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# Lectures on Wakimoto modules, opers and the center at the critical level

## Introduction

Wakimoto modules are representations of affine Kac-Moody algebras in Fock modules over infinite-dimensional Heisenberg algebras. They were introduced in 1986 by M. Wakimoto \[W\] in the case of $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ and in 1988 by B. Feigin and the author \[FF1\] in the general case. Wakimoto modules have useful applications in representation theory and conformal field theory. In particular, they have been used to construct chiral correlation functions of the WZW models \[ATY, FFR\] (reproducing the Schechtman–Varchenko solutions of the KZ equations), in the study of the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction and $`𝒲`$–algebras, and in the description of the center of the completed enveloping algebra of an affine Lie algebra \[FF6, F1\]. The Wakimoto modules also provide a bridge between representation theory of affine algebras and the geometry of the semi-infinite flag manifold \[FF4\].

In these lectures we present the construction of the Wakimoto modules from the point of view of the vertex algebra theory (see \[K2, FB\] for an introduction to vertex algebras). In the original construction of \[FF1\]\[FF4\] the connection with vertex algebras was not explicitly discussed. In these notes we make this connection explicit. Let $`𝔤`$ be a simple Lie algebra and $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ the corresponding (untwisted) affine Kac-Moody algebra. One can associate to $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ and an invariant inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$ (equivalently, a level) a vertex algebra, denoted by $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$. The construction of Wakimoto modules amounts to constructing a homomorphism from $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ to a vertex algebra $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ associated to an infinite-dimensional Heisenberg Lie algebra. In the case of $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_2`$ the construction is spelled out in detail in \[FB\], Ch. 10–11, where the reader is referred for additional motivation and background. Here we generalize it to the case of an arbitrary $`𝔤`$. We follow the original approach of \[FF4\] and prove the existence of the homomorphism $`V_\kappa (𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ by cohomological methods. We describe the cohomology class responsible for the obstruction and show that it is equal to the class defining the affine Kac-Moody algebra. We note that explicit formulas for the Wakimoto realization have been given in \[FF1\] for $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_n`$ and in \[dBF\] for general $`𝔤`$. Another proof of the existence of this realization has been presented in \[FF8\]. The construction has been extended to twisted affine algebras in \[S\].

The Wakimoto modules may be viewed as representations of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ which are “semi-infinitely induced” from representations of its Heisenberg subalgebra $`\widehat{𝔥}`$ (extended by zero to $`\widehat{𝔟}_{}`$). In contrast with the usual induction, however, the level of the $`\widehat{𝔥}`$–module gets shifted by the so-called critical value $`\kappa _c`$. In particular, if we start with an $`\widehat{𝔥}`$–module of level zero (e.g., a one-dimensional module corresponding to a character of the abelian Lie algebra $`L𝔥`$), then the resulting $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module will be at the critical level. Using these modules, we prove the Kac-Kazhdan conjecture on the characters of irreducible $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–modules of critical level (this proof appeared first in \[F1\]).

We then extend the construction of the Wakimoto modules to a more general context in which the Lie subalgebra $`\widehat{𝔥}`$ is replaced by a central extension of the loop algebra of the Levi subalgebra of an arbitrary parabolic Lie subalgebra of $`𝔤`$ following the ideas of \[FF4\]. Thus, we establish a “semi-infinite parabolic induction” pattern for representations of affine Kac-Moody algebras, similar to the parabolic induction for reductive groups over local non-archimedian fields.

Next, we give a uniform construction of intertwining operators between Wakimoto modules, the so-called screening operators (of two kinds) following \[FF2, FF3, F1, FFR\].

Using the screening operators, we describe the center of the vertex algebra $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ at the critical level. We show that it is canonically isomorphic to the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra associated to the Langlands dual Lie algebra $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. The proof presented in these lectures is different from the original proof from \[FF6, F1\] in two respects. First of all, we use here the screening operators of the second kind rather than the first kind; their $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ limits are easier to study. Second, we use the isomorphism between the Verma module of critical level with highest weight $`0`$ and a certain Wakimoto module and the computation of the associated graded of the spaces of singular vectors to estimate the character of the center.

Finally, we show that the above classical $`𝒲`$–algebra is isomorphic to the algebra of functions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the formal disc. The notion of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–oper (on an arbitrary smooth curve) was introduced by A. Beilinson and V. Drinfeld \[BD1\],\[BD2\] following the work of V. Drinfeld and V. Sokolov \[DS\] on the generalized KdV hierarchies. The algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ of funtions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the punctured disc carries a canonical Poisson structure defined in \[DS\] by means of hamiltonian reduction. At the same time, the algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ of functions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the (unpunctured) disc carries a vertex Poisson structure. We show that the above isomorphism between the center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ (with its canonical vertex Poisson structure coming from the deformation of the level) and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ preserves vertex Poisson structures. Using this isomorphism, we show that the center of the completed enveloping algebra of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ at the critical level is isomorphic to $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ as a Poisson algebra. This isomorphism was conjectured by V. Drinfeld.

These lectures are organized as follows. We begin in Sect. 1 with the geometric construction of representations of a simple finite-dimensional Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ using an embedding of $`𝔤`$ into a Weyl algebra which is obtained from the infinitesimal action of $`𝔤`$ on the flag manifold. This will serve as a prototype for the construction of Wakimoto modules presented in the subsequent sections. In Sect. 2 we introduce the main ingredients needed for the constructions of Wakimoto modules: the infinite-dimensional Weyl algebra $`𝒜^𝔤`$, the corresponding vertex algebra $`M_𝔤`$ and the infinitesimal action of the loop algebra $`L𝔤`$ on the space $`LU`$ of formal loops to the big cell of the flag manifold of $`𝔤`$. We also introduce the local Lie algebra $`𝒜_{1,𝔤}^𝔤`$ of differential operators on this space of order less than or equal to one. We show that it is a non-trivial extension of the Lie algebra of local vector fields on $`LU`$ by local functionals on $`LU`$ and compute the corresponding two-cocycle (most of this material has already been presented in \[FB\], Ch. 11). In Sect. 3 we prove that the embedding of the loop algebra $`L𝔤`$ into the Lie algebra of local vector fields on $`LU`$ may be lifted to an embedding of the central extension $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ to $`𝒜_{1,𝔤}^𝔤`$. In order to do that we need to show that the restriction of the above two-cocycle to $`L𝔤`$ is cohomologically equivalent to the two-cocycle corresponding to its Kac-Moody central extension (of level $`\kappa _c`$). This is achieved by replacing the standard cohomological Chevalley complex by a much smaller local subcomplex (where both cocycles belong) and computing the cohomology of the latter.

Having proved the existence of a homomorphism $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,𝔤}^𝔤`$, we derive in Sect. 4 the existence of a vertex algebra homomorphism $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0`$, where $`\pi _0`$ is the commutative vertex algebra associated to $`L𝔥`$. Using this homomorphism, we construct a $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module structure of critical level on the tensor product $`M_𝔤N`$, where $`N`$ is an arbitrary (smooth) $`L𝔥`$–module. These are the Wakimoto modules of critical level. We show that for a generic one-dimensional module $`N`$ the corresponding Wakimoto module is irreducible. This enables us to prove the Kac–Kazhdan conjecture on the characters of irreducible representations of critical level.

In Sect. 5 we deform the above construction of Wakimoto modules to other levels. Thus, we construct a homomorphism of vertex algebras $`w_\kappa :V_\kappa (𝔤)M_g\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$, where $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ is the vertex algebra associated to the Heinseberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔥}_{\kappa \kappa _c}`$. We describe the (quasi)conformal structure on $`M_g\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ corresponding to the Segal-Sugawara (quasi)conformal structure on $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$. We then use these structures to describe the Wakimoto modules in a coordinate-independent fashion.

In Sect. 6 we generalize the construction to the case of an arbitrary parabolic subalgebra $`𝔭`$ of $`𝔤`$. We define the functors of “semi-infinite parabolic induction” from the category of smooth representations of a central extension of $`L𝔪`$, where $`𝔪`$ is the Levi subalgebra of $`𝔭`$, to the category of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–modules.

Sect. 7 is devoted to a detailed study of the Wakimoto modules over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$. We write down explicit formulas for the homomorphism $`V_\kappa (𝔰𝔩_2)M_{𝔰𝔩_2}\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ and use these formulas to construct intertwining operators between the Wakimoto modules. They are called screening operators, of the first and second kind. We use these operators and the functor of parabolic induction to construct intertwining operators between Wakimoto modules over an arbitrary affine Kac-Moody algebra in Sect. 8.

In Sect. 9 we identify the center of the vertex algebra $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ with the intersection of the kernels of certain operators, which we identify in turn with the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra associated to the Langlands dual Lie algebra $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. We also show that the corresponding vertex Poisson algebra structures coincide. In Sect. 10 we define opers and Miura opers. We then show in Sect. 11 that this classical $`𝒲`$–algebra (resp., the commutative vertex algebra $`\pi _0`$) is nothing but the algebra of functions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the disc (resp., Miura $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the disc). Furthermore, the embedding of the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra into $`\pi _0`$ coincides with the Miura map between the two algebras of functions. Finally, in Sect. 12 we consider the center of the completed universal enveloping algebra of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ at the critical level. We identify it with the algebra of functions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the punctured disc. We then prove that this identification satisfies various compatibilities. In particular, we show that an affine analogue of the Harish-Chandra homomorphism obtained by evaluating central elements on the Wakimoto modules is nothing but the Miura transformation from Miura $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers to $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the punctured disc.

Acknowledgments. Most of the results presented in this paper are results of joint works with B. Feigin. I am grateful to him for his collaboration. I thank D. Gaitsgory for valuable discussions, in particular, for his suggestion to use the associated graded of the spaces of singular vectors in the proof of Theorem 9.6.

I thank M. Szczesny for letting me use his notes of my lectures in preparation of Sections 1–4. I am grateful to D. Kazhdan for his valuable comments on the draft of this paper.

## 1. Finite-dimensional case

In this section we recall the realization of $`𝔤`$–modules in the space of functions on the big cell of the flag manifold. This will serve as a blueprint for the construction of the Wakimoto modules over affine algebras in the following sections.

### 1.1. Flag manifold

Let $`𝔤`$ be a simple Lie algebra of rank $`\mathrm{}`$. As a vector space, it has a Cartan decomposition

(1.1)
$$𝔤=𝔫_+𝔥𝔫_{},$$

where $`𝔥`$ is the Cartan subalgebra and $`𝔫_\pm `$ are the upper and lower nilpotent subalgebras. Let

$$𝔟_\pm =𝔥𝔫_\pm $$

be the upper and lower Borel subalgebras. Let $`h_i=\alpha _i^{}`$ be the $`i`$th coroot of $`𝔤`$. The set $`\{h_i\}_{i=1\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}`$ is a basis of $`𝔥`$. We choose generators $`e_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, and $`f_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, of $`𝔫_+`$ and $`𝔫_{}`$, respectively, corresponding to the simple roots. We also choose a root basis of $`𝔫_+`$, $`\{e^\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+`$ is the set of positive roots of $`𝔤`$, so that $`[h,e^\alpha ]=\alpha (h)e^\alpha `$ for all $`h𝔥`$. In particular, $`e_i=e_{\alpha _i},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

Let $`G`$ be the connected simply-connected Lie group corresponding to $`𝔤`$, and $`N_\pm `$ (respectively, $`B_\pm `$) the upper and lower unipotent subgroups (respectively, Borel subgroups) of $`G`$ corresponding to $`𝔫_\pm `$ (respectively, $`𝔟_\pm `$).

Consider the flag manifold $`G/B_{}`$. It has a unique open $`N_+`$–orbit, the so-called big cell $`U=N_+[1]G/B_{}`$, which is isomorphic to $`N_+`$. Since $`N_+`$ is a unipotent Lie group, the exponential map $`𝔫_+N_+`$ is an isomorphism. Therefore $`N_+`$ is isomorphic to the vector space $`𝔫_+`$. Thus, $`N_+`$ is isomorphic to the affine space $`𝔸^{|\mathrm{\Delta }_+|}`$, and the space $`[N_+]`$ of regular functions on $`N_+`$ is isomorphic to a free polynomial algebra. We will call a system of coordinates $`\{y_\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$ on $`N_+`$ homogeneous if $`hy_\alpha =\alpha (h)y_\alpha `$ for all $`h𝔥`$. In what follows we will consider only homogeneous coordinate systems on $`N_+`$.

###### Remark 1.1.

Note that in order to define $`U`$ it is sufficient to choose only a Borel subgroup $`B_+`$ of $`G`$. Then $`N_+=[B_+,B_+]`$ and $`U`$ is the open $`N_+`$–orbit in the flag manifold defined as the variety of all Borel subgroups of $`G`$ (so $`U`$ is an $`N_+`$–torsor). All constructions in this paper make sense with the choice of $`B_+`$ only, i.e., without making the choice of $`H`$ and $`B_{}`$. However, to simplify the exposition we will fix a Cartan subgroup $`HB_+`$ as well.∎

The action of $`G`$ on $`G/B_{}`$ gives us a map from $`𝔤`$ to the Lie algebra of vector fields on $`G/B_{}`$, and hence on its open subset $`UN_+`$. Thus, we obtain a Lie algebra homomorphism $`𝔤\mathrm{Vect}N_+`$.

This homomorphism may be described explicitly as follows. Let $`G^{}`$ denote the dense open submanifold of $`G`$ consisting of elements of the form $`g_+g_{},g_+N_+,g_{}B_{}`$ (note that such an expression is necessarily unique since $`B_{}N_+=1)`$. In other words, $`G^{}=p^1(N_+)`$, where $`p`$ is the projection $`GG/B_{}`$. Given $`a𝔤`$, consider the one-parameter subgroup $`\gamma (ϵ)=\mathrm{exp}(ϵa)`$ in $`G`$. Since $`G^{}`$ is open and dense in $`G`$, $`\gamma (ϵ)xG^{}`$ for $`ϵ`$ in the formal neighborhood of $`0`$, so we can write

$$\gamma (ϵ)=Z_+(ϵ)Z_{}(ϵ),Z_+(ϵ)N_+,Z_{}(ϵ)B_{}.$$

The factor $`Z_+(ϵ)`$ just expresses the projection of the subgroup $`\gamma (ϵ)`$ onto $`N_+UG/B_{}`$ under the map $`p`$. Then the vector field $`\xi _a`$ (equivalently, a derivation of $`[N_+]`$) corresponding to $`a`$ is given by the formula

(1.2)
$$(\xi _af)(x)=\left(\frac{d}{dϵ}f(Z_+(ϵ))\right)|_{ϵ=0}.$$

To write a formula for $`\xi _a`$ in more concrete terms, we choose a faithful representation $`V`$ of $`𝔤`$ (say, the adjoint representation). Since we only need the $`ϵ`$–linear term in our calculation, we can and will assume that $`ϵ^2=0`$. Considering $`xN_+`$ as a matrix whose entries are polynomials in the coordinates $`y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, which expresses a generic element of $`N_+`$ in $`\mathrm{End}V`$, we have

(1.3)
$$(1+ϵa)x=Z_+(ϵ)Z_{}(ϵ).$$

We find from this formula that $`Z_+(ϵ)=x+ϵZ_+^{(1)}`$, where $`Z_+^{(1)}𝔫_+`$, and $`Z_{}(ϵ)=1+ϵZ_{}^{(1)}`$, where $`Z_{}^{(1)}𝔟_{}`$. Therefore we obtain from formulas (1.2) and (1.3) that

(1.4)
$$\xi _ax=x(x^1ax)_+,$$

where $`z_+`$ denotes the projection of an element $`z𝔤`$ onto $`𝔫_+`$ along $`𝔟_{}`$.

### 1.2. The algebra of differential operators

The algebra $`𝒟(U)`$ of differential operators on $`U`$ is isomorphic to the Weyl algebra with generators $`\{y_\alpha ,/y_\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$, and the standard relations

$$[\frac{}{y_\alpha },y_\beta ]=\delta _{\alpha ,\beta },[\frac{}{y_\alpha },\frac{}{y_\beta }]=[y_\alpha ,y_\beta ]=0.$$

The algebra $`𝒟(U)`$ has a natural filtration $`\{𝒟_i(U)\}`$ by the order of the differential operator. In particular, we have an exact sequence

(1.5)
$$0\mathrm{Fun}U𝒟_1(U)\mathrm{Vect}U0,$$

where $`\mathrm{Fun}U\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ denotes the ring of regular functions on $`U`$, and $`\mathrm{Vect}U`$ denotes the Lie algebra of vector fields on $`U`$. This sequence has a canonical splitting: namely, we lift $`\xi \mathrm{Vect}U`$ to the unique first order differential operator $`D_\xi `$ whose symbol equals $`\xi `$ and which kills the constant functions, i.e., such that $`D_\xi 1=0`$. Using this splitting, we obtain an embedding $`𝔤𝒟_1(N_+)`$, and hence the structure of a $`𝔤`$–module on the space of functions $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+=[y_\alpha ]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$.

### 1.3. Verma modules and contragredient Verma modules

By construction, the action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ satisfies $`e^\alpha y_\beta =\delta _{\alpha ,\beta }`$. Therefore, for any $`A\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ there exists $`PU(𝔫_+)`$ such that $`PA=1`$. Consider the pairing $`U(𝔫_+)\times \mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ which maps $`(P,A)`$ to the value of the function $`PA`$ at the identity element of $`N_+`$. This pairing is $`𝔫_+`$–invariant. The Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt basis $`\{e^{\alpha (1)}\mathrm{}e^{\alpha (k)}\}`$ (with respect to some ordering on $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+`$) of $`U(𝔫_+)`$ and the monomial basis $`\{y_{\alpha (1)}\mathrm{}y_{\alpha (k)}\}`$ of $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ are dual to each other with respect to this pairing. Moreover, both $`U(𝔫_+)`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ are graded by the root lattice of $`𝔤`$ (under the action of the Cartan subalgebra $`𝔥`$), and this pairing identifies each graded component of $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ with the dual of the corresponding graded component of $`U(𝔫_+)`$. Therefore the $`𝔫_+`$–module $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is isomorphic to the restricted dual $`U(𝔫_+)^{}`$ of $`U(𝔫_+)`$ (i.e., $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is the direct sum of the dual spaces to the homogeneous components of $`U(𝔫_+)`$).

Recall the definition of the Verma module and the contragredient Verma modules. For each $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$, consider the one-dimensional representation $`_\chi `$ of $`𝔟_\pm `$ on which $`𝔥`$ acts according to $`\chi `$, and $`𝔫_\pm `$ acts by $`0`$. The Verma module $`M_\chi `$ with highest weight $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$ is the induced module

$$M_\chi \stackrel{def}{=}U(𝔤)_{U(𝔟_+)}_\chi .$$

The Cartan decomposition (1.1) gives us the isomorphisms

$$U(𝔤)U(𝔫_{})U(𝔟_+),U(𝔤)U(𝔫_+)U(𝔟_{}).$$

Therefore, as an $`𝔫_{}`$–module, $`M_\chi U(𝔫_{})`$.

The contragredient Verma module $`M_\chi ^{}`$ with highest weight $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$ is defined as the coinduced module

$$M_\chi ^{}=\mathrm{Hom}_{U(𝔟_{})}^{\mathrm{res}}(U(𝔤),_\chi ).$$

Here $`U(𝔤)`$ is considered as a $`U(𝔟_{})`$–module with respect to the right action, and we consider only those homomorphisms $`U(𝔤)_\chi `$ which belong to $`U(𝔟_{})^{}U(𝔫_+)^{}U(𝔤)^{}`$. Thus, as an $`𝔫_+`$–module, $`M_\chi ^{}U(𝔫_+)^{}`$.

