). A Lie algebra is a solvable Lie algebra if there exists a chain of subalgebras
such that for each , and is a normal subalgebra of :
The requirement for solvability is equivalent to the existence of a basis of such that
whenever .
Other characterizations:
Theorem
A Lie algebra is solvable if and only if there exists a sequence of subalgebras
such that is an ideal of and the quotient is abelian.
See Ruiz_2014, page 7.
Theorem
Let be a solvable Lie algebra. There exists a sequence of ideals of
such that for .
See Ruiz_2014, page 8.
It can be shown that a connected Lie group is solvable if and only if its Lie algebra is solvable.
On the other hand, if is a finite dimensional Lie algebra, there exists a unique maximal solvable ideal called the radical of a Lie algebra.