### 1.4. Identification of $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ with $`M_\chi ^{}`$

The module $`M_0^{}`$ is isomorphic to $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ with its $`𝔤`$–module structure defined above. Indeed, the vector $`1\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is annihilated by $`𝔫_+`$ and has weight $`0`$ with respect to $`h`$. Hence there is a non-zero homomorphism $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+M_0^{}`$ sending $`1\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ to a non-zero vector $`v_0^{}M_\chi ^{}`$ of weight $`0`$. Since both $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ and $`M_\chi ^{}`$ are isomorphic to $`U(𝔫_+)^{}`$ as $`𝔫_+`$–modules, this homomorphism is an isomorphism.

Now we identify the module $`M_\chi ^{}`$ with an arbitrary weight $`\chi `$ with $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$, where the latter is equipped with a modified action of $`𝔤`$.

Recall that we have a canonical lifting of $`𝔤`$ to $`𝒟_1(N_+)`$, $`a\xi _a`$. But this lifting is not unique. We can modify it by adding to each $`\xi _a`$ a function $`\varphi _a\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ so that $`\varphi _{a+b}=\varphi _a+\varphi _b`$. One readily checks that the modified differential operators $`\xi _a+\varphi _a`$ satisfy the commutation relations of $`𝔤`$ if and only if the linear map $`𝔤\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ given by $`a\varphi _a`$ is a one-cocycle of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$.

Each such lifting gives $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ the structure of a $`𝔤`$–module. Let us impose the extra condition that the modified action of $`𝔥`$ on $`V`$ remains diagonalizable. This means that $`\varphi _h`$ is a constant function on $`N_+`$ for each $`h𝔥`$, and therefore our one-cocycle should be $`𝔥`$–invariant: $`\varphi _{[h,a]}=\xi _h\varphi _a`$, for all $`h𝔥,a𝔤`$. It is easy to see that the space of $`𝔥`$–invariant one-cocycles of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is canonically isomorphic to the first cohomology of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$, i.e., $`H^1(𝔤,\mathrm{Fun}N_+)`$ (see \[FB\], § 10.2.6). By Shapiro’s lemma (see \[Fu\], § 5.4)

$`H^1(𝔤,\mathrm{Fun}N_+)=H^1(𝔤,M_0^{})H^1(𝔟_{},_0)=(𝔟_{}/[𝔟_{},𝔟_{}])^{}𝔥^{}.`$
Thus, for each $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$ we obtain an embedding $`\rho _\chi :𝔤𝒟_1(N_+)`$ and hence the structure of an $`𝔥^{}`$–graded $`𝔤`$–module on $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$. Let us analyze this $`𝔤`$–module in more detail.

We have $`\xi _hy_\alpha =\alpha (h)y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, so the weight of any monomial in $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is equal to a sum of negative roots. Since our one-cocycle is $`𝔥`$–invariant, we obtain $`\xi _h\varphi _{e^\alpha }=\varphi _{[h,e^\alpha ]}=\alpha (h)\varphi _{e^\alpha }`$, $`\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, so the weight of $`\varphi _{e^\alpha }`$ has to be equal to the positive root $`\alpha `$. Therefore $`\varphi _{e^\alpha }=0`$ for all $`\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$. Thus, the action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is not modified. On the other hand, by construction, the action of $`h𝔥`$ is modified by $`hh+\chi (h)`$. Therefore the vector $`1\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is still annihilated by $`𝔫_+`$, but now it has weight $`\chi `$ with respect to $`h`$. Hence there is a non-zero homomorphism $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+M_\chi ^{}`$ sending $`1\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ to a non-zero vector $`v_\chi ^{}M_\chi ^{}`$ of weight $`\chi `$. Since both $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ and $`M_\chi ^{}`$ are isomorphic to $`U(𝔫_+)^{}`$ as $`𝔫_+`$–modules, this homomorphism is an isomorphism. Thus, under the modified action obtained via the lifting $`\rho _\chi `$, the $`𝔤`$–module $`\mathrm{Fun}N_+`$ is isomorphic to the contragredient Verma module $`M_\chi ^{}`$.

### 1.5. Explicit formulas

Choose a basis $`\{J^a\}_{a=1,\mathrm{},dim𝔤}`$ of $`𝔤`$. Under the homomorphism $`\rho _\chi `$, we have

(1.6)
$$J^aP_a(y_\alpha ,\frac{}{y_\alpha })+f_a(y_\alpha ),$$

where $`P_a`$ is a polynomial in the $`y_\alpha `$’s and $`/y_\alpha `$’s of degree one in the $`/y_\alpha `$’s, which is independent of $`\chi `$, and $`f_a`$ is a polynomial in the $`y_\alpha `$’s only which depends on $`\chi `$.

Let $`e_i,h_i,f_i,i=1\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, be the generators of $`𝔤`$. Using formula (1.4) we find the following explicit formulas:

(1.7) $`\rho _\chi (e_i)`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{}{y_{\alpha _i}}}+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}P_\beta ^i(y_\alpha ){\displaystyle \frac{}{y_\beta }},`$
(1.8) $`\rho _\chi (h_i)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i)y_\beta {\displaystyle \frac{}{y_\beta }}+\chi (h_i),`$
(1.9) $`\rho _\chi (f_i)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}Q_\beta ^i(y_\alpha ){\displaystyle \frac{}{y_\beta }}+\chi (h_i)y_{\alpha _i},`$
for some polynomials $`P_\beta ^i,Q_\beta ^i`$ in $`y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$.

In addition, we have a Lie algebra anti-homomorphism $`\rho ^R:𝔫_+𝒟_1(N_+)`$ which corresponds to the right action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`N_+`$. The differential operators $`\rho ^R(x),x𝔫_+`$, commute with the differential operators $`\rho _\chi (x^{}),x^{}𝔫_+`$ (though their commutation relations with $`\rho _\chi (x^{}),x^{}𝔫_+`$, are complicated in general). We have

$$\rho ^R(e_i)=\frac{}{y_{\alpha _i}}+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^{R,i}(y_\alpha )\frac{}{y_\beta }$$

for some polynomials $`P_\beta ^{R,i},Q_\beta ^i`$ in $`y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$.

## 2. The case of affine algebras

### 2.1. The infinite-dimensional Weyl algebra

Our goal is to generalize the above construction to the case of affine Kac-Moody algebras. Let again $`U`$ be the open $`N_+`$–orbit of the flag manifold of $`G`$, which we identify with the group $`N_+`$ and hence with the Lie algebra $`𝔫_+`$. Consider the formal loop space $`LU=U((t))`$ as a complete topological vector space with the basis of open neighborhoods of zero formed by the subspaces $`Ut^N[[t]]LU,N`$. Thus, $`LU`$ is an affine ind-scheme

$$LU=\underset{}{lim}Ut^N[[t]],N<0.$$

Using the coordinates $`y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, on $`U`$, we can write

$$Ut^N[[t]]\left\{\underset{nN}{}y_{\alpha ,n}t^n\right\}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}=\mathrm{Spec}[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{nN}.$$

Therefore we obtain that the ring of functions on $`LU`$, denoted by $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$, is the inverse limit of the rings $`[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nN},N<0`$, with respect to the natural surjective homomorphisms

$$s_{N,M}:[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nN}[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nM},N<M,$$

such that $`y_{\alpha ,n}0`$ for $`Nn<M`$ and $`y_{\alpha ,n}y_{\alpha ,n},nM`$. This is a complete topological ring, with the basis of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ given by the ideals generated by $`y_{\alpha ,n},n<N`$, i.e., the kernels of the homomorphisms $`s_{\mathrm{},M}:\mathrm{Fun}LU\mathrm{Fun}Ut^N[[t]]`$.

A vector field on $`LU`$ is by definition a continuous linear endomorphism $`\xi `$ of $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ which satisfies the Leibniz rule: $`\xi (fg)=\xi (f)g+f\xi (g)`$. In other words, a vector field is a linear endomorphism $`\xi `$ of $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ such that for any $`M<0`$ there exist $`NM`$ and a derivation

$$\xi _{N,M}:[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nN}[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nM}$$

which satisfies

$$s_{\mathrm{},M}(\xi f)=\xi _{N,M}s_{\mathrm{},N}(f)$$

for all $`f\mathrm{Fun}LU`$. The space of vector fields is naturally a topological Lie algebra, which we denote by $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$.

###### Remark 2.1.

More concretely, an element of $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ may be represented as a (possibly infinite) series

$$P_0+\underset{n<0}{}P_ny_{\alpha ,n},$$

where $`P_0[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$, and the $`P_n`$’s are arbitrary (finite) polynomials in $`y_{\alpha ,m},m`$.

The Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ may also be described as follows. Identify the tangent space $`T_0LU`$ to the origin in $`LU`$ with $`LU`$, equipped with the structure of a complete topological vector space. Then $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ is isomorphic to the completed tensor product of $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ and $`LU`$. This means that vector fields on $`LU`$ can be described more concretely as series

$$\underset{n}{}P_n\frac{}{y_{\alpha ,n}},$$

where $`P_n\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ satisfies the following property: for each $`M0`$, there exists $`NM`$ such that each $`P_n,nN`$, lies in the ideal generated by the $`y_{\alpha ,m},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,mM`$. The commutator between two such series is computed in the standard way (term by term), and it is again a series of the above form.∎

### 2.2. Action of $`L𝔤`$ on $`LU`$

We have a natural Lie algebra homomorphism

$$\widehat{\rho }:L𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU,$$

which may be described explicitly by the formulas that we obtained in the finite-dimensional case, in which we replace the ordinary variables $`y_\alpha `$ with the “loop variables” $`y_{\alpha ,n}`$. More precisely, we have the following analogue of formula (1.3),

$$(1+ϵAt^m)x(t)=Z_+(ϵ)Z_{}(ϵ)$$

where $`xN_+((t)),Z_+(ϵ)=x(t)+ϵZ_+^{(1)}`$, $`Z_+^{(1)}𝔫_+((t))`$, and $`Z_{}(ϵ)=1+ϵZ_{}^{(1)}`$, $`Z_{}^{(1)}𝔟_{}((t))`$. As before, we choose a faithful finite-dimensional representation $`V`$ of $`𝔤`$ and consider $`x(t)`$ as a matrix whose entries are Laurent power series in $`t`$ with coefficients in the ring of polynomials in the coordinates $`y_{\alpha ,n},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n`$, expressing a generic element of $`N_+((t))`$ in $`\mathrm{End}V((t))`$. We define $`\widehat{\rho }`$ by the formula

$$\widehat{\rho }(at^m)x(t)=Z_+^{(1)}.$$

Then we have the following analogue of formula (1.4),

(2.1)
$$\widehat{\rho }(at^m)x(t)=x(t)\left(x(t)^1(at^m)x(t)\right)_+,$$

where $`z_+`$ denotes the projection of an element $`z𝔤((t))`$ onto $`𝔫_+((t))`$ along $`𝔟_{}((t))`$.

This formula implies that for any $`a𝔤`$ the series

$$\widehat{\rho }(a(z))=\underset{n}{}\widehat{\rho }(at^n)z^{n1}$$

may be obtained from the formula for $`\rho _0(a)=\xi _a`$ by the substitution

$`y_\alpha `$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}y_{\alpha ,n}z^n,`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{}{y_\alpha }}`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{y_{\alpha ,n}}}z^{n1}.`$
### 2.3. The Weyl algebra

Let $`𝒜^𝔤`$ be the Weyl algebra with generators

$$a_{\alpha ,n}=\frac{}{y_{\alpha ,n}},a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=y_{\alpha ,n},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n,$$

and relations

(2.2)
$$[a_{\alpha ,n},a_{\beta ,m}^{}]=\delta _{\alpha ,\beta }\delta _{n,m},[a_{\alpha ,n},a_{\beta ,m}]=[a_{\alpha ,n}^{},a_{\beta ,m}^{}]=0.$$

Introduce the generating functions

(2.3) $`a_\alpha (z)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}a_{\alpha ,n}z^{n1},`$
(2.4) $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}z^n.`$
Consider a topology on $`𝒜^𝔤`$ in which the basis of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ is formed by the left ideals $`I_{N,M},N,M`$, generated by $`a_{\alpha ,n},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,nN`$, and $`a_{\alpha ,m}^{},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,mM`$. The completed Weyl algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ is by definition the completion of $`𝒜^𝔤`$ with respect to this topology. The algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ should be thought of as the algebra of differential operators on $`LU`$ (see \[FB\], Ch. 11, for more details).

In concrete terms, elements of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ may be viewed as arbitrary series of the form

(2.5)
$$\underset{n>0}{}P_na_n+\underset{m>0}{}Q_ma_m^{}+R,P_n,Q_m,R𝒜^𝔤.$$

Let $`𝒜_0^𝔤`$ be the (commutative) subalgebra of $`𝒜^𝔤`$ generated by $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n`$, and $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0`$ its completion in $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}`$. Next, let $`𝒜_1^𝔤`$ be the subspace of $`𝒜^𝔤`$ spanned by the products of elements of $`𝒜_0^𝔤`$ and the generators $`a_{\alpha ,n}`$. Denote by $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ its completion in $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$. Thus, $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ consists of all elements $`P`$ of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ with the property that

$$P\mathrm{mod}I_{N,M}𝒜_1^𝔤\mathrm{mod}I_{N,M},N,M.$$

Here is a more concrete description of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ using the realization of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ by the series of the form (2.5). The space $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤`$ consists of series of the form (2.5), where all $`P_n=0`$, and $`Q_m,R𝒜_0^𝔤`$. In other words, these are the series which do not contain $`a_n,n`$. The space $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ consists of elements of the form (2.5), where $`P_n𝒜_0^𝔤`$, and $`Q_m,R𝒜_1^𝔤`$. The following assertion is proved in Proposition 11.1.6 of \[FB\].

###### Proposition 2.2.

1. $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ is a Lie algebra, and $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤`$ is its ideal.
2. $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤\mathrm{Fun}LU`$.
3. $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤/\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ as Lie algebras.

According to Proposition 2.2, $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ is an extension of the Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ by its module $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤`$,

(2.6)
$$0\mathrm{Fun}LU\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU0.$$

This extension is however different from the standard (split) extension defining the Lie algebra of the usual differential operators on $`LU`$ of order less than or equal to $`1`$. In particular, our extension (2.6) is non-split (see Lemma 11.1.9 of \[FB\]). Therefore we cannot expect to lift the homomorphism $`\widehat{\rho }:L𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ to a homomorphism $`L𝔤\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$, as in the finite-dimensional case. Nevertheless, we will show that the homomorphism $`\widehat{\rho }`$ may be lifted to a homomorphism $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa \stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$, where $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ is the universal one-dimensional central extension of $`L𝔤`$ defined as follows.

Fix an invariant inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$ and let $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ denote the central extension of $`L𝔤=𝔤((t))`$ with the commutation relations

(2.7)
$$[Af(t),Bg(t)]=[A,B]f(t)g(t)(\kappa (A,B)\mathrm{Res}fdg)K,$$

where $`K`$ is the central element. The Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ is the affine Kac-Moody algebra associated to $`\kappa `$.

We will begin by showing that the image of the embedding $`L𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ belongs to a Lie subalgebra of “local” vector fields $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU`$. This observation will allow us to replace the extension (2.6) by its “local” part.

### 2.4. Heisenberg vertex algebra

Let $`M_𝔤`$ be the Fock representation of $`𝒜^𝔤`$ generated by a vector $`|0`$ such that

$$a_{\alpha ,n}|0=0,n0;a_{\alpha ,n}^{}|0=0,n>0.$$

It is clear that the action of $`𝒜^𝔤`$ on $`M_𝔤`$ extends to a continuous action of the topological algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ (here we equip $`M_𝔤`$ with the discrete topology). Moreover, $`M_𝔤`$ carries a vertex algebra structure defined as follows (see Definition 1.3.1 of \[FB\] for the definition of vertex algebra).

1. Gradation: $`\mathrm{deg}a_{\alpha ,n}=\mathrm{deg}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=n,\mathrm{deg}|0=0`$;
2. Vacuum vector: $`|0`$;
3. Translation operator: $`T|0=0,[T,a_{\alpha ,n}]=na_{\alpha ,n1},[T,a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]=(n1)a_{\alpha ,n1}^{}`$.
4. Vertex operators:

$$Y(a_{\alpha ,1}|0,z)=a_\alpha (z),Y(a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0,z)=a_\alpha ^{}(z),$$

$$\begin{array}{c}Y(a_{\alpha _1,n_1}\mathrm{}a_{\alpha _k,n_k}a_{\beta _1,m_1}^{}\mathrm{}a_{\beta _l,m_l}^{}|0,z)=_{i=1}^k\frac{1}{(n_i1)!}_{j=1}^l\frac{1}{(m_j)!}\hfill \\ \hfill :_z^{n_11}a_{\alpha _1}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{n_k1}a_{\alpha _k}(z)_z^{m_1}a_{\beta _1}^{}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{m_l}a_{\beta _l}^{}(z):.\end{array}$$

(see Lemma 10.3.8 of \[FB\]).

Set

$$U(M_𝔤)\stackrel{def}{=}(M_𝔤((t)))/\mathrm{Im}(T1+\mathrm{Id}_t).$$

We have a linear map $`U(M_𝔤)\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ sending $`Af(t)`$ to $`\mathrm{Res}Y(A,z)f(z)dz`$. According to \[FB\], § 3.5, this is a Lie algebra, which may be viewed as the completion of the span of all Fourier coefficients of vertex operators from $`M_𝔤`$. Moreover, the above map is a homomorphism of Lie algebras (actually, an embedding in this case).

Note that $`U(M_𝔤)`$ is not an algebra. For instance, it contains the generators $`a_{\alpha ,n},a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$ of the Heisenberg algebra, but does not contain monomials in these generators of degree greater than one. However, we will only need the Lie algebra structure on $`U(M_𝔤)`$.

The elements of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤=\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ which lie in the image of $`U(M_𝔤)`$ are called “local functionals” on $`LU`$. The elements of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ which belong to $`U(M_𝔤)`$ are given by (possibly infinite) linear combinations of Fourier coefficients of normally ordered polynomials in $`a_\alpha (z),a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ and their derivatives. We refer to them as “local” elements of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$.

### 2.5. Coordinate independent definition of $`M_𝔤`$

The above definition of the vertex algebra $`M_𝔤`$ referred to a particular system of coordinates $`y_\alpha ,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, on the group $`N_+`$. If we choose a different coordinate system $`y_\alpha ^{},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, on $`N_+`$, we obtain another Heisenberg algebra with generators $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$ and $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}^{}`$ and a vertex algebra $`M_𝔤^{}`$. However, the vertex algebras $`M_𝔤^{}`$ and $`M_𝔤`$ are canonically isomorphic to each other. In particular, it is easy to express the vertex operators $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ and $`a_\alpha ^{}{}_{}{}^{}(z)`$ in terms of $`a_\alpha (z)`$ and $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$. Namely, if $`y_\alpha ^{}=F_\alpha (y_\beta )`$, then

$`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\gamma \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:_{y_\gamma }F_\alpha (a_\beta ^{}(z))a_\gamma (z):,`$
$`a_\alpha ^{}{}_{}{}^{}(z)`$ $`F_\alpha (a_\beta ^{}(z)).`$
It is also possible to define $`M_𝔤`$ without any reference to a coordinate system on $`N_+`$. Namely, we set

$$M_𝔤=\mathrm{Ind}_{𝔫_+[[t]]}^{𝔫_+((t))}\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]])U(𝔫_+t^1[t^1])\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]]),$$

where $`\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]])`$ is the ring of regular functions on the proalgebraic group $`N_+[[t]]`$, considered as an $`𝔫_+[[t]]`$–module. If we choose a coordinate system $`\{y_\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$ on $`N_+`$, then we obtain a coordinate system $`\{y_{\alpha ,n}\}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$ on $`N_+[[t]]`$. Then $`uP(y_{\alpha ,n})M_𝔤`$, where $`uU(𝔫_+t^1[t^1])`$ and $`P(y_{\alpha ,n})\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]])=[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$, corresponds to $`uP(a_{\alpha ,n}^{})`$ in our previous description of $`M_𝔤`$.

It is straightforward to define a vertex algebra structure on $`M_𝔤`$ (see \[FF8\], § 2). Namely, the vacuum vector of $`M_𝔤`$ is the vector $`11M_𝔤`$. The translation operator $`T`$ is defined as the operator $`_t`$, which naturally acts on $`\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]])`$ as well as on $`𝔫_+((t))`$ preserving $`𝔫_+[[t]]`$. Next, we define the vertex operators corresponding to the elements of $`M_𝔤`$ of the form $`x_1|0`$, where $`x𝔫_+`$, by the formula

$$Y(x_1|0,z)=\underset{n}{}x_nz^{n1},$$

where $`x_n=xt^n`$, and we consider its action on $`M_𝔤`$ viewed as the induced representation of $`𝔫_+((t))`$. We also need to define the vertex operators

$$Y(P|0,z)=\underset{n}{}P_{(n)}z^{n1}$$

for $`P\mathrm{Fun}(N_+[[t]])`$. The corresponding linear operators $`P_{(n)}`$ are completely determined by their action on $`|0`$:

$`P_{(n)}|0`$ $`=0,n0,`$
$`P_{(n)}|0`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{(n1)!}}T^{n1}P|0,`$
their mutual commutativity and the following commutation relations with $`𝔫_+((t))`$:

$$[x_m,P_{(k)}]=\underset{n0}{}\left(\begin{array}{c}m\\ n\end{array}\right)(x_nP)_{(m+kn)}.$$

Using the Reconstruction Theorem 3.6.1 of \[FB\], it is easy to prove that these formulas define a vertex algebra structure on $`M_𝔤`$.

In fact, the same definition works if we replace $`N_+`$ by any algebraic group $`G`$. In the general case, it is natural to consider the central extension $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ of the loop algebra $`𝔤((t))`$ corresponding to an invariant inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$ defined as in Section 2.3. Then we have the induced module

$$\mathrm{Ind}_{𝔤[[t]]K}^{\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa }\mathrm{Fun}(G[[t]]),$$

where the central element $`K`$ acts on $`\mathrm{Fun}(G[[t]])`$ as the identity. The corresponding vertex algebra is the algebra of chiral differential operators on $`G`$, considered in \[GMS, AG\]. As shown in \[GMS, AG\], in addition to the natural (left) action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ on this vertex algebra, there is another (right) action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa \kappa __K}`$, which commutes with the left action. Here $`\kappa __K`$ is the Killing form on $`𝔤`$, defined by the formula $`\kappa __K(x,y)=\mathrm{Tr}_𝔤(\mathrm{ad}x\mathrm{ad}y)`$. In the case when $`𝔤=𝔫_+`$, there are no non-zero invariant inner products (in particular, $`\kappa __K=0`$), and so we obtain a commuting right action of $`𝔫_+((t))`$ on $`M_𝔤`$. We will use this right action below (see Remark 4.4).

###### Remark 2.3.

The above formulas in fact define a canonical vertex algebra structure on

$$\mathrm{Ind}_{𝔫_+[[t]]}^{𝔫_+((t))}\mathrm{Fun}(U[[t]]),$$

which is independent of the choice of identification $`N_+U`$. Recall that in order to define $`U`$ we only need to fix a Borel subgroup $`B_+`$ of $`G`$. Then $`U`$ is defined as the open $`B_+`$–orbit of the flag manifold and so it is naturally an $`N_+`$–torsor. In order to identify $`U`$ with $`N_+`$ we need to choose a point in $`U`$, i.e., an opposite Borel subgroup $`B_{}`$, or equivalently, a Cartan subgroup $`H=B_+B_{}`$ of $`B_+`$. But in the above formulas we never used an identification of $`N_+`$ and $`U`$, only the action of $`L𝔫_+`$ on $`LU`$, which is determined by the canonical $`𝔫_+`$–action on $`[U]`$.

If we do not fix an identification $`N_+U`$, then the right action of $`𝔫_+((t))`$ discussed above becomes an action of the “twisted” Lie algebra $`𝔫_{+,U}((t))`$, where $`𝔫_{+,U}=U\underset{N_+}{\times }𝔫_+`$. It is interesting to observe that unlike $`𝔫_+`$, this twisted Lie algebra $`𝔫_{+,U}`$ has a canonical decomposition into the one-dimensional subspaces $`𝔫_{\alpha ,U}`$ corresponding to the roots $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+`$. Therefore there exist canonical (up to a scalar) generators $`e_i^R`$ of the right action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`U`$ (this observation is due to D. Gaitsgory). We use these operators below to define the screening operators, and their independence of the choice of the Cartan subgroup in $`B_+`$ implies the independence of the kernel of the screening operator from any additional choices.∎

### 2.6. Local extension

For our purposes we may replace $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$, which is a very large topological algebra, by a relatively small “local part” $`U(M_𝔤)`$. Accordingly, we replace $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤`$ by their local versions $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤=\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_0^𝔤U(M_𝔤)`$ and $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤=\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤U(M_𝔤)`$.

Let us describe $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ and $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ more explicitly. The space $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ is spanned (topologically) by the Fourier coefficients of all polynomials in the $`_z^na_\alpha ^{}(z),n0`$. Note that because the $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$’s commute among themselves, these polynomials are automatically normally ordered. The space $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ is spanned by the Fourier coefficients of the fields of the form $`:P(a_\alpha ^{}(z),_za_\alpha ^{}(z),\mathrm{})a_\beta (z):`$ (the normally ordered product of $`P(a_\alpha ^{}(z),_za_\alpha ^{}(z),\mathrm{})`$ and $`a_\beta (z)`$). Observe that the Fourier coefficients of all fields of the form

$$:P(a_\alpha ^{}(z),_za_\alpha ^{}(z),\mathrm{})_z^ma_\beta (z):,m>0,$$

may be expressed as linear combinations of the fields of the form

(2.8)
$$:P(a_\alpha ^{}(z),_za_\alpha ^{}(z),\mathrm{})a_\beta (z):.$$

Further, we define a local version $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ of $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ as the subspace, which consists of finite linear combinations of Fourier coefficients of the formal power series

(2.9)
$$P(a_\alpha ^{}(z),_za_\alpha ^{}(z),\mathrm{})a_\beta (z),$$

where $`a_\alpha (z)`$ and $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ are given by formulas (2.3), (2.4).

Since $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ is the intersection of Lie subalgebras of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$, it is also a Lie subalgebra of $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}`$. By construction, its image in $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ under the homomorphism $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_1^𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ equals $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. Finally, the kernel of the resulting surjective Lie algebra homomorphism $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ equals $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. Hence we obtain that the extension (2.6) restricts to the “local” extension

(2.10)
$$0𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤0.$$

This sequence is non-split (see Lemma 11.1.9 of \[FB\]). The corresponding two-cocycle will be computed explicitly in Lemma 2.5 using the Wick formula (it comes from the “double contractions” of the corresponding vertex operators).

According to Section 2.2, the image of $`L𝔤`$ in $`\mathrm{Vect}LU`$ belongs to $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. We will show that the homomorphism $`L𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ may be lifted to a homomorphism $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa 𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$, where $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ is the central extension of $`L𝔤`$ defined in Section 2.3.

### 2.7. Computation of the two-cocycle of the extension (2.10)

Recall that an exact sequence of Lie algebras

$$0𝔥\stackrel{~}{𝔤}𝔤0,$$

where $`𝔥`$ is an abelian ideal, with prescribed $`𝔤`$–module structure, gives rise to a two-cocycle of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$. It is constructed as follows. Choose a splitting $`ı:𝔤\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$ of this sequence (considered as a vector space), and define $`\sigma :^2𝔤𝔥`$ by the formula

$$\sigma (a,b)=ı([a,b])[ı(a),ı(b)].$$

One checks that $`\sigma `$ is a two-cocycle in the Chevalley complex of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$, and that changing the splitting $`ı`$ amounts to changing $`\sigma `$ by a coboundary.

Conversely, suppose we are given a linear functional $`\sigma :^2𝔤𝔥`$. Then we associate to it a Lie algebra structure on the direct sum $`𝔤𝔥`$. Namely, the Lie bracket of any two elements of $`𝔥`$ is equal to $`0`$, $`[X,h]=Xh`$ for all $`X𝔤,h𝔥`$, and

$$[X,Y]=[X,Y]_𝔤+\omega (X,Y),X,Y𝔤.$$

These formulas define a Lie algebra structure on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$ if and only if $`\sigma `$ is a two-cocycle in the standard Chevalley complex of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$. Therefore we obtain a bijection between the set of isomorphism classes of extensions of $`𝔤`$ by $`𝔥`$ and the cohomology group $`H^2(𝔤,𝔥)`$.

Consider the extension (2.10). The operation of normal ordering gives us a splitting $`ı`$ of this extension as vector space. Namely, $`ı`$ maps the $`n`$th Fourier coefficient of the series (2.9) to the $`n`$th Fourier coefficient of the series (2.8). To compute the corresponding two-cocycle we have to learn how to compute commutators of Fourier coefficients of generating functions of the form (2.8) and (2.9). Those may be computed from the operator product expansion (OPE) of the corresponding vertex operators. We now explain how to compute the OPEs of vertex operators using the Wick formula following \[FB\], §§ 11.2.4–11.2.10.

Let us describe the operation of normal ordering more explicitly. In order to simplify notation, we will assume that $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_2`$ and suppress the index $`\alpha `$ in $`a_{\alpha ,n}`$ and $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$. The general case is treated in the same way. We call the generators $`a_n,n0`$, and $`a_m^{},m>0`$, annihilation operators, and the generators $`a_n,n<0`$, and $`a_m^{},m0`$, creation operators. A monomial $`P`$ in $`A`$ is called normally ordered if all factors of $`P`$ which are annihilation operators stand to the right of all factors of $`P`$ which are creation operators. Given any monomial $`P`$, we define the normally ordered monomial $`:P:`$ as the monomial obtained by moving all factors of $`P`$ which are annihilation operators to the right, and all factors of $`P`$ which are creation operators to the left. Note that since the annihilation operators commute among themselves, it does not matter how we order them among themselves. The same is true for the creation operators. This shows that $`:P:`$ is well-defined by the above conditions.

Given two monomials $`P`$ and $`Q`$, their normally ordered product is by definition the normally ordered monomial $`:PQ:`$. By linearity, we define the normally ordered product of any two vertex operators from the vertex algebra $`M_𝔤`$ by applying the above definition to each of their Fourier coefficients.

### 2.8. Contractions of fields

In order to state the Wick formula, we have to introduce the notion of contraction of two fields.

From the commutation relations, we obtain the following OPEs:

$`a(z)a^{}(w)`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{zw}}+:a(z)a^{}(w):,`$
$`a^{}(z)a(w)`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{zw}}+:a^{}(z)a(w):.`$
We view them now as identities on formal power series, in which by $`1/(zw)`$ we understand its expansion in positive powers of $`w/z`$. Differentiating several times, we obtain

(2.11) $`_z^na(z)_w^ma^{}(w)`$ $`=(1)^n{\displaystyle \frac{(n+m)!}{(zw)^{n+m+1}}}+:_z^na(z)_w^ma^{}(w):,`$
(2.12) $`_z^ma^{}(z)_w^na(w)`$ $`=(1)^{m+1}{\displaystyle \frac{(n+m)!}{(zw)^{n+m+1}}}+:_z^ma^{}(z)_w^na(w):`$
(here again by $`1/(zw)^n`$ we understand its expansion in positive powers of $`w/z`$).

Suppose that we are given two normally ordered monomials in $`a(z),a^{}(z)`$ and their derivatives. Denote them by $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(z)`$. A single pairing between $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(w)`$ is by definition either the pairing $`(_z^na(z),_w^ma^{}(w))`$ of $`_z^na(z)`$ occurring in $`P(z)`$ and $`_w^ma^{}(w)`$ occurring in $`Q(w)`$, or $`(_z^ma^{}(z),_w^na(w))`$ of $`_z^ma^{}(z)`$ occurring in $`P(z)`$ and $`_w^na(w)`$ occurring in $`Q(w)`$. We attach to it the functions

$$(1)^n\frac{(n+m)!}{(zw)^{n+m+1}}\mathrm{and}(1)^{m+1}\frac{(n+m)!}{(zw)^{n+m+1}},$$

respectively. A multiple pairing $`B`$ is by definition a disjoint union of single pairings. We attach to it the function $`f_B(z,w)`$, which is the product of the functions corresponding to the single pairings in $`B`$.

Note that the monomials $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(z)`$ may well have multiple pairings of the same type. For example, the monomials $`:a^{}(z)^2_za(z):`$ and $`:a(w)_z^2a^{}(w):`$ have two different pairings of type $`(a^{}(z),a(w))`$; the corresponding function is $`1/(zw)`$. In such a case we say that the multiplicity of this pairing is $`2`$. Note that these two monomials also have a unique pairing $`(_za(z),_w^2a^{}(w))`$, and the corresponding function is $`6/(zw)^4`$.

Given a multiple pairing $`B`$ between $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(w)`$, we define $`(P(z)Q(w))_B`$ as the product of all factors of $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(w)`$ which do not belong to the pairing (if there are no factors left, we set $`(P(z)Q(w))_B=1`$). The contraction of $`P(z)Q(w)`$ with respect to the pairing $`B`$, denoted $`:P(z)Q(w):_B`$, is by definition the normally ordered formal power series $`:(P(z)Q(w)_B):`$ multiplied by the function $`f_B(z,w)`$. We extend this definition to the case when $`B`$ is the empty set by stipulating that

$$:P(z)Q(w):_{\mathrm{}}=:P(z)Q(w):.$$

Now we are in a position to state the Wick formula, which gives the OPE of two arbitrary normally ordered monomial vertex operators. The proof of this formula is straightforward and is left to the reader.

###### Lemma 2.4.

Let $`P(z)`$ and $`Q(w)`$ be two monomials as above. Then $`P(z)Q(w)`$ equals the sum of terms $`:P(z)Q(w):_B`$ over all pairings $`B`$ between $`P`$ and $`Q`$ including the empty one, counted with multiplicity.

Now we can compute our two–cocycle. For that, we need to apply the Wick formula to the fields of the form

$$:R(a^{}(z),_za^{}(z),\mathrm{})a(z):,$$

whose Fourier coefficients span the pre-image of $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}`$ in $`A_{1,\mathrm{loc}}`$ under our splitting $`ı`$. Two fields of this form may have only single or double pairings, and therefore their OPE can be written quite explicitly.

A field of the above form may be written as $`Y(P(a_n^{})a_1,z)`$ (or $`Y(Pa_1,z)`$ for short), where $`P`$ is a polynomial in the $`a_n^{},n0`$ (recall that $`a_n^{},n0`$, corresponds to $`_z^na^{}(z)/(n)!`$). Applying the Wick formula, we obtain

###### Lemma 2.5.

$`Y(Pa_1,z)Y(Qa_1,w)`$ $`=:Y(Pa_1,z)Y(Qa_1,w):`$
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{n0}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(zw)^{n+1}}}:Y(P,z)Y({\displaystyle \frac{Q}{a_n^{}}}a_1,w):`$
$`{\displaystyle \underset{n0}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(zw)^{n+1}}}:Y({\displaystyle \frac{P}{a_n^{}}}a_1,z)Y(Q,w):`$
$`{\displaystyle \underset{n,m0}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(zw)^{n+m+2}}}Y({\displaystyle \frac{P}{a_n^{}}},z)Y({\displaystyle \frac{Q}{a_m^{}}},w)`$
Note that we do not need to put normal ordering in the last summand.

### 2.9. Double contractions

Using this formula, we can now easily obtain the commutators of the Fourier coefficients of the fields $`Y(Pa_1,z)`$ and $`Y(Qa_1,w)`$, using the residue calculus (see \[FB\], § 3.3).

The first two terms in the right hand side of the formula in Lemma 2.5 correspond to single contractions between $`Y(Pa_1,z)`$ and $`Y(Qa_1,w)`$. The part in the commutator of the Fourier coefficients induced by these terms will be exactly the same as the commutator of the corresponding vector fields, computed in $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}`$. Thus, we see that the discrepancy between the commutators in $`A_{1,\mathrm{loc}}`$ and in $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}`$ (as measured by our two–cocycle) is due to the last term in the formula from Lemma 2.5, which comes from the double contractions between $`Y(Pa_1,z)`$ and $`Y(Qa_1,w)`$.

Explicitly, we obtain the following formula for our two-cocycle

(2.13)
$$\omega ((Pa_1)_{(k)},(Qa_1)_{(s)})$$

$$=\underset{n,m0}{}\frac{1}{(n+m+1)!}_z^{n+m+1}Y(\frac{P}{a_n^{}},z)Y(\frac{Q}{a_m^{}},w)z^kw^s|_{z=w}dw.$$

### 2.10. A reminder on cohomology

Let again

$$0𝔥\stackrel{~}{𝔩}𝔩0$$

be an extension of Lie algebras, where $`𝔥`$ is an abelian Lie subalgebra and an ideal in $`\stackrel{~}{𝔩}`$. Choosing a splitting $`ı`$ of this sequence considered as a vector space we define a two-cocycle of $`𝔩`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$ as in Section 2.7. Suppose that we are given a Lie algebra homomorphism $`\alpha :𝔤𝔩`$ for some Lie algebra $`𝔤`$. Pulling back our two-cocycle under $`\alpha `$ we obtain a two-cocycle of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$.

On the other hand, given a homomorphism $`𝔥^{}\stackrel{𝑖}{}𝔥`$ of $`𝔤`$–modules we obtain a map $`i_{}`$ between the spaces of two-cocycles of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥`$ and $`𝔥^{}`$. The corresponding map of the cohomology groups $`H^2(𝔤,𝔥^{})H^2(𝔤,𝔥)`$ will also be denoted by $`i_{}`$.

###### Lemma 2.6.

Suppose that we are given a two-cocycle $`\sigma `$ of $`𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝔥^{}`$ such that the cohomology classes of $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ and $`\omega `$ are equal in $`H^2(𝔤,𝔥^{})`$. Denote by $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$ the extension of $`𝔤`$ by $`𝔥^{}`$ corresponding to $`\sigma `$ defined as above. Then the map $`𝔤𝔩`$ may be augmented to a map of commutative diagrams

(2.14)
$$\begin{array}{ccccccccc}0& & 𝔥& & \stackrel{~}{𝔩}& & 𝔩& & 0\\ & & & & & & & & \\ 0& & 𝔥^{}& & \stackrel{~}{𝔤}& & 𝔤& & 0\end{array}$$

Moreover, the set of isomorphism classes of such diagrams is a torsor over $`H^1(𝔤,𝔥)`$.

###### Proof.

If the cohomology classes of $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ and $`\omega `$ coincide, then $`i_{}(\sigma )+d\gamma =\omega `$, where $`\gamma `$ is a one-cochain, i.e., a linear functional $`𝔤𝔥`$. Define a linear map $`\beta :\stackrel{~}{𝔤}\stackrel{~}{𝔩}`$ as follows. By definition, we have a splitting $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}=𝔤𝔥^{}`$ as a vector space. We set $`\beta (X)=ı(\alpha (X))+\gamma (X)`$ for all $`X𝔤`$ and $`\beta (h)=i(h)`$ for all $`h𝔥`$. Then the above equality of cocycles implies that $`\beta `$ is a Lie algebra homomorphism which makes the diagram (2.14) commutative. However, the choice of $`\gamma `$ is not unique as we may modify it by adding to it an arbitrary one-cocycle $`\gamma ^{}`$. But the homomorphisms corresponding to $`\gamma `$ and to $`\gamma +\gamma ^{}`$, where $`\gamma ^{}`$ is a coboundary, lead to isomorphic diagrams. This implies that the set of isomorphism classes of such diagrams is a torsor over $`H^1(𝔤,𝔥)`$. ∎

### 2.11. Two cocycles

Restricting the two-cocycle $`\omega `$ of $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}`$ with coefficients in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ corresponding to the extension (2.10) to $`L𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}`$ we obtain a two-cocycle of $`L𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. We also denote it by $`\omega `$. The $`L𝔤`$–module $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ contains the trivial subrepresentation $``$, i.e., the span of $`Y(|0,z)𝑑z/z`$ (which we view as the constant function on $`LU`$), and the inclusion $`\stackrel{𝑖}{}𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ induces a map $`i_{}`$ of the corresponding spaces of two-cocycles and the cohomology groups $`H^2(L𝔤,)H^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

It is well known that $`H^2(L𝔤,)`$ is one-dimensional and is isomorphic to the space of invariant inner products on $`𝔤`$ (the corresponding Kac-Moody two-cocyles are described in Section 2.3). We denote by $`\sigma `$ the class corresponding to the inner product $`\kappa _c=\frac{1}{2}\kappa __K`$, where $`\kappa __K`$ denotes the Killing form on $`𝔤`$. Thus, by definition,

$$\kappa _c(x,y)=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{Tr}(\mathrm{ad}x\mathrm{ad}y).$$

We will show that the cohomology classes of $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ and $`\omega `$ are equal. Lemma 2.6 will then imply that there exists a family of Lie algebra homomorphisms $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ such that $`K1`$.

Unfortunately, the Chevalley complex that calculates $`H^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is unmanageably large. So as the first step we will show in the next section that $`\omega `$ and $`\sigma `$ actually both belong to a much smaller subcomplex, where they are more easily compared.

## 3. Comparison of cohomology classes

### 3.1. Clifford Algebras

Choose a basis $`\{J^a\}_{a=1,\mathrm{},dim𝔤}`$ of $`𝔤`$, and set $`J_n^a=J^at^n`$. Introduce the Clifford algebra with generators $`\psi _{a,n},\psi _{a,m}^{},a=1,\mathrm{},dim𝔤;m,n`$, with anti-commutation relations

$$[\psi _{a,n},\psi _{b,n}]_+=[\psi _{a,n}^{},\psi _{b,m}^{}]_+=0,[\psi _{a,n},\psi _{b,m}^{}]_+=\delta _{a,b}\delta _{n,m}.$$

Let $`_𝔤`$ be the module over this Clifford algebra generated by a vector $`|0`$ such that

$$\psi _{a,n}|0=0,n>0,\psi _{a,n}^{}|0=0,n0.$$

Then $`_𝔤`$ carries the following structure of a vertex superalgebra (see \[FB\], § 14.1.1):

1. Gradation: $`\mathrm{deg}\psi _{a,n}=\mathrm{deg}\psi _{a,n}^{}=n,\mathrm{deg}|0=0`$;
2. Vacuum vector: $`|0`$;
3. Translation operator: $`T|0=0,[T,\psi _{a,n}]=n\psi _{a,n1},[T,\psi _{a,n}^{}]=`$
$`(n1)\psi _{a,n1}^{}`$.
4. Vertex operators:

$`Y(\psi _{a,1}|0,z)`$ $`=\psi _a(z)={\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}\psi _{a,n}z^{n1},`$
$`Y(\psi _{a,0}^{}|0,z)`$ $`=\psi _a^{}(z)={\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}\psi _{a,n}^{}z^n,`$
$$\begin{array}{c}Y(\psi _{a_1,n_1}\mathrm{}\psi _{a_k,n_k}\psi _{b_1,m_1}^{}\mathrm{}\psi _{b_l,m_l}^{}|0,z)=_{i=1}^k\frac{1}{(n_i1)!}_{j=1}^l\frac{1}{(m_j)!}\hfill \\ \hfill :_z^{n_11}\psi _{a_1}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{n_k1}\psi _{a_k}(z)_z^{m_1}\psi _{b_1}^{}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{m_l}\psi _{b_l}^{}(z):.\end{array}$$

The tensor product of two vertex superalgebras is naturally a vertex superalgebra (see Lemma 1.3.6 of \[FB\]), and so $`M_𝔤_𝔤`$ is a vertex superalgebra.

### 3.2. The local Chevalley complex

The ordinary Chevalley complex computing the Lie algebra cohomology $`H^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is $`C^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)=_{i0}C^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$,

$$C^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}({}_{}{}^{i}(L𝔤),𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤),$$

where $`^i(L𝔤)`$ stands for the natural completion of the ordinary $`i`$th exterior power of the topological vector space $`L𝔤`$, and we consider all continuous linear maps. For $`f𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ we denote the linear functional $`\varphi \mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^i(L𝔤),𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ defined by the formula

$$\varphi (J_{m_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{m_i}^{a_i})=\{\begin{array}{cc}f,\hfill & \mathrm{if}((a_1,m_1),\mathrm{},(a_i,m_i))=((b_1,k_1),\mathrm{},(b_i,k_i)),\hfill \\ 0,\hfill & \mathrm{if}((a_1,m_1),\mathrm{},(a_i,m_i))\tau ((b_1,k_1),\mathrm{},(b_i,k_i)),\hfill \end{array}$$

where $`\tau `$ runs over the symmetric group on $`i`$ letters, by $`\psi _{b_1,k_1}^{}\mathrm{}\psi _{b_i,k_i}^{}f`$. Then any element of the space $`C^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ may be written as a (possibly infinite) linear combination of terms of this form.

The differential $`d:C^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)C^{i+1}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is given by the formula

$`(d\varphi )(X_1,\mathrm{},X_{i+1})`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{i+1}{}}}(1)^{j+1}X_j\varphi (X_1,\mathrm{},\widehat{X_j},\mathrm{},X_{i+1})`$
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{j<k}{}}(1)^{j+k+1}\varphi ([X_j,X_k],X_1,\mathrm{},\widehat{X_j},\mathrm{},\widehat{X_k},\mathrm{},X_{i+1}).`$
Let $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ be the subspace of $`\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^i(L𝔤),𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$, spanned by all linear maps of the form

(3.1)
$$Y(\psi _{a_1,n_1}^{}\mathrm{}\psi _{a_i,n_i}^{}a_{\alpha _1,m_1}^{}\mathrm{}a_{\alpha _j,m_j}^{}|0,z)𝑑z,n_p0,m_p0.$$

###### Lemma 3.1.

$`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is preserved by the differential $`d`$, and so it forms a subcomplex of $`C^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

###### Proof.

The action of the differential $`d`$ on $`Y(A,z)𝑑z`$, where $`A`$ is of the form (3.1), may be written as the commutator

$$[Q(z)𝑑z,Y(A,z)𝑑z],$$

where $`Q(z)`$ is the field

(3.2)
$$Q(z)=Y(Q,z)=\underset{a}{}J^a(z)\psi _a^{}(z)\frac{1}{2}\underset{a,b,c}{}\mu _c^{ab}:\psi _a^{}(z)\psi _b^{}(z)\psi _c(z):.$$

Therefore it is equal to $`Y(Q(z)𝑑zA,z)`$, which is of the form (3.1). ∎

We call $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ the local subcomplex of $`C^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

###### Lemma 3.2.

Both $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ belong to $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

###### Proof.

We begin with $`\sigma `$ given by the formula

(3.3)
$$\sigma (J_n^a,J_m^b)=n\delta _{n,m}\kappa _c(J^a,J^b)$$

(see Section 2.3). Therefore the cocycle $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ is equal to the following element of $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$,

$`i_{}(\sigma )`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{ab}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}\kappa _c(J^a,J^b)n\psi _{a,n}^{}\psi _{b,n}^{}`$
(3.4) $`={\displaystyle \underset{ab}{}}\kappa _c(J^a,J^b){\displaystyle Y(\psi _{a,1}^{}\psi _{b,0}^{}|0,z)𝑑z}.`$
Next we consider $`\omega `$. Combining the discussion of Section 2.2 with formulas of Section 1.5, we obtain that

$$ı(J_n^a)=\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}Y(R_a^\beta (a_{\alpha ,0}^{})a_{\beta ,1}|0,z)z^n𝑑z,$$

where $`R_a^\beta `$ is a polynomial. Then formula (2.13) implies that

$$\begin{array}{c}\omega (J_n^a,J_m^b)=\hfill \\ \hfill \underset{\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\left(Y(T\frac{R_a^\alpha }{a_{\beta ,0}^{}}\frac{R_b^\beta }{a_{\alpha ,0}^{}},w)w^{n+m}+nY(\frac{R_a^\alpha }{a_{\beta ,0}^{}}\frac{R_b^\beta }{a_{\alpha ,0}^{}},w)w^{n+m1}\right)𝑑w.\end{array}$$

Therefore

(3.5)
$$\begin{array}{c}\omega =\hfill \\ \hfill \underset{ab;\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\left(Y(\psi _{a,0}^{}\psi _{b,0}^{}T\frac{R_a^\alpha }{a_{\beta ,0}^{}}\frac{R_b^\beta }{a_{\alpha ,0}^{}},z)+Y(\psi _{a,1}^{}\psi _{b,0}^{}\frac{R_a^\alpha }{a_{\beta ,0}^{}}\frac{R_b^\beta }{a_{\alpha ,0}^{}},z)\right)𝑑z\end{array}$$

(in the last two formulas we have omitted $`|0`$). Hence it belongs to $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$. ∎

We need to show that the cocycles $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ and $`\omega `$ represent the same cohomology class in the local complex $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

### 3.3. Another complex

Given a Lie algebra $`𝔩`$, we denote the Lie subalgebra $`𝔩[[t]]`$ of $`L𝔩=𝔩((t))`$ by $`L_+𝔩`$.

Observe that the Lie algebra $`L_+𝔫_+`$ acts naturally on the space

$$M_{𝔤,+}=[a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}[y_{\alpha ,n}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0},$$

which is identified with the ring of functions on the space $`U[[t]]N_+[[t]]`$. We identify the standard Chevalley complex $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^{}L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ with the tensor product $`M_{𝔤,+}_{𝔤,+}^{}`$, where

$${}_{𝔤,+}{}^{}=(\psi _{a,n}^{})_{n0}.$$

Introduce a superderivation $`T`$ on $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ acting by the formulas

$$Ta_{a,n}^{}=(n1)a_{a,n1}^{},T\psi _{a,n}^{}=(n1)\psi _{a,n1}^{}.$$

We have a linear map $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ sending $`AC^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ to $`Y(A,z)𝑑z`$. It is clear that if $`A\mathrm{Im}T`$, then $`Y(A,z)𝑑z=0`$.

###### Lemma 3.3.

The map $``$ defines an isomorphism

$$C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})/(\mathrm{Im}T+),$$

and $`\mathrm{Ker}T=`$. Moreover, the following diagram is commutative

$$\begin{array}{ccccc}C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{T}{}& C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{{\scriptscriptstyle }}{}& C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)\\ d& & d& & d& & \\ C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{T}{}& C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{T}{}& C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)\end{array}$$

###### Proof.

It is easy to see that the differential of the Chevalley complex $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ acts by the formula $`AQ(z)𝑑zA`$, where $`Q(z)`$ is given by formula (3.2). The lemma now follows from the argument used in the proof of Lemma 3.1. ∎

Consider the double complex

$$\begin{array}{ccccccc}& & C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{T}{}& C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& & \\ & & & & & & \\ & & C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& \stackrel{T}{}& C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})& & \end{array}$$

According to the lemma, the cohomology of the complex $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is given by the second term of the spectral sequence, in which the zeroth differential is vertical.

We start by computing the first term of this spectral sequence. Observe that the module $`M_{𝔤,+}`$ is isomorphic to the coinduced module $`\mathrm{Coind}_{L_+𝔟_{}}^{L_+𝔤}`$. Define a map of complexes

$$\mu ^{}:C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})C^{}(L_+𝔟_{},)$$

as follows. If $`\gamma `$ is an $`i`$–cochain in the complex $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^iL_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$, then $`\mu ^{}(\gamma )`$ is by definition the restriction of $`\gamma `$ to $`^iL_+𝔟_{}`$ composed with the natural projection $`M_{𝔤,+}=\mathrm{Coind}_{L_+𝔟_{}}^{L_+𝔤}`$. It is clear that $`\mu ^{}`$ is a morphism of complexes. The following is an example of the Shapiro lemma (see \[Fu\], § 5.4, for the proof).

###### Lemma 3.4.

The map $`\mu ^{}`$ induces an isomorphism at the level of cohomologies, i.e.,

(3.6)
$$H^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})H^{}(L_+𝔟_{},).$$

Now we compute the right hand side of (3.6). Since $`L_+𝔫_{}L_+𝔟_{}`$ is an ideal, and $`L_+𝔟_{}/L_+𝔫_{}L_+𝔥`$, we obtain from the Serre-Hochshield spectral sequence (see \[Fu\], § 5.1) that

$$H^n(L_+𝔟_{},)=\underset{p+q=n}{}H^p(L_+𝔥,H^q(L_+𝔫_{},)).$$

But $`𝔥1L_+𝔥`$ acts diagonally on $`H^{}(L_+𝔫_{},)`$, inducing an inner grading. According to \[Fu\], § 5.2,

$$H^p(L_+𝔥,H^q(L_+𝔫_{},))=H^p(L_+𝔥,H^q(L_+𝔫_{},)_0),$$

where $`H^q(L_+𝔫_{},)_0`$ is the subspace where $`𝔥1`$ acts by $`0`$. Clearly, $`H^0(L_+𝔫_{},)_0`$ is the one-dimensional subspace of the scalars $`H^0(L_+𝔫_{},)`$, and $`H^q(L_+𝔫_{},)_0=0`$ for $`q0`$. Thus, we find that

$$H^p(L_+𝔥,H^q(L_+𝔫_{},))=H^p(L_+𝔥,).$$

Furthermore, we have the following result. Define a map of complexes

(3.7)
$$\mu :C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})C^{}(L_+𝔥,)$$

as follows. If $`\gamma `$ is an $`i`$–cochain in the complex $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^iL_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$, then $`\mu (\gamma )`$ is by definition the restriction of $`\gamma `$ to $`^iL_+𝔥`$ composed with the natural projection

(3.8)
$$p:M_{𝔤,+}=\mathrm{Coind}_{L_+𝔟_{}}^{L_+𝔤}.$$

###### Lemma 3.5.

The map $`\mu `$ induces an isomorphism at the level of cohomologies, i.e.,

$$H^{}(L_+,𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})H^{}(L_+𝔥,).$$

In particular, the cohomology class of a cocycle in the complex $`C^i(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ is uniquely determined by its restriction to $`^iL_+𝔥`$.

###### Proof.

It follows from the construction of the Serre-Hochshield spectral sequence (see \[Fu\], § 5.1) that the restriction map $`C^{}(L_+𝔟_{},)C^{}(L_+𝔥,)`$ induces an isomorphism at the level of cohomologies. The statement of the lemma now follows by combining this with Lemma 3.4. ∎

Since $`L_+𝔥`$ is abelian, we have

$$H^{}(L_+𝔥,)={}_{}{}^{}(L_+𝔥),$$

and so

$$H^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+}){}_{}{}^{}(L_+𝔥).$$

It is clear that this isomorphism is compatible with the action of $`T`$ on both sides. The kernel of $`T`$ acting on the right hand side is equal to the subspace of the scalars. Therefore we obtain

$$H_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤){}_{}{}^{}(L_+𝔥)/(\mathrm{Im}T+).$$

### 3.4. Restricting the cocycles

Any cocycle in $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is a cocycle in

$$C^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}({}_{}{}^{i}(L𝔤),𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤),$$

and as such it may be restricted to $`{}_{}{}^{i}(L𝔥)`$.

###### Lemma 3.6.

Any two cocycles in $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ whose restrictions to $`{}_{}{}^{i}(L𝔥)`$ coincide represent the same cohomology class.

###### Proof.

We need to show that any cocycle $`\varphi `$ in $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^i(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$, whose restriction to $`{}_{}{}^{i}(L𝔥)`$ is equal to zero, is equivalent to the zero cocycle. According to the above computation, $`\varphi `$ may be written as $`Y(A,z)𝑑z`$, where $`A`$ is a cocycle in $`C^i(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})=\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathrm{cont}}(^iL_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$. But then the restriction of $`A`$ to $`^iL_+𝔥^iL_+𝔤`$, denoted by $`\overline{A}`$, must be in the image of the operator $`T`$, and hence so is $`p(\overline{A})=\mu (A)^i(L_+𝔥)`$ (here $`p`$ is the projection defined in (3.8) and $`\mu `$ is the map defined in (3.7)). Thus, $`\mu (A)=T(h)`$ for some $`h^i(L_+𝔥)`$. Since $`T`$ commutes with the differential and the kernel of $`T`$ on $`^i(L_+𝔥)`$ consists of the scalars, we obtain that $`h`$ is also a cocycle in $`C^i(L_+𝔥,)=^i(L_+𝔥)`$.

According to Lemma 3.5, the map $`\mu `$ induces an isomorphism on the cohomologies. Hence $`h`$ is equal to $`\mu (B)`$ for some cocycle $`B`$ in $`C^i(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$. It is clear from the definition that $`\mu `$ commutes with the action of the translation operator $`T`$. Therefore it follows that the cocycles $`A`$ and $`T(B)`$ are equivalent in $`C^i(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$. But then $`\varphi `$ is equivalent to the zero cocycle. ∎

Now we obtain

###### Theorem 3.7.

The cocycles $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ represent the same cohomology class in $`H_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$. Therefore there exists a lifting of the homomorphism $`L𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ to a homomorphism $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ such that $`K1`$. Moreover, this homomorphism may be chosen in such a way that

(3.9)
$$J^a(z)Y(P_a(a_{\alpha ,0}^{},a_{\beta ,1})|0,z)+Y(B_a,z),$$

where $`P_a`$ is a polynomial introduced in formula (1.6) and $`B_a`$ is a polynomial in the $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$’s of degree one.

###### Proof.

By Lemma 3.6, it suffices to check that the restrictions of $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ to $`^2(L𝔥)`$ coincide. We have

$$i_{}(\sigma )(h_n,h_m^{})=n\kappa _c(h,h^{})\delta _{n,m}$$

for all $`h,h^{}𝔥`$. Now let us compute the restriction of $`\omega `$. We find from the formulas given in Section 1.5 and Section 2.2 that

$$ı(h(z))=\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\alpha (h):a_\alpha ^{}(z)a_\alpha (z):$$

(recall that $`h(z)=_nh_nz^{n1}`$). Therefore we find that

$$\omega (h_n,h_m^{})=n\delta _{n,m}\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\alpha (h)\alpha (h^{})=n\kappa _c(h,h^{})\delta _{n,m},$$

because by definition $`\kappa _c(,)=\frac{1}{2}\kappa __K(,)`$ and for the Killing form $`\kappa __K`$ we have

$$\kappa __K(h,h^{})=2\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\alpha (h)\alpha (h^{}).$$

Therefore the cocycles $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ represent the same class in $`H_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

Hence there exists $`\gamma C_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ such that $`\omega +d\gamma =i_{}(\sigma )`$. We may write $`\gamma `$ as

$$\gamma =\underset{a}{}\psi _a^{}(z)Y(B_a,z)𝑑z,B_aM_{𝔤,+}.$$

It follows from the computations made in the proof of Lemma 3.2 that both $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ are homogeneous elements of $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ of degree $`0`$. Therefore $`\gamma `$ may be chosen to be of degree $`0`$, i.e., $`B_a`$ may be chosen to be of degree $`1`$.

Then by Lemma 2.6 formulas (3.9) define a homomorphism of Lie algebras $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ such that $`K1`$. This completes the proof. ∎

In the next section we will interpret the above homomorphism in the vertex algebra language.

## 4. Wakimoto modules of critical level

### 4.1. Homomorphism of vertex algebras

Recall the definition of the vertex algebra associated to the affine Kac-Moody algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ (see \[FB\], § 2.4). Define the vacuum $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ corresponding to $`\kappa `$ as the induced representation

$$V_\kappa (𝔤)\stackrel{def}{=}\mathrm{Ind}_{L_+𝔤K}^{\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa }_1,$$

where $`_1`$ is the one-dimensional representation on which $`L_+𝔤`$ acts by $`0`$ and $`K`$ acts as the identity. We denote the vector $`11V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ by $`v_\kappa `$.

Recall that $`\kappa `$ is unique up to a scalar. Therefore it is often convenient to fix a particular invariant inner product $`\kappa _0`$ and write an arbitrary one as $`\kappa =k\kappa _0,k`$. This is the point of view taken in \[FB\], where as $`\kappa _0`$ we take the inner product with respect to which the square of the maximal root is equal to $`2`$, and denote the corresponding vacuum module by $`V_k(𝔤)`$. In particular, since the Killing form $`\kappa __K(,)`$ is equal to $`2h^{}`$ times $`\kappa _0`$ (see \[K1\]), where $`h^{}`$ is the dual Coxeter number of $`𝔤`$, we obtain that for the inner product $`\kappa _c(,)=\frac{1}{2}\kappa __K(,)`$ introduced above we have $`k=h^{}`$. Thus, $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is $`V_h^{}(𝔤)`$ in the notation of \[FB\]. We will call this module the vacuum module of critical level.

The vertex algebra structure on $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ is defined as follows:

1. Gradation: $`\mathrm{deg}J_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{n_m}^{a_m}v_\kappa =_{i=1}^mn_i`$.
2. Vacuum vector: $`|0=v_\kappa `$.
3. Translation operator: $`Tv_\kappa =0`$, $`[T,J_n^a]=nJ_{n1}^a`$.
4. Vertex operators:

$$Y(J_1^av_\kappa ,z)=J^a(z)=\underset{n}{}J_n^az^{n1},$$

$$Y(J_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{n_m}^{a_m}v_\kappa ,z)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{m}{}}\frac{1}{(n_i1)!}:_z^{n_11}J^{a_1}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{n_m1}J^{a_m}(z):$$

(see Theorem 2.4.4 of \[FB\]).

###### Lemma 4.1.

Defining a homomorphism of vertex algebras $`V_\kappa (𝔤)V`$ is equivalent to choosing vertex operators $`\stackrel{~}{J}^a(z),a=1,\mathrm{},dim𝔤`$, of conformal dimension $`1`$ in the vertex algebra $`V`$, whose Fourier coefficients satisfy the relations (2.7) with $`K=1`$.

###### Proof.

Given a homomorphism $`\rho :V_\kappa (𝔤)V`$, take the images of the generating vertex operators $`J^a(z)`$ of $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ under $`\rho `$. The fact that $`\rho `$ is a homomorphism of vertex algebras implies that the OPEs between these fields, and hence the commutation relations between their Fourier coefficients, are preserved.

Conversely, suppose that we are given vertex operators $`\stackrel{~}{J}^a(z)`$ satisfying the condition of the lemma. Denote by $`\stackrel{~}{J}_n^a`$ the corresponding Fourier coefficients. Define a linear map $`\rho :V_\kappa (𝔤)V`$ by the formula

$$J_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{n_m}^{a_m}v_\kappa \stackrel{~}{J}_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}\stackrel{~}{J}_{n_m}^{a_m}|0.$$

It is easy to check that this map is a vertex algebra homomorphism. ∎

The complexes $`C^{}(L_+𝔤,M_{𝔤,+})`$ and $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ carry natural $``$–gradations defined by the formulas $`\mathrm{deg}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=\mathrm{deg}\psi _{a,n}^{}=n`$, $`\mathrm{deg}|0=0`$, and $`\mathrm{deg}Y(A,z)𝑑z=\mathrm{deg}A1`$. The differentials preserve these gradations. The following is a corollary of Theorem 3.7.

###### Corollary 4.2.

There exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤`$.

###### Proof.

According to Theorem 3.7, there exists a homomorphism $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ such that $`K1`$ and

$$J^a(z)Y(P_a(a_{\alpha ,0}^{},a_{\beta ,1})|0,z)+Y(B_a,z),$$

where the vectors $`P_a`$ and $`B_a`$ have degree one. Therefore by Lemma 4.1 we obtain a homomorphism of vertex algebras $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤`$ such that

$$J_1^av_\kappa P_a(a_{\alpha ,0}^{},a_{\beta ,1})|0+B_a.$$

In addition to the $``$–gradations described above, the complex $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ also carries a weight gradation with respect to the root lattice of $`𝔤`$ such that $`\mathrm{wt}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=\alpha `$, $`\mathrm{wt}\psi _{a,n}^{}=\mathrm{wt}J^a`$, $`\mathrm{wt}|0=0`$, and $`\mathrm{wt}Y(A,z)𝑑z=\mathrm{wt}A`$. The differentials preserve this gradation, and it is clear that the cocycles $`\omega `$ and $`i_{}(\sigma )`$ are homogeneous. Therefore the element $`\gamma `$ introduced in the proof of Corollary 4.2 may be chosen in such a way that it is also homogeneous with respect to the weight gradation.

For such $`\gamma `$ we necessarily have $`B_a=0`$ for all $`J^a𝔥𝔫_+`$. Furthermore, the term $`B_a`$ corresponding to $`J^a=f_i`$ must be proportional to $`a_{\alpha _i,1}^{}|0`$. Using the formulas of Section 1.5 and the discussion of Section 2.2, we therefore obtain a more explicit description of the homomorphism $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤`$:

###### Theorem 4.3.

There exist constants $`c_i`$ such that the Fourier coefficients of the vertex operators

$`e_i(z)`$ $`=a_{\alpha _i}(z)+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:P_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):,`$
$`h_i(z)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta (z):,`$
$`f_i(z)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:Q_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):+c_i_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z),`$
where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^i,Q_\beta ^i`$ are introduced in formulas (1.7)–(1.9), generate an action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ on $`M_𝔤`$.

###### Remark 4.4.

In addition to the above homomorphism of Lie algebras $`w_{\kappa _c}:\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$, there is also a Lie algebra anti-homomorphism

$$w^R:L𝔫_+𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤$$

which is induced by the right action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`N_+`$ (see Section 1.5). By construction, the images of $`L𝔫_+`$ under $`w_{\kappa _c}`$ and $`w^R`$ commute. We have

(4.1)
$$w^R(e_i(z))=a_{\alpha _i}(z)+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^{R,i}(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z),$$

where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^{R,i}`$ are defined in Section 1.5. More generally, we have

(4.2)
$$w^R(e_\alpha (z))=a_\alpha (z)+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^{R,\alpha }(a_\gamma ^{}(z))a_\beta (z),$$

for some polynomials $`P_\beta ^{R,\alpha }`$.∎

### 4.2. Other $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module structures on $`M_𝔤`$

In Theorem 4.3 we constructed the structure of a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–module on $`M_𝔤`$. To obtain other $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–module structures of critical level on $`M_𝔤`$ we need to consider other homomorphisms $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ lifting the homomorphism $`L𝔤𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. According to Lemma 2.6, the set of isomorphism classes of such liftings is a torsor over $`H^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$. Since we have chosen a particular lifting in Theorem 4.3, we may identify this set with $`H^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

Recall that our complex $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{}(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ has a weight gradation, and our cocycle $`\omega `$ has weight zero. Therefore among all liftings we consider those which have weight zero. The set of such liftings is in bijection with the weight zero homogeneous component of $`H^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

###### Lemma 4.5.

The weight $`0`$ component of $`H^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is isomorphic to the (topological) dual space $`(L𝔥)^{}`$ to $`L𝔥`$.

###### Proof.

First we show that the weight $`0`$ component of $`H^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ is isomorphic to the space of weight $`0`$ cocycles in $`C^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$. Indeed, since $`\mathrm{wt}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=\alpha `$, the weight $`0`$ part of $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^0(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)=𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ is one-dimensional and consists of the constants. If we apply the differential to a constant we obtain $`0`$, and so there are no coboundaries of weight $`0`$ in $`C^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

Next, we show that any weight $`0`$ one-cocycle $`\varphi `$ is uniquely determined by its restriction to $`L𝔥L𝔤`$, which may be an arbitrary (continuous) linear functional on $`L𝔥`$. Indeed, since the weights occurring in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ are less than or equal to $`0`$, the restriction of $`\varphi `$ to $`L_+𝔫_{}`$ is equal to $`0`$, and the restriction to $`L𝔥`$ takes values in the constants $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. Now let us fix $`\varphi |_{L𝔥}`$. We identify $`(L𝔥)^{}`$ with $`𝔥^{}((t))dt`$ using the residue pairing, and write $`\varphi |_{L𝔥}`$ as $`\chi (t)dt`$ using this identification. Here

$$\chi (t)=\underset{n}{}\chi _nt^{n1},\chi _n𝔥^{},$$

where $`\chi _n(h)=\varphi (h_n)`$. We denote $`\chi (t),h_i`$ by $`\chi _i(t)`$.

We claim that for any $`\chi (t)dt𝔥^{}((t))dt`$, there is a unique one-cocycle $`\varphi `$ of weight $`0`$ in $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$ such that

(4.3) $`\varphi (e_i(z))`$ $`=0,`$
(4.4) $`\varphi (h_i(z))`$ $`=\chi _i(z),`$
(4.5) $`\varphi (f_i(z))`$ $`=\chi _i(z)a_{\alpha ,n}^{}(z).`$
Indeed, having fixed $`\varphi (e_i(z))`$ and $`\varphi (h_i(z))`$ as in (4.3) and (4.4), we obtain using the formula

$$\varphi \left([e_{i,n},f_{j,m}]\right)=e_{i,n}\varphi (f_{j,m})f_{j,m}\varphi (e_{i,n})$$

that

$$\delta _{i,j}\chi _{i,n+m}=e_{i,n}\varphi (f_{j,m}).$$

This equation on $`\varphi (f_{j,m})`$ has a unique solution in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ of weight $`\alpha _i`$, namely, the one given by formula (4.5). The cocycle $`\varphi `$, if exists, is uniquely determined once we fix its values on $`e_{i,n},h_{i,n}`$ and $`f_{i,n}`$. Let us show that it exists. This is equivalent to showing that the Fourier coefficients of the fields

(4.6) $`e_i(z)`$ $`=a_{\alpha _i}(z)+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:P_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):,`$
(4.7) $`h_i(z)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta ^{}(z):+\chi _i(z),`$
(4.8) $`f_i(z)`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:Q_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):+c_i_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z)+\chi _i(z)a_{\alpha ,n}^{}(z),`$
satisfy the relations of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ with $`K=1`$.

Let us remove the normal ordering and set $`c_i=0,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$. Then the corresponding Fourier coefficients are no longer well-defined as linear operators on $`M_𝔤`$. But they are well-defined linear operators on the space $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$. The resulting $`L𝔤`$–module structure is easy to describe. Indeed, the Lie algebra $`L𝔤`$ acts on $`\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ by vector fields. More generally, for any $`L𝔟_{}`$–module $`R`$ we obtain a natural action of $`L𝔤`$ on the tensor product $`\mathrm{Fun}LU\widehat{}R`$ (this is just the topological $`L𝔤`$–module induced from the $`L𝔟_{}`$–module $`R`$). If we choose as $`R`$ the one-dimensional representation on which all $`f_{i,n}`$ act by $`0`$ and $`h_{i,n}`$ acts by multiplication by $`\chi _{i,n}`$ for all $`i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$ and $`n`$, then the corresponding $`L𝔤`$–action on $`\mathrm{Fun}LU\widehat{}R\mathrm{Fun}LU`$ is given by the Fourier coefficients of the above formulas, with the normal ordering removed. Hence if we remove the normal ordering and set $`c_i=0`$, then these Fourier coefficients do satisfy the commutation relations of $`L𝔤`$.

When we restore the normal ordering, these commutation relations may in general be distorted, due to the double contractions, as explained in Section 2.9. But we know from Theorem 4.3 that when we restore normal ordering and set all $`\chi _{i,n}=0`$, then there exist the numbers $`c_i`$ such that these Fourier coefficients satisfy the commutation relations of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ with $`K=1`$. The terms (4.3)–(4.5) will not generate any new double contractions in the commutators. Therefore computing these commutators with non-zero values of $`\chi _{i,n}`$, we find that the relations remain the same. This completes the proof. ∎

###### Corollary 4.6.

For each $`\chi (t)𝔥^{}((t))`$ there is a $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module structure of critical level on $`M_𝔤`$, with the action given by formulas (4.6)–(4.8).

We call these modules the Wakimoto modules of critical level and denote them by $`W_{\chi (t)}`$.

Let $`\pi _0`$ be the commutative algebra $`[b_{i,n}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n<0}`$ with the derivation $`T`$ given by the formula

$$Tb_{i_1,n_1}\mathrm{}b_{i_m,n_m}=\underset{j=1}{\overset{m}{}}n_jb_{i_1,n_1}\mathrm{}b_{i_j,n_j1}\mathrm{}b_{i_m,n_m}.$$

Then $`\pi _0`$ is naturally a commutative vertex algebra (see \[FB\], § 2.3.9). In particular, we have

$$Y(b_{i,1},z)=b_i(z)=\underset{n<0}{}b_{i,n}z^{n1}.$$

Using the same argument as in the proof of Lemma 4.5, we now obtain a stronger version of Corollary 4.2.

###### Theorem 4.7.

There exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras

$$w_{\kappa _c}:V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0$$

such that

$`e_i(z)`$ $`a_{\alpha _i}(z)+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:P_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):,`$
$`h_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta (z):+b_i(z),`$
$`f_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:Q_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):+c_i_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z)+b_i(z)a_{\alpha _i}^{}(z),`$
where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^i,Q_\beta ^i`$ are introduced in formulas (1.7)–(1.9).

Thus, any module over the vertex algebra $`M_𝔤\pi _0`$ becomes a $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$–module, and hence a $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module of critical level. We will not require that the module is necessarily $``$–graded. In particular, for any $`\chi (t)𝔥^{}((t))`$ we have a one-dimensional $`\pi _0`$–module $`_{\chi (t)}`$, on which $`b_{i,n}`$ acts by multiplication by $`\chi _{i,n}`$. The corresponding $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–module is the Wakimoto module $`W_{\chi (t)}`$ introduced above.

### 4.3. Application: proof of the Kac–Kazhdan conjecture

As an application of the above construction of Wakimoto modules, we give a proof of the Kazhdan–Kazhdan conjecture from \[KK\], following \[F1\].

Let us recall the notion of a character of a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module. Suppose that we have a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module $`M`$ equipped with an action of the gradation operator $`L_0=t_t`$. Note that if $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, then any smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module (i.e., such that any vector is annihilated by the Lie subalgebra $`𝔤t^N[[t]]`$ for sufficiently large $`N`$) carries an action of the Virasoro algebra obtained via the Segal–Sugawara construction (see Section 5.3 below), and so in particular an $`L_0`$–action. However, smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–modules do not necessarily carry an $`L_0`$–action.

Suppose in addition that $`L_0`$ and $`𝔥1\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ act diagonally on $`M`$ with finite-dimensional common eigenspaces. Then we define the character of $`M`$ as the formal series

(4.9)
$$\mathrm{ch}M=\underset{\widehat{\lambda }(𝔥L_0)^{}}{}dimM(\widehat{\lambda })e^{\widehat{\lambda }},$$

where $`M(\widehat{\lambda })`$ is the generalized eigenspace of $`L_0`$ and $`𝔥1`$ corresponding to $`\widehat{\lambda }:(𝔥L_0)^{}`$.

The direct sum $`(𝔥1)L_0K`$ is the Cartan subalgebra of the extended Kac-Moody algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa L_0`$. Elements of the dual space $`\stackrel{~}{𝔥}^{}`$ are called weights. We will consider weights occurring in modules on which $`K`$ acts as the identity. Therefore without loss of generality we may view weights as elements of the dual space to $`\stackrel{~}{𝔥}=(𝔥1)L_0`$. The set of positive roots of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ is naturally a subset of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔥}^{}`$, and this determines a natural partial order on the set of weights. In what follows we will often denote $`e^\delta =e^{(0,1)}`$, where $`\delta `$ is the imaginary root of $`𝔤`$, by $`q`$.

For $`\widehat{\lambda }=(\lambda ,a)`$, let $`L_{\widehat{\lambda },\kappa }`$ be the irreducible $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module with the highest weight $`\widehat{\lambda }=(a,\lambda )`$, on which the central element $`K`$ acts as the identity. It is the unique irreducible subquotient of the Verma module $`M_{\widehat{\lambda },\kappa }`$. In \[KK\] a certain subset $`H_{\beta ,m}^\kappa \stackrel{~}{𝔥}^{}`$ is defined for any pair $`(\beta ,m)`$, where $`\beta `$ is a positive root of $`\widehat{𝔤}L_0`$ and $`m`$ is a positive integer. If $`\beta `$ is a real root, then $`H_{\beta ,m}^\kappa `$ is a hyperplane in $`\stackrel{~}{𝔥}^{}`$ and if $`\beta `$ is an imaginary root, then $`H_{\beta ,m}^{\kappa _c}=\stackrel{~}{𝔥}^{}`$ and $`H_{\beta ,m}^\kappa =\mathrm{}`$ for $`\kappa \kappa _c`$. It is shown in \[KK\] that $`L_{\widehat{\lambda },\kappa }`$ is a subquotient of $`M_{\widehat{\mu },\kappa }`$ if and only if the following condition is satisfied: there exists a finite sequence of weights $`\widehat{\mu }_0,\mathrm{},\widehat{\mu }_n`$ such that $`\widehat{\mu }_0=\widehat{\lambda },\widehat{\mu }_n=\widehat{\mu }`$, $`\widehat{\mu }_{i+1}=\widehat{\mu }_im_i\beta _i`$ for some positive roots $`\beta _i`$ and positive integers $`m_i`$, and $`\widehat{\mu }_iH_{\beta _i,m_i}^\kappa `$ for all $`i=1,\mathrm{},n`$.

Denote by $`\widehat{\mathrm{\Delta }}_+^{\mathrm{re}}`$ the set of positive real roots of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$. Let us call a weight $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ a generic weight of critical level if $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ does not belong to any of the hyperplanes $`H_{\beta ,m}^\kappa ,\beta \widehat{\mathrm{\Delta }}_+^{\mathrm{re}}`$, where $`\widehat{\mathrm{\Delta }}_+^{\mathrm{re}}`$ is the set of positive real roots. It is easy to see from the above condition that $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ is a generic weight of critical level if and only if the only irreducible subquotients of $`M_{\widehat{\lambda },\kappa _c}`$ have highest weights $`\widehat{\lambda }n\delta `$, where $`n`$ is a non-negative integer (i.e., their $`𝔥^{}`$ components are equal to the $`𝔥^{}`$ component of $`\widehat{\lambda }`$). The following assertion is the Kac–Kazhdan conjecture for the untwisted affine Kac-Moody algebras.

###### Theorem 4.8.

For generic weight $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ of critical level

$$\mathrm{ch}L_{\widehat{\lambda },\kappa _c}=e^{\widehat{\lambda }}\underset{\alpha \widehat{\mathrm{\Delta }}_+^{\mathrm{re}}}{}(1e^\alpha )^1.$$

###### Proof.

Without loss of generality, we may assume that $`\widehat{\lambda }=(\lambda ,0)`$.

Introduce the gradation operator $`L_0`$ on the Wakimoto module $`W_{\chi (t)}`$ by using the vertex algebra gradation on $`M_𝔤`$. It is clear from the formulas defining the $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–action on $`W_{\chi (t)}`$ given in Theorem 4.7 that this action is compatible with the gradation if and only if $`\chi (t)=\lambda /t`$, where $`\lambda 𝔥^{}`$. In that case

$$\mathrm{ch}W_{\lambda /t}=e^{\widehat{\lambda }}\underset{\alpha \widehat{\mathrm{\Delta }}_+^{\mathrm{re}}}{}(1e^\alpha )^1,$$

where $`\widehat{\lambda }=(\lambda ,0)`$. Thus, in order to prove the theorem we need to show that if $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ is a generic weight of critical level, then $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ is irreducible. Suppose that this is not so. Then either $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ contains a singular vector, i.e., a vector annihilated by the Lie subalgebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+=(𝔤t[[t]])(𝔫_+1)`$, other than the multiples of the highest weight vector, or $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ is not generated by its highest weight vector.

Suppose that $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ contains a singular vector other than a multiple of the highest weight vector. Such a vector must then be annihilated by the Lie subalgebra $`L_+𝔫_+=𝔫_+[[t]]`$. We have introduced in Remark 4.4 the right action of $`𝔫_+((t))`$ on $`M_𝔤`$, which commutes with the left action. It is clear from formula (4.2) that the monomials

(4.10)
$$\underset{n_{r(\alpha )}<0}{}e_{\alpha ,n_{r(\alpha )}}^R\underset{m_{s(\alpha )}0}{}a_{\alpha ,m_{s(\alpha )}}^{}|0$$

form a basis of $`M_𝔤`$. Therefore the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants of $`W_{\kappa _c,0}`$ is equal to the tensor product of the subspace $`M_{𝔤,}`$ of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ spanned by all monomials (4.10) not containing $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$, and the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants in $`M_{𝔤,+}=[a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$. According to Section 3.3, $`M_{𝔤,+}`$ is an $`L_+𝔤`$–module isomorphic to $`\mathrm{Coind}_{L_+𝔟_{}}^{L_+𝔤}`$. Therefore the action of $`L_+𝔫_+`$ on it is co-free, and the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants is one-dimensional, spanned by constants. Thus, we obtain that the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants in $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ is equal to $`M_{𝔤,}`$. In particular, we find that the weight of any singular vector of $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ which is not equal to the highest weight vector has the form $`(\lambda ,0)_j(n_j\delta \beta _j)`$, where $`n_j>0`$ and each $`\beta _j`$ is a positive root of $`𝔤`$. But then $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ contains an irreducible subquotient of such a weight.

Now observe that

$$\mathrm{ch}M_{(\lambda ,0),\kappa _c}=\underset{n>0}{}(1q^n)^{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{ch}W_{\lambda /t},$$

where $`q=e^\delta `$. If an irreducible module $`L_{\widehat{\mu },\kappa _c}`$ appears as a subquotient of $`W_{\lambda /t}`$, then it appears in the decomposition of $`\mathrm{ch}W_{\lambda /t}`$ into the sum of characters of irreducible representations and hence in the decomposition of $`\mathrm{ch}M_{(\lambda ,0),\kappa _c}`$. Since the characters of irreducible representations are linearly independent, this implies that $`L_{\widehat{\mu },\kappa _c}`$ is an irreducible subquotient of $`M_{(\lambda ,0),\kappa _c}`$. But this contradicts our assumption that $`(\lambda ,0)`$ is a generic weight of critical level. Therefore $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ does not contain any singular vectors other than the multiples of the highest weight vector.

Now suppose that $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ is not generated by its highest weight vector. But then there exists a homogeneous linear functional on $`W_{\lambda /t}`$, whose weight is less than the highest weight and which is invariant under $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_{}=(𝔤t^1[t^1])(𝔫_{}1)`$, and in particular, under its Lie subalgebra $`L_{}𝔫_+=𝔫_+t^1[t^1]`$. Therefore this functional factors through the space of coinvariants of $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ by $`L_{}𝔫_+`$. But $`L_{}𝔫_+`$ acts freely on $`W_{\lambda /t}`$, and the space of coinvariants is isomorphic to the subspace $`[a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$ of $`W_{\lambda /t}`$. Hence we obtain that the weight of this functional has the form $`(\lambda ,0)_j(n_j\delta +\beta _j)`$, where $`n_j0`$ and each $`\beta _j`$ is a positive root of $`𝔤`$. In the same way as above, it follows that this contradicts our assumption that $`\lambda `$ is a generic weight. Therefore $`W_{\lambda /t}`$ is generated by its highest weight vector. This completes the proof. ∎

### 4.4. Coordinate–independent version

In the above constructions we considered representations of the Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$, which is the central extension of $`L𝔤=𝔤((t))`$. In applications, it is important to develop a theory which applies to the central extension of the Lie algebra $`𝔤(𝒦)=𝔤𝒦`$, where $`𝒦`$ is a topological algebra which is isomorphic to $`((t))`$, but non-canonically. For instance, we can take as $`𝒦`$ the field of fractions of the completed local ring of a point $`x`$ of a smooth curve $`X`$. Then if we choose a formal coordinate $`t`$ at $`x`$, we may identify $`𝒦`$ with $`((t))`$, but this identification is non-canonical as there is usually no preferred choice of coordinate $`t`$. Formula (2.7) defining the central extension of $`𝔤((t))`$ is independent of the choice of $`t`$, and so the central extension is well-defined for any algebra $`𝒦`$ as above. We will denote it by $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$ to emphasize this fact.

In order to recast the above construction of Wakimoto modules in a coordinate–independent way, we need to understand how to incorporate the action of the group of changes of coordinates into this construction. Let $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ be the group of continuous automorphisms of $`[[t]]`$. Any such automorphism is determined by its action on the topological generator $`t`$ of $`[[t]]`$, $`t\rho (t)`$. This allows us to identify $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ with the group of formal power series $`\rho (t)=\rho _1t+\rho _2t^2+\mathrm{}`$, where $`\rho _10`$ (see \[FB\], § 5.1, for more details). The Lie algebra of $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ is $`\mathrm{Der}_+𝒪=t[[t]]_t`$. Denote by $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ the Lie algebra $`[[t]]_t`$. Then $`(\mathrm{Der}𝒪,\mathrm{Aut}𝒪)`$ is an example of a Harish-Chandra pair (see \[FB\], Ch. 5 and § 16.2).

Now let $`𝒪𝒦`$ be a pair consisting of a complete local ring $`𝒪`$ isomorphic to $`[[t]]`$ and its field of fractions $`𝒦`$. Let $`𝔪`$ be the unique maximal ideal of $`𝒪`$, and $`𝒜ut`$ the set of topological generators of $`𝔪`$ (these are the coordinates on the disc $`\mathrm{Spec}𝒪`$). Then $`𝒜ut`$ is naturally an $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–torsor, with the (right) action given by the formula $`z\rho (z)`$ for each $`\rho (t)\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$. Given any $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–module $`V`$, we may form its twist by $`𝒜ut`$,

$$𝒱\stackrel{def}{=}𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }V.$$

Let $`V`$ be the module $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ defined in Section 4.1 (where we identify $`L𝔤`$ with $`𝔤((t))`$). Since $`𝔤((t))`$ and $`𝔤[[t]]`$ carry natural $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–actions, so does $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$. The corresponding $`𝒜ut`$–twist $`𝒱_\kappa (𝔤)`$ may alternatively be described as follows:

(4.11)
$$𝒱_\kappa (𝔤)=𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }V_\kappa (𝔤)=\mathrm{Ind}_{𝔤𝒪K}^{\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)}_1,$$

where $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$ is now the central extension of $`𝔤𝒦`$ rather than $`𝔤((t))`$.

We now want to describe an action of $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ on $`M_𝔤`$ and $`\pi _0`$ such that the homomorphism $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0`$ of Theorem 4.7 commutes with the action of $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$. Then we will obtain a map $`𝒱_\kappa (𝔤)`$ to the corresponding $`𝒜ut`$–twist of $`M_𝔤\pi _0`$ and this will enable us to describe the Wakimoto modules in a coordinate–independent fashion.

Before describing the $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–action on $`M_𝔤`$ and $`\pi _0`$, we discuss in the next section how to deform the homomorphism $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0`$ away from the critical level.

## 5. Deforming to other levels

### 5.1. Homomorphism of vertex algebras

As before, we denote by $`𝔥`$ the Cartan subalgebra of $`𝔤`$. Let $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ be the one-dimensional central extension of the loop algebra $`L𝔥=𝔥((t))`$ with the two-cocycle obtained by restriction of the two-cocycle on $`L𝔤`$ corresponding to the inner product $`\kappa `$. Then according to formula (2.7), $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ is a Heisenberg Lie algebra. We will consider a copy of this Lie algebra with generators $`b_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{},n`$, and $`K`$ with the commutation relations

$$[b_{i,n},b_{j,m}]=n\kappa (h_i,h_j)K\delta _{n,m}.$$

Thus, the $`b_{i,n}`$’s satisfy the same relations as the $`h_{i,n}`$’s. Let $`\pi _0^\kappa `$ denote the $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$–module induced from the one-dimensional representation of the abelian Lie subalgebra of $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ spanned by $`b_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{},n0`$, and $`K`$, on which $`K`$ acts as the indentity and all other generators act by $`0`$. We denote by $`|0`$ the generating vector of this module. It satisfies: $`b_{i,n}|0=0,n0`$. Then $`\pi _0^\kappa `$ has the following structure of a vertex algebra (see Theorem 2.3.7 of \[FB\]):

1. Gradation: $`\mathrm{deg}b_{i_1,n_1}\mathrm{}b_{i_m,n_m}|0=_{i=1}^mn_i`$.
2. Vacuum vector: $`|0`$.
3. Translation operator: $`T|0=0`$, $`[T,b_{i,n}]=nb_{i,n1}`$.
4. Vertex operators:

$$Y(b_{i,1}|0,z)=b_i(z)=\underset{n}{}b_{i,n}z^{n1},$$

$$Y(b_{i_1,n_1}\mathrm{}b_{i_m,n_m}|0,z)=\underset{j=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{1}{(n_j1)!}:_z^{n_11}b_{i_1}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{n_m1}b_{i_m}(z):.$$

The tensor product $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ also acquires a vertex algebra structure.

###### Theorem 5.1.

There exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras

$$w_\kappa :V_\kappa (𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}$$

such that

$`e_i(z)`$ $`a_{\alpha _i}(z)+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:P_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):,`$
(5.1) $`h_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta (z):+b_i(z),`$
$`f_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:Q_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):+\left(c_i+(\kappa \kappa _c)(e_i,f_i)\right)_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z)+b_i(z)a_{\alpha _i}^{}(z),`$
where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^i,Q_\beta ^i`$ are introduced in formulas (1.7)–(1.9).

###### Proof.

Denote by $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ the Lie algebra $`U(M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c})`$. By Lemma 4.1, in order to prove the theorem, we need to show that formulas (5.1) define a homomorphism of Lie algebras $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa \stackrel{~}{𝒜}_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ sending the central element $`K`$ to the identity.

Formulas (5.1) certainly define a linear map $`\overline{w}_\kappa :L𝔤\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. Denote by $`\omega _\kappa `$ the linear map $`^2L𝔤\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ defined by the formula

$$\omega _\kappa (f,g)=[\overline{w}_\kappa (f),\overline{w}_\kappa (g)]\overline{w}_\kappa ([f,g]).$$

Evaluating it explicitly in the same way as in the proof of Lemma 3.2, we find that $`\omega _\kappa `$ takes values in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤\stackrel{~}{𝒜}_{\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. Furthermore, by construction of $`\overline{w}_\kappa `$, for any $`X𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ and $`fL𝔤`$ we have $`[\overline{w}_\kappa (f),X]=fX`$, where in the right hand side we consider the action of $`f`$ on the $`L𝔤`$–module $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. This immediately implies that $`\omega _\kappa `$ is a two-cocycle of $`L𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. By construction, $`\omega _\kappa `$ is local, i.e., belongs to $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$.

Let us compute the restriction of $`\omega _\kappa `$ to $`^2L𝔥`$. The calculations made in the proof of Lemma 3.7 imply that

$$\omega _\kappa (h_n,h_m^{})=n(\kappa _c(h,h^{})+(\kappa \kappa _c)(h,h^{}))=n\kappa (h,h^{}).$$

Therefore this restriction is equal to the restriction of the Kac-Moody two-cocycle $`\sigma _\kappa `$ on $`L𝔤`$ corresponding to $`\kappa `$. Now Lemma 3.6 implies that the two-cocycle $`\omega _\kappa `$ is cohomologically equivalent to $`i_{}(\sigma _\kappa )`$. We claim that it is actually equal to $`i_{}(\sigma _\kappa )`$.

Indeed, the difference between these cocycles is the coboundary of some element $`\gamma C_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤)`$. The discussion before Theorem 4.3 implies that $`\gamma (e_i(z))=\gamma (h_i(z))=0`$ and $`\gamma (f_i(z))=c_i^{}_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z)`$ for some constants $`c_i^{}`$. In order to find the constants $`c_i^{}`$ we compute the value of the corresponding two-cocycle $`\omega _\kappa +d\gamma `$ on $`e_{i,n}`$ and $`f_{i,n}`$. We find that it is equal to $`n\sigma _\kappa (e_{i,n},f_{i,n})+c_i^{}n(e_i,f_i)`$. Therefore $`c_i^{}=0`$ for all $`i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, and so $`\gamma =0`$ and $`\omega _\kappa =i_{}(\sigma _\kappa )`$. This implies that formulas (5.1) indeed define a homomorphism of Lie algebras $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa 𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ sending the central element $`K`$ to the identity. This completes the proof. ∎

The following result is useful in applications.

###### Proposition 5.2.

The homomorphism $`w_\kappa `$ of Theorem 5.1 is injective for any $`\kappa `$.

###### Proof.

We will introduce filtrations on $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ and $`W_{0,\kappa }=M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ which are preserved by $`w_\kappa `$, and then show that the induced map $`\mathrm{gr}w_\kappa :\mathrm{gr}V_\kappa (𝔤)\mathrm{gr}W_{0,\kappa }`$ (which turns out to be independent of $`\kappa `$) is injective.

In order to define a filtration on $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ we observe that

$$V_\kappa (𝔤)U(𝔤t^1[t^1])v_\kappa $$

and use the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt filtration on $`U(𝔤t^1[t^1])`$. Now we define a filtration $`\{W_{0,\kappa }^p\}`$ on $`W_{0,\kappa }`$ by defining $`W_{0,\kappa }^p`$ to be the span of monomials in the $`a_{\alpha ,n}`$’s, $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$’s and $`b_{i,n}`$’s whose combined degree in the $`a_{\alpha ,n}`$’s and $`b_{i,n}`$’s is less than or equal to $`p`$ (this is analogous to the filtration by the order of differential operator). It is clear from the construction of the homomorphism $`w_\kappa `$ that it preserves these filtrations.

Now we describe the corresponding operator $`\mathrm{gr}w_\kappa :\mathrm{gr}V_\kappa (𝔤)\mathrm{gr}W_{0,\kappa }`$. Let $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$ be the variety of pairs $`(𝔟,x)`$, where $`𝔟`$ is a Borel subalgebra in $`𝔤`$ and $`x𝔟`$. The natural morphism $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}\mathrm{Fl}`$, where $`\mathrm{Fl}`$ is the flag variety of $`𝔤`$, mapping $`(𝔟,x)`$ to $`𝔟\mathrm{Fl}`$ identifies $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$ with a vector bundle over the flag variety $`\mathrm{Fl}`$, whose fiber over $`𝔟\mathrm{Fl}`$ is the vector space $`𝔟`$. There is also a morphism $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}𝔤`$ sending $`(𝔟,x)`$ to $`x`$. Now let $`U`$ be again the big cell, i.e., the open $`N_+`$–orbit of $`\mathrm{Fl}`$, and $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ its preimage in $`\stackrel{~}{𝔤}`$. In other words, $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ consists of those pairs $`(𝔟,x)`$ for which $`𝔟`$ is in generic relative position with $`𝔟_+`$. It is isomorphic to an affine space of dimension equal to $`dim𝔤`$. The induced morphism $`p:\stackrel{~}{U}𝔤`$ is dominant and generically one-to-one.

Now let $`J\stackrel{~}{U}`$ and $`J𝔤`$ be the infinite jet schemes of $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ and $`𝔤`$, defined as in \[FB\], § 8.4.4, and $`Jp`$ the corresponding morphism $`J\stackrel{~}{U}J𝔤`$. Then $`Jp`$ is clearly a dominant morphism and so the corresponding homomorphism of rings of functions $`Jp:[J𝔤][J\stackrel{~}{U}]`$ is injective.

Since $`J𝔤𝔤[[t]]`$, it follows that

$$\mathrm{gr}V_\kappa (𝔤)\mathrm{Sym}𝔤((t))/𝔤[[t]][J𝔤].$$

Moreover, $`J\stackrel{~}{U}`$ is isomorphic to $`\mathrm{gr}W_{0,\kappa }`$, and it follows from our construction of $`w_\kappa `$ that $`\mathrm{gr}w_\kappa =Jp`$. This implies the statement of the proposition. ∎

### 5.2. Wakimoto modules away from the critical level

Any module over the vertex algebra $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ now becomes a $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$–module and hence a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module (with $`K`$ acting as $`1`$). For $`\lambda 𝔥^{}`$, let $`\pi _\lambda ^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ be the Fock representation of $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ generated by a vector $`|\lambda `$ satisfying

$$b_{i,n}|\lambda =0,n>0,b_{i,0}|\lambda =\lambda (h_i)|\lambda ,K|\lambda =|\lambda .$$

Then

$$W_{\lambda ,\kappa }\stackrel{def}{=}M_𝔤\pi _\lambda ^{\kappa \kappa _c}$$

is an $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$–module, and hence a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module. We call it the Wakimoto module of level $`\kappa `$ and highest weight $`\lambda `$.

### 5.3. Conformal structures at non-critical levels

In this section we show that the homomorphism $`w_\kappa `$ of Theorem 5.1 is a homomorphism of conformal vertex algebras when $`\kappa \kappa _c`$. This will allow us to obtain a coordinate–independent version of this homomorphism. By taking the limit $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, we will also obtain a coordinate–independent version of the homomorphism $`w_{\kappa _c}`$.

The vertex algebra $`V_\kappa (𝔤),\kappa \kappa _c`$, has the standard conformal structure given by the Segal–Sugawara vector

(5.2)
$$𝐬_\kappa =\frac{1}{2}\underset{a}{}J_1^aJ_{a,1}v_\kappa ,$$

where $`\{J_a\}`$ is the basis of $`𝔤`$ dual to the basis $`\{J^a\}`$ with respect to the inner product $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ (see \[FB\], § 2.5.10, for more details). We need to calculate the image of $`𝐬_\kappa `$ under $`w_\kappa `$.

###### Lemma 5.3.

The image of $`𝐬_\kappa `$ under $`w_\kappa `$ is equal to

(5.3)
$$\left(\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}a_{\alpha ,1}a_{\alpha ,1}^{}+\frac{1}{2}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}b_{i,1}b_1^i\rho _2\right)|0,$$

where $`\{b^i\}`$ is a dual basis to $`\{b_i\}`$ and $`\rho `$ is the element of $`𝔥`$ corresponding to $`\rho 𝔥^{}`$ under the isomorphism induced by the inner product $`(\kappa \kappa _c)|_𝔥`$.

###### Proof.

The vector $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$ is of degree $`2`$ with respect to the vertex algebra gradation on $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ and of weight $`0`$ with respect to the gradation by the root system such that $`\mathrm{wt}a_{\alpha ,n}=\mathrm{wt}a_{\alpha ,n}^{}=\alpha ,\mathrm{wt}b_{i,n}=0`$. The basis in the corresponding subspace of $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ consists of the monomials of the form

(5.4)
$$b_{i,1}b_{j,1},b_{i,2},$$

(5.5)
$$a_{\alpha ,1}a_{\alpha ,1}^{},a_{\alpha ,2}a_{\alpha ,0}^{},$$

(5.6)
$$a_{\alpha ,1}a_{\beta ,1}a_{\alpha ,0}^{}a_{\beta ,0}^{},a_{\alpha ,1}a_{\alpha ,0}^{}b_{i,1},$$

applied to the vacuum vector $`|0`$.

The Fourier coefficients $`L_n,n`$, of the vertex operator $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$ preserve the weight gradation on $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ and $`\mathrm{deg}L_n=n`$ with respect to the vertex algebra gradation on $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$. This implies that the vectors $`a_{\alpha ,1}|0`$ and $`a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0,\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+`$, are primary vectors, i.e., they are annihilated by $`L_n,n>0`$, and are eigenvectors of $`L_0`$. We claim that $`L_0`$ acts by $`1`$ on $`a_{\alpha ,1}|0`$ and by $`0`$ on $`a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0`$.

Indeed, the vectors $`J_1^av_\kappa V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ are primary of degree $`1`$. Therefore the same is true for their images in $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$. Let $`\{e_\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$ be a root basis of $`𝔫_+𝔤`$ such that $`e_{\alpha _i}=e_i`$. Then we have

(5.7)
$$w_\kappa (e_{\alpha ,1}v_\kappa )=\left(a_{\alpha ,1}+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^\alpha (a_{\alpha ,0}^{})a_{\beta ,1}\right)|0,$$

where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^\alpha `$ are found from the formula of the action of $`e_\alpha `$ on $`U`$:

$$e_\alpha =\frac{}{y_\alpha }+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^\alpha (y_\alpha )\frac{}{y_\beta }.$$

In particular, $`P_\beta ^{\alpha _i}=P_\beta ^i`$ considered above. In addition we have the following formula for $`w_\kappa (h_{i,1}v_\kappa )`$ which follows from Theorem 5.1:

(5.8)
$$w_\kappa (h_{i,1}v_\kappa )=\left(\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}\beta (h_i)a_{0,\beta }^{}a_{\beta ,1}+b_{i,1}\right)|0.$$

Using these formulas, we obtain that the vectors $`a_{\alpha ,1}|0`$ (resp., $`a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0`$) are primary vectors of degree $`1`$ (resp., $`0`$) with respect to $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$. This readily implies that the basis vectors (5.6) do not appear in the decomposition of $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$ and that the vectors (5.5) enter in the combination

(5.9)
$$\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}a_{\alpha ,1}a_{\alpha ,1}^{}|0.$$

It remains to determine the coefficients with which the monomials (5.4) enter the formula for $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$.

Using formula (5.8) and our knowledge of the $`aa^{}`$ component of $`w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa )`$ we find the following action of the Fourier coefficients $`L_n`$ of $`Y(w_\kappa (𝐬_\kappa ),z)`$ on the first summand of $`w_\kappa (h_{i,1}v_\kappa )`$:

$`L_0{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i)a_{0,\beta }^{}a_{\beta ,1}|0`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i)a_{0,\beta }^{}a_{\beta ,1}|0,`$
$`L_1{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i)a_{0,\beta }^{}a_{\beta ,1}|0`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i)|0=2\rho (h_i)|0.`$
and $`L_n,n>1`$, act by $`0`$. There is a unique combination of monomials (5.4) which, when added to (5.9), makes a conformal vector with respect to which $`w_\kappa (h_{i,1}v_\kappa )`$ is a vector of degree $`1`$ annihilated by $`L_n,n>0`$, namely,

(5.10)
$$\frac{1}{2}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}b_{i,1}b_1^i\rho _2.$$

This completes the proof. ∎

### 5.4. Quasi-conformal structures at the critical level

Now we use this lemma to obtain additional information about the homomorphism $`w_{\kappa _c}`$. Recall that a vertex algebra is called quasi-conformal if it carries an action of the Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ satisfying the conditions of \[FB\], § 5.2.4. In particular, a conformal vertex algebra is automatically quasi-conformal (with the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action coming from the Virasoro action).

The Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ acts naturally on $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ preserving $`𝔤[[t]]`$, and hence it acts on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. The $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ coincides with the limit $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ of the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`V_\kappa (𝔤),\kappa \kappa _c`$, obtained from the Sugawara conformal structure. Therefore this action defines the structure of a quasi-conformal vertex algebra on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$.

Next, we define the structure of a quasi-conformal algebra on $`M_𝔤\pi _0`$ as follows. The vertex algebra $`M_𝔤`$ is conformal with the conformal vector (5.9), and hence it is also quasi-conformal. The commutative vertex algebra $`\pi _0`$ is the $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ limit of the family of conformal vertex algebras $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ with the conformal vector (5.10). The induced action of the Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ on $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ is well-defined in the limit $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ and so it induces a $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`\pi _0`$. Therefore it gives rise to the structure of a quasi-conformal vertex algebra on $`\pi _0`$. The $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action is in fact given by derivations of the algebra structure on $`\pi _0[b_{i,n}]`$, and hence by Lemma 5.2.5 of \[FB\] it defines the structure of a quasi-conformal vertex algebra on $`\pi _0`$. Explicitly, the action of the basis elements $`L_n=t^{n+1}_t,n1`$, of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ on $`\pi _0`$ is determined by the following formulas:

$`L_nb_{i,m}`$ $`=mb_{i,n+m},1n<m,`$
(5.11) $`L_nb_{i,n}`$ $`=n,n>0,`$
$`L_nb_{i,m}`$ $`=0,n>m`$
(note that $`\rho (h_i)=1`$ for all $`i`$). Now we obtain a quasi-conformal vertex algebra structure on $`M_𝔤\pi _0`$ by taking the sum of the above $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–actions.

Since the quasi-conformal structures on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ and $`M_𝔤\pi _0`$ both came as the limits of conformal structures as $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, we obtain the following corollary of Lemma 5.3:

###### Corollary 5.4.

The homomorphism $`w_{\kappa _c}:V_{\kappa _c}M_𝔤\pi _0`$ preserves quasi-conformal structures. In other words, it commutes with the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on both sides.

### 5.5. Transformation formulas for the fields

We can now obtain the transformation formulas for the fields $`a_\alpha (z),a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$ and $`b_i(z)`$. According to the computations we made in the proof of Lemma 5.3, we have the following action of the basis elements $`L_n,n0`$, of $`\mathrm{Der}_+𝒪`$ on the vectors $`a_{\alpha ,1}|0`$ and $`a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0`$:

$$L_0a_{\alpha ,1}|0=a_{\alpha ,1}|0,L_na_{\alpha ,1}|0=0,n>0,$$

$$L_na_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0=0,n0.$$

According to Proposition 5.3.8 of \[FB\], this implies that the field $`a_\alpha (z)=Y(a_{\alpha ,1}|0,z)`$ transforms as a one-form on the punctured disc $`D^\times =\mathrm{Spec}((z))`$, while the field $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)=Y(a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0,z)`$ transforms as a function on $`D^\times `$. In particular, we obtain the following description of the module $`M_𝔤`$. Consider the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ which is a central extension of the commutative Lie algebra $`U((t))U^{}((t))dt`$ with the cocycle given by the formula

$$f(t),g(t)dtf(t),g(t)𝑑t.$$

This cocycle is coordinate–independent, and therefore $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ carries natural actions of $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ and $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$, which preserve the Lie subalgebra $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_+=U[[t]]U[[t]]dt`$. We identify the completed Weyl algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝒜}^𝔤`$ with a completion of $`U(\mathrm{\Gamma })/(\mathrm{𝟏}1)`$, where $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ is the central element. The module $`M_𝔤`$ is then identified with the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$–module induced from the one-dimensional representation of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_+\mathrm{𝟏}`$, on which $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_+`$ acts by $`0`$, and $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ acts as the identity. The $`(\mathrm{Der}𝒪,\mathrm{Aut}𝒪)`$–action on $`M_𝔤`$ considered above is nothing but the natural action on the induced module.

Now we consider the fields $`b_i(z)`$. We have

(5.12)
$$L_0b_{i,1}|0=b_{i,1}|0,L_1b_{i,1}|0=2|0,L_nb_{i,1}|0=0,n>1.$$

Recall that $`b_i(z)=Y(b_{i,1}|0,z)`$. According to \[FB\], § 7.1.11, these formulas imply that $`_z+b_i(z)`$ transforms as a connection on the line bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{\rho (h_i)}`$ over $`D^\times `$ with values in $`\mathrm{End}\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$.

Consider the $`𝔥^{}`$–valued field $`𝐛(z)=_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}b_i(z)\omega _i`$ such that $`𝐛(z),h_i=b_i(z)`$. The space $`𝔥^{}`$ is the Lie algebra of the group $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$ dual to $`H`$ (and it is the Cartan subalgebra of the Langlands dual Lie algebra $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$ of $`𝔤`$). Denote by $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ the unique principal $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle on a smooth curve or a (punctured) disc such that the line bundle associated any character $`\stackrel{ˇ}{\lambda }:{}_{}{}^{L}H^\times `$ (equivalently, a cocharacter of $`H`$) is $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{\rho ,\stackrel{ˇ}{\lambda }}`$. The space of connections on this bundle is a torsor over $`𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }`$. The above statement about $`b_i(z)`$ may be reformulated as follows: the operator $`_z+𝐛(z)`$ transforms as a connection on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$.

Now we can answer the question posed in Section 4.4. Let $`𝒦`$ be a complete local field isomorphic to $`((t))`$, $`𝒪`$ its ring of integers isomorphic to $`[[t]]`$, and $`𝒜ut`$ the corresponding $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–torsor of formal coordinates on the disc $`D=\mathrm{Spec}𝒪`$. Let $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa (𝒦)`$ be the affine algebra obtained as the central extension of $`𝔤𝒦`$ (corresponding to the inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$). Let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)`$ the Heisenberg Lie algebra obtained as the central extension of $`(U𝒦)(U^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒦)`$, and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_+(𝒦)`$ its commutative Lie subalgebra $`(U𝒪)(U^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒪)`$. Let $`𝒱_\kappa (𝔤)`$ be the $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa (𝒦)`$–module defined by formula (4.11) and $`_𝔤(𝒦)`$ be the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)`$–module

$$_𝔤(𝒦)=𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }M_𝔤.$$

According to the above description of $`M_𝔤`$ as the induced module, we have

$`_𝔤(𝒦)`$ $`=\mathrm{Ind}_{\mathrm{\Gamma }_+(𝒦)\mathrm{𝟏}}^{\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)}_1`$
$`\mathrm{Sym}(U𝒦U^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒦)/(U𝒪U^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒪)`$
$`\mathrm{Fun}(U\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒪U^{}𝒪).`$
The last isomorphism is obtained using the residue pairing.

Now consider the twist

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_0=𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }\pi _0,$$

This is a module over the Lie algebra

$$\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)=𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }\widehat{𝔥},$$

which is a central extension of $`𝔥𝒦`$. According to the transformation formula for $`𝐛(z)`$ obtained above, $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$ may be described in the following way. Consider the vector space $`\mathrm{Conn}_{\{\lambda \}}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{D^\times }`$ of $`\lambda `$–connections on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ on $`D^\times =\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$ (for all possible complex values of $`\lambda `$). It fits into the exact sequence

$$0𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_{D^\times }\mathrm{Conn}_{\{\lambda \}}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{D^\times }0.$$

Then $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$ is by definition the topological dual vector space to $`\mathrm{Conn}_{\{\lambda \}}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{D^\times }`$ with the zero Lie bracket. Let $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ be the element dual to $``$. Any connection $``$ on $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ over the punctured disc $`\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$ defines a one-dimensional representation $`_{}`$ of $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$ taking the value $`1`$ on $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$. If we choose an isomorphism $`𝒦((z))`$, then the connection is given by the formula $`=_z+\chi (z)`$, where $`\chi (z)𝔥^{}((z))`$. The action of the generators $`b_{i,n}`$ is then given by the formula

$$b_{i,n}\chi (z),h_iz^n𝑑z.$$

Now $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ is identified as an $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$–module with the space of functions on the subspace $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_D`$ of connections on the disc $`D=\mathrm{Spec}𝒪`$. The annihilator of $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ in $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$ is the subspace $`𝔥𝒪`$, which is the orthogonal complement of $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_D`$.

###### Proposition 5.5.

For any connection on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ over the punctured disc $`\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$, there is a canonical $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$–module structure on $`_𝔤(𝒦)`$.

###### Proof.

By Theorem 4.7, there exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras $`w_{\kappa _c}:V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0`$. According to Corollary 5.4, it commutes with the action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ and $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ on both sides. Therefore the corresponding homomorphism of Lie algebras $`\widehat{𝔤}U(M_𝔤\pi _0)`$ also commutes with the action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ and $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$. Hence we may twist this homomorphism with the $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–torsor $`𝒜ut`$. Then we obtain a homomorphism of Lie algebras

$$\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)U(M_𝔤\pi _0)(𝒦)=𝒜ut\underset{\mathrm{Aut}𝒪}{\times }U(M_𝔤\pi _0).$$

Let us call a $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$–module smooth if any vector in this module is annihilated by the Lie subalgebra

$$(U𝔪^N)(U^{}𝔪^N\mathrm{\Omega }_𝒪)(𝔥𝔪^N),$$

where $`𝔪`$ is the maximal ideal of $`𝒪`$, for sufficiently large $`N`$. Then clearly any smooth $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$–module is automatically a $`U(M_𝔤\pi _0)(𝒦)`$–module and hence a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$–module. Note that $`_𝔤(𝒦)`$ is a smooth $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(𝒦)`$–module, and $`_{}`$ is a smooth $`\widehat{𝔥}(𝒦)`$–module for any connection $``$ on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ over the punctured disc $`\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$. Taking the tensor product of these two modules we obtain a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$–module, which is isomorphic to $`_𝔤(𝒦)`$ as a vector space. If we choose an isomorphism $`𝒦((z))`$, this is nothing but the Wakimoto module $`W_{\chi (z)}`$ introduced in Corollary 4.6. ∎

Thus, we obtain a family of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}(𝒦)`$–modules parameterized by flat connections on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ over the punctured disc $`\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$.

## 6. Semi-infinite parabolic induction

### 6.1. Wakimoto modules as induced representations

The construction of the Wakimoto modules presented above may be summarized as follows: for each representation $`N`$ of the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$, we have constructed a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module structure on $`M_𝔤N`$. The procedure consists of the extension the $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$–module by $`0`$ to $`\widehat{𝔟}_{,\kappa }`$ followed by what may be viewed as a semi-infinite analogue of induction from $`\widehat{𝔟}_{,\kappa }`$ to $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$. An important feature of this construction, as opposed to the ordinary induction, is that the level gets shifted by $`\kappa _c`$. In particular, if we start with an $`\widehat{𝔥}_0`$–module, or equivalently, a representation of the commutative Lie algebra $`L𝔥`$, then we obtain a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–module of critical level, rather than of level $`0`$. Irreducible smooth representations of $`L𝔥`$ are one-dimensional and are in one-to-one correspondence with the elements $`\chi (t)`$ of the (topological) dual space $`(L𝔥)^{}𝔥^{}((t))dt`$. Thus, we obtain the Wakimoto modules $`W_{\chi (t)}`$ of critical level. But as we have seen above, if we look at the transformation properties of $`\chi (t)`$ under the action of the group $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ of changes of the coordinate $`t`$, we find that $`\chi (t)`$ actually transforms not as a one-form, but as a connection on a specific $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle.

In contrast, if $`\kappa 0`$, the irreducible smooth $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$–modules are just the Fock representations $`\pi _\lambda ^\kappa `$. To each of them we attach a $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa +\kappa _c}`$.

Now we want to generalize this construction replacing the Borel subalgebra $`𝔟_{}`$ and its Levi quotient $`𝔥`$ by an arbitrary parabolic subalgebra $`𝔭`$ and its Levi quotient $`𝔪`$. Then we wish to attach to a module over a central extension of the loop algebra $`L𝔪`$ a $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module. It turns out that this is indeed possible provided that we pick a suitable central extension of $`L𝔪`$. We call the resulting $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–modules the generalized Wakimoto modules corresponding to $`𝔭`$. Thus, we obtain a functor from the category of smooth $`\widehat{𝔪}`$–modules to the category of smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–modules. It is natural to call it the functor of semi-infinite parabolic induction (by analogy with a similar construction for representations of reductive groups).

### 6.2. The main result

Let $`𝔭`$ be a parabolic Lie subalgebra of $`𝔤`$. We will assume that $`𝔭`$ contains the lower Borel subalgebra $`𝔟_{}`$ (and so in particular, $`𝔭`$ contains $`\widehat{𝔥}`$). Let

$$𝔭=𝔪𝔯$$

be the direct sum decomposition of $`𝔭`$, where $`𝔪`$ is the Levi subgroup containing $`\widehat{𝔥}`$ and $`𝔯`$ is the nilpotent radical of $`𝔭`$. Further, let

$$𝔪=\underset{i=1}{\overset{s}{}}𝔪_i𝔪_0$$

be the decomposition of $`𝔪`$ into the direct sum of simple Lie subalgebras $`𝔪_i,i=1,\mathrm{},s`$, and an abelian subalgebra $`𝔪_0`$ such that these direct summands are mutually orthogonal with respect to the inner product on $`𝔤`$. We denote by $`\kappa _{i,c}`$ the critical inner product on $`𝔪_i,i=1,\mathrm{},s`$, defined as in Section 2.3. We also set $`\kappa _{0,c}=0`$.

Given a set of inner products $`\kappa _i`$ on $`𝔪_i,0=1,\mathrm{},s`$, we obtain an inner product on $`𝔪`$. Let $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$ be the corresponding affine Kac-Moody algebra, i.e., the one-dimensional central extension of $`L𝔪`$ with the commutation relations given by formula (2.7). We denote by $`V_{\kappa _i}(𝔪_i),i=1,\mathrm{},s`$, the vacuum module over $`\widehat{𝔪}_i`$ with the vertex algebra defined as in Section 4.1. We also denote by $`V_{\kappa _0}(𝔪_0)`$ the Fock representation $`\pi _0^{\kappa _0}`$ of the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`𝔪_{\kappa _0}`$ with its vertex algebra structure defined as in Section 5.1. Let

$$V_{(\kappa _i)}(𝔪)\stackrel{def}{=}\underset{i=0}{\overset{s}{}}V_{\kappa _i}(𝔪_i)$$

be the vacuum module over $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$ with the tensor product vertex algebra structure.

Denote by $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+^{}`$ the set of positive roots of $`𝔤`$ which do not belong to $`𝔭`$. Let $`𝒜^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ be the Weyl algebra with generators $`a_{\alpha ,n},a_{\alpha ,n}^{},\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+^{},n`$, and relations (2.2). Let $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}`$ be the Fock representation of $`𝒜^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ generated by a vector $`|0`$ such that

$$a_{\alpha ,n}|0=0,n0;a_{\alpha ,n}^{}|0=0,n>0.$$

Then $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}`$ carries a vertex algebra structure defined as in Section 2.4.

We have the following analogue of Theorem 5.1.

###### Theorem 6.1.

Suppose that $`\kappa _i,i=0,\mathrm{},s`$, is a set of inner products such that there exists an inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$ whose restriction to $`𝔪_i`$ equals $`\kappa _i\kappa _{i,c}`$ for all $`i=0,\mathrm{},s`$. Then there exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras

$$w_\kappa ^𝔭:V_{\kappa +\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_{𝔤,𝔭}V_{(\kappa _i)}(𝔪).$$

###### Proof.

The proof is a generalization of the proof of Theorem 5.1 (in fact, Theorem 5.1 is a special case of Theorem 6.1 when $`𝔭=𝔟_{}`$). Let $`P`$ be the Lie subgroup of $`G`$ corresponding to $`𝔭`$, and consider the homogeneous space $`G/P`$. It has an open dense subset $`U_𝔭=N_𝔭[1]`$, where $`N_𝔭`$ is the subgroup of $`N_+`$ corresponding to the subset $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+^{}\mathrm{\Delta }_+`$. We identify $`U_𝔭`$ with $`N_𝔭`$ and with its Lie algebra $`𝔫_𝔭`$ using the exponential map.

Set $`LU_𝔭=U_𝔭((t))`$. We define functions and vector fields on $`LU_𝔭`$, denoted by $`\mathrm{Fun}LU_𝔭`$ and $`\mathrm{Vect}LU_𝔭`$, respectively, in the same way as in Section 2.1. The action of $`L𝔤`$ on $`U_𝔭((t))`$ gives rise to a Lie algebra homomorphism

$$\widehat{\rho }_𝔭:L𝔤\mathrm{Vect}LU_𝔭\mathrm{Fun}U_𝔭\widehat{}L𝔪.$$

Moreover, the image of this homomorphism is contained in the “local part”, i.e., the direct sum of the local part $`𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ of $`\mathrm{Vect}LU_𝔭`$ defined as in Section 2.6 and the local part $`_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ of $`\mathrm{Fun}U_𝔭\widehat{}L𝔪`$. By definition, $`_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ is the span of the Fourier coefficients of the formal power series $`P(_z^na_\alpha ^{}(z))J^b(z)`$, where $`P`$ is a differential polynomial in $`a_\alpha ^{}(z),\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+^{}`$, and $`J^a𝔪`$.

Let $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ and $`𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$ be the zeroth and the first terms of the natural filtration on the local completion of the Weyl algebra $`𝒜^{𝔤,𝔭}`$, defined as in Section 2.3. We have a non-split exact sequence

(6.1)
$$0𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}𝒯_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}0.$$

Set

$$𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}\stackrel{def}{=}𝒜_{1,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭},$$

and note that $`𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ is naturally a Lie subalgebra of the local Lie algebra $`U(M_{𝔤,𝔭}V_{(\kappa _i)}(𝔪))`$. Using the splitting of the sequence (6.1) as a vector space via the normal ordering, we obtain a linear map $`\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}:L𝔤𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$.

We need to compute the failure of $`\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}`$ to be a Lie algebra homomorphism. Thus, we consider the corresponding linear map $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}:^2L𝔤𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ defined by the formula

$$\omega _{(\kappa _i)}(f,g)=[\overline{w}_\kappa (f),\overline{w}_\kappa (g)]\overline{w}_\kappa ([f,g]).$$

Evaluating it explicitly in the same way as in the proof of Lemma 3.2, we find that $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ takes values in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$. Furthermore, $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ is naturally an $`L𝔤`$–module, and by construction of $`\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}`$, for any $`X𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ and $`fL𝔤`$ we have $`[\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}(f),X]=fX`$. This implies that $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ is a two-cocycle of $`L𝔤`$ with coefficients in $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^𝔤`$. By construction, it is local, i.e., belongs to $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭})`$.

Following the argument used in the proof of Lemma 3.6, we show that any two cocycles in $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^2(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭})`$, whose restrictions to $`{}_{}{}^{2}(L𝔪)`$ coincide, represent the same cohomology class.

Let us compute the restriction of $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ to $`^2L𝔪`$. For that we evaluate $`\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}`$ on elements of $`L𝔪`$. Let $`\{J^i\}_{i=1,\mathrm{},dim𝔪}`$ be a basis of $`𝔪`$. The adjoint action of the Lie algebra $`𝔪`$ on $`𝔤`$ preserves $`𝔫_𝔭`$. Under this action, which we denote by $`\rho _{𝔫_𝔭}`$, an element $`A𝔪`$ acts by the formula

$$\rho _{𝔫_𝔭}(A)J^\alpha =\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+^{}}{}c_\beta ^\alpha (A)J^\beta $$

for some $`c_\beta ^\alpha (A)`$. Therefore

$$\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}(A(z))=\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+^{}}{}c_\beta ^\alpha (A):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta (z):+\stackrel{~}{A}(z),$$

where $`\stackrel{~}{A}(z)`$ is the field $`_n(At^n)z^{n1}`$, considered as a generating series of elements of $`_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$. Let $`\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}`$ be the inner product on $`𝔪`$ defined by the formula

$$\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B)=\mathrm{Tr}_{𝔫_𝔭}\rho _{𝔫_𝔭}(A)\rho _{𝔫_𝔭}(B).$$

Moreover, we find that for $`A𝔪_i,B𝔪_j`$,

(6.2)
$$\omega _{(\kappa _i)}(A_n,B_m)=n(\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B)+\kappa _i(A,B))\delta _{n,m},$$

if $`i=j`$, and

(6.3)
$$\omega _{(\kappa _i)}(A_n,B_m)=n\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B)\delta _{n,m},$$

if $`ij`$. Thus, the restriction of $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ to $`^2L𝔪`$ takes values in the constants $`𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$.

Let $`\kappa __K`$ be the Killing form on $`𝔤`$ and $`\kappa _{i,K}`$ be the Killing form on $`𝔪_i`$ (in particular, $`\kappa _{0,K}=0`$). Then

$`\kappa __K(A,B)`$ $`=\kappa _{i,K}(A,B)+2\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B),\mathrm{if}i=j,`$
$`\kappa __K(A,B)`$ $`=2\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B),\mathrm{if}ij.`$
Since $`𝔪_i`$ and $`𝔪_j`$ are orthogonal with respect to $`\kappa __K`$ for all $`ij`$ by construction, we obtain that $`\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}(A,B)=0`$, if $`ij`$. Recall that by definition $`\kappa _c=\frac{1}{2}\kappa _K`$, and $`\kappa _{i,c}=\frac{1}{2}\kappa _{i,K}`$. Hence $`\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}|_{𝔪_i}=\kappa _c+\kappa _{i,c}`$, and so if $`\kappa _i`$ equals $`\kappa |_{𝔪_i}+\kappa _{i,c}`$ for some invariant inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔤`$, then $`\kappa _{𝔫_𝔭}|_{𝔪_i}+\kappa _i=(\kappa +\kappa _c)|_{𝔪_i}`$.

Thus, we obtain that if $`\kappa `$ is an invariant innder product on $`𝔤`$ whose restriction to $`𝔪_i`$ equals $`\kappa _i\kappa _{i,c}`$ for all $`i=0,\mathrm{},s`$, then the restriction of the two-cocycle $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ to $`{}_{}{}^{2}(L𝔪)`$ is equal to the restriction to $`{}_{}{}^{2}(L𝔪)`$ of the two-cocycle $`\sigma _{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ on $`L𝔤`$ (corresponding to the one-dimensional central extension with respect to the inner product $`\kappa +\kappa _c`$ on $`𝔤`$). Therefore the $`\omega _{(\kappa _i)}`$ is equivalent to $`\sigma _{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ in this case and we obtain that the linear map $`\overline{w}_{(\kappa _i)}:L𝔤𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}`$ may be modified by the addition of an element of $`C_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(L𝔤,𝒜_{0,\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭})`$ to give us a Lie algebra homomorphism

$$\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}𝒥_{\mathrm{loc}}^{𝔤,𝔭}U(M_{𝔤,𝔭}V_{(\kappa _i)}(𝔪)).$$

Now Lemma 4.1 implies that there exists a homomorphism of vertex algebras

$$w_\kappa ^𝔭:V_{\kappa +\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_{𝔤,𝔭}V_{(\kappa _i)}(𝔪).$$

This completes the proof. ∎

We will call an $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$–module smooth if any vector in it is annihilated by the Lie subalgebra $`𝔪t^N[[t]]`$ for sufficiently large $`N`$.

###### Corollary 6.2.

For any smooth $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$–module $`R`$ with the $`\kappa _i`$’s satisfying the conditions of Theorem 6.1, the tensor product $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}R`$ is naturally a smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module. There is a functor from the category of smooth $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$–modules to the category of smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module sending a module $`R`$ to $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}R`$ and $`\widehat{𝔪}_{(\kappa _i)}`$–homomorphism $`R_1R_2`$ to the $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–homomorphism $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}R_1M_{𝔤,𝔭}R_2`$.

We call the $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}R`$ the generalized Wakimoto module corresponding to $`R`$.

Consider the special case when $`R`$ is the tensor product of the Wakimoto modules $`W_{\lambda _i,\kappa _i}`$ over $`\widehat{𝔪}_i,i=1,\mathrm{},s`$, and the Fock representation $`\pi _{\lambda _0}^{\kappa _0}`$ over the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔪}_0`$. In this case it follows from the construction that the corresponding $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module $`M_{𝔤,𝔭}R`$ is isomorphic to the Wakimoto module $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ over $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$, where $`\lambda =(\lambda _i)`$.

### 6.3. General parabolic subalgebras

So far we have worked under the assumption that the parabolic subalgebra $`𝔭`$ contains $`𝔟_{}`$. It is also possible to construct Wakimoto modules associated to other parabolic subalgebras. Let us explain how to do this in the case when $`𝔭=𝔟_+`$. We have the involution of $`𝔤`$ sending $`e_i`$ to $`f_i`$ and $`h_i`$ to $`h_i`$. Under this involution $`𝔟_{}`$ goes to $`𝔟_+`$.

Let $`N`$ be any module over the vertex algebra $`M_𝔤\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$. Then Theorem 5.1 implies that the following formulas define a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–structure on $`N`$ (with $`K`$ acting as the identity):

$`f_i(z)`$ $`a_{\alpha _i}(z)+{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:P_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):,`$
$`h_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}\beta (h_i):a_\beta ^{}(z)a_\beta (z):b_i(z),`$
$`f_i(z)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}}:Q_\beta ^i(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z):+\left(c_i+(\kappa \kappa _c)(e_i,f_i)\right)_za_{\alpha _i}^{}(z)+b_i(z)a_{\alpha _i}^{}(z),`$
where the polynomials $`P_\beta ^i,Q_\beta ^i`$ are introduced in formulas (1.7)–(1.9).

In order to make $`N`$ into a module with highest weight, we choose $`N`$ as follows. Let $`M_𝔤^{}`$ be the Fock representation of the Weyl algebra $`𝒜^𝔤`$ generated by a vector $`|0^{}`$ such that

$$a_{\alpha ,n}|0^{}=0,n>0;a_{\alpha ,n}^{}|0^{}=0,n0.$$

We take as $`N`$ the module $`M_𝔤^{}\pi _{2\rho \lambda }^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$, where $`\pi _{2\rho \lambda }^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ is the $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$–module defined in Section 5.2. It is easy to see that the corresponding $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module has a highest weight vector on which $`𝔥1`$ acts through the weight $`\lambda `$. We denote this module by $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa }^+`$. This is the Wakimoto module corresponding to $`𝔟_+`$.

The following result will be used in Section 9.3.

###### Proposition 6.3.

The Wakimoto module $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is isomorphic to the Verma module $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$.

###### Proof.

The proof is analogous to the proof of Theorem 4.8. Since $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ has a highest weight vector of the same weight as that of the highest weight vector of $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$, there is a non-zero homomorphism $`M_{0,\kappa _c}W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$. But the characters of $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ and $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ are equal. Therefore the theorem will follow if we show that $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is generated by its highest weight vector.

Suppose that $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is not generated by its highest weight vector. Then there exists a homogeneous linear functional on $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$, whose weight is less than the highest weight $`(\lambda ,0)`$ and which is invariant under the Lie subalgebra

$$\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_{}=(𝔫_{}1)(𝔤t^1[t^1]),$$

and in particular, under its Lie subalgebra $`L_{}𝔫_{}=𝔫_{}[t^1]`$. Therefore this functional factors through the space of coinvariants of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ by $`L_{}𝔫_{}`$. But it follows from the construction that $`L_{}𝔫_{}`$ acts freely on $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$, and the space of coinvariants is isomorphic to the subspace $`[a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n<0}[b_{i,n}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n<0}`$ of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$. Hence we obtain that the weight of this functional has the form

(6.4)
$$\underset{j}{}(n_j\delta \beta _j),n_j>0,\beta _j\mathrm{\Delta }_+.$$

But then $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ must have an irreducible subquotient of highest weight of this form.

Now recall the Kac–Kazhdan theorem \[KK\] describing the set of highest weights of irreducible subquotients of Verma modules (see Section 4.3). In the case at hand the statement is as follows. A weight $`\widehat{\mu }=(\mu ,n)`$ appears in the decomposition of $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ if and only $`n0`$ and either $`\mu =0`$ or there exists a finite sequence of weights $`\mu _0,\mathrm{},\mu _m𝔥^{}`$ such that $`\mu _0=\mu ,\mu _m=0`$, $`\mu _{i+1}=\mu _i\pm m_i\beta _i`$ for some positive roots $`\beta _i`$ and positive integers $`m_i`$ which satisfy

(6.5)
$$2(\mu _i+\rho ,\beta _i)=m_i(\beta _i,\beta _i)$$

(here $`(,)`$ is the inner product on $`𝔥^{}`$ induced by an arbitrary non-degenerate invariant inner product on $`𝔤`$).

Now observe that the equations (6.5) coincide with the equations appearing in the analysis of irreducible subquotients of the Verma module over $`𝔤`$ of highest weight $`0`$. This implies that the above statement is equivalent to the following: a weight $`\widehat{\mu }=(\mu ,n)`$ appears in the decomposition of $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ if and only $`n0`$ and $`\mu =w(\rho )\rho `$ for some element $`w`$ of the Weyl group of $`𝔤`$. But for any $`w`$, the weight $`w(\rho )\rho `$ equals the sum of negative simple roots of $`𝔤`$. Hence the weight of any irreducible subquotient of $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ has the form $`n\delta _im_i\alpha _i,m0`$. Such a weight cannot be of the form (6.4). Therefore $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is generated by the highest weight vector and hence is isomorphic to $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$. ∎

###### Remark 6.4.

The same argument as in the proof of Proposition 6.3 shows that the Wakimoto module $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa _c}^+`$ is isomorphic to $`M_{\lambda ,\kappa _c}`$ if $`\lambda `$ is such that all weights $`(\mu ,n)`$ of irreducible subquotients of $`M_{\lambda ,\kappa _c}`$ satisfy $`\mu =\lambda _im_i\alpha _i,m_i0`$. Likewise, the Wakimoto module $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa _c}`$ is isomorphic to $`M_{\lambda ,\kappa _c}`$ if we have $`\mu =\lambda +_im_i\alpha _i,m_i0`$ for all such $`\mu `$.∎

In Section 9.3 we will need one more result on the structure of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$. Consider the Lie algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+=(𝔟_+1)(𝔤t[[t]])`$.

###### Lemma 6.5.

The space of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariants of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is equal to $`\pi _0W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$.

###### Proof.

It follows from the above formulas for the action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ on $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ that all vectors in $`\pi _0`$ are annihilated by $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$. Let us show that there are no other $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant vector in $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$.

A $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant vector is in particular annihilated by the Lie subalgebra $`L_+𝔫_{}=𝔫_+t[[t]]`$. In the same way as in the proof of Theorem 4.8 we show that the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants of $`W_{\kappa _c,0}`$ is equal to the tensor product of $`\pi _0`$ and the subspace of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ spanned by all monomials of the form $`{\displaystyle \underset{m_{s(\alpha )}0}{}}a_{\alpha ,m_{s(\alpha )}}^{}|0^{}`$. But a $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant vector is also annihilated by $`𝔥1`$. A monomials of the above form is annihilated by $`𝔥1`$ only if it belongs to $`\pi _0`$. Hence the space of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariants of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$ is equal to $`\pi _0`$. ∎

## 7. Wakimoto modules over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$

In this section we describe explicitly the Wakimoto modules over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ and some intertwining operators between them.

Let $`\{e,h,f\}`$ be the standard basis of the Lie algebra $`𝔰𝔩_2`$. Let $`\kappa _0`$ be the invariant inner product on $`𝔰𝔩_2`$ normalized in such a way that $`\kappa _0(h,h)=2`$. We will write an arbitrary invariant inner product $`\kappa `$ on $`𝔰𝔩_2`$ as $`k\kappa _0`$, where $`k`$, and will use $`k`$ in place of $`\kappa `$ in our notation. In particular, $`\kappa _c`$ corresponds to $`k=2`$. The set $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+`$ consists of one element in the case of $`𝔰𝔩_2`$, so we will drop the index $`\alpha `$ in $`a_\alpha (z)`$ and $`a_\alpha ^{}(z)`$. Likewise, we will drop the index $`i`$ in $`b_i(z)`$, etc., and will write $`M`$ for $`M_{𝔰𝔩_2}`$ throughout this section. We will also identify the dual space to the Cartan subalgebra $`𝔥^{}`$ with $``$ by sending $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$ to $`\chi (h)`$.

### 7.1. The homomorphism $`w_k`$

The Weyl algebra $`𝒜_{𝔰𝔩_2}`$ has generators $`a_n,a_n^{},n`$, with the commutation relations

$$[a_n,a_m^{}]=\delta _{n,m}.$$

Its Fock representation is denoted by $`M`$. The Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔥}_k`$ has generators $`b_n,n`$, with the commutation relations

$$[b_n,b_m]=2knK\delta _{n,m},$$

and $`\pi _0^k`$ is its Fock representation generated by a vector $`|0`$ such that

$$b_n|0=0,n0;K|0=|0.$$

The tensor product $`M\pi _0^k`$ is a vertex algebra.

The homomorphism $`w_k:V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)M\pi _0^{k+2}`$ of vertex algebras is given by the following formulas:

$`e(z)`$ $``$ $`a(z)`$
(7.1) $`h(z)`$ $``$ $`2:a^{}(z)a(z):+b(z)`$
$`f(z)`$ $``$ $`:a^{}(z)^2a(z):+k_za^{}(z)+a^{}(z)b(z).`$
The Wakimoto module $`M\pi _\lambda ^{k+2}`$ will be denoted by $`W_{\lambda ,k}`$ and its highest weight vector will be denoted by $`v_{\lambda ,k}`$.

Recall that under the homomorphism $`w_k`$ the generators $`e_n`$ of $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ are mapped to $`a_n`$ (from now on, by abuse of notation, we will identify the elements of $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ with their images under $`w_k`$). The commutation relations of $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ imply the following formulas

$$[e_n,a_1]=0,[h_n,a_1]=2a_{n1},[f_n,a_1]=h_{n1}+k\delta _{n,1}.$$

In addition, it follows from formulas (7.1) that

$$e_nv_{2,k}=a_nv_{2,k}=0,n0;h_nv_{2,k}=f_nv_{2,k}=0,n>0,$$

$$h_0v_{2,k}=2v_{2,k}.$$

Therefore

$$e_na_1v_{2,k}=h_na_1v_{2,k}=0,n0,$$

and

$$f_na_1v_{2,k}=0,n>1.$$

We also find that

$$f_1a_1v_{2,k}=(k+2)v_{2,k},$$

and

$`f_0a_1v_{2,k}`$ $`=a_1f_0v_{2,k}h_0v_{2,k}`$
$`=b_1v_{2,k}=(k+2)Tv_{2,k},`$
where $`T`$ is the translation operator.

### 7.2. Vertex operators associated to a module over a vertex algebra

We need to recall some general results on the vertex operators associated to a module over a vertex algebra, following \[FHL\], § 5.1. Let $`V`$ be a conformal vertex algebra $`V`$ and $`M`$ a $`V`$–module. Then there exists a linear map

$$Y_{V,M}:M\mathrm{Hom}(V,M)[[z^{\pm 1}]],$$

satisfying the following property: for any $`AV,BM,CV`$, there exists an element

$$fM[[z,w]][z^1,w^1,(zw)^1]$$

such that the formal power series

$$Y_M(A,z)Y_{V,M}(B,w)C,Y_{V,M}(B,w)Y(A,z)C,$$

$$Y_{V,M}(Y_{V,M}(B,wz)A,z)C,Y_{V,M}(Y(A,zw)B,w)C$$

are expansions of $`f`$ in

$$M((z))((w)),M((w))((z)),M((z))((zw)),M((w))((zw)),$$

respectively (compare with Corollary 3.2.3 of \[FB\]). Abusing notation, we will write

$$Y_M(A,z)Y_{V,M}(B,w)=Y_{V,M}(Y(A,zw)B,w),$$

and call this formula the operator product expansion (OPE), as in the case $`M=V`$ when $`Y_{V,M}=Y`$ (see \[FB\], § 3.3).

This property implies the following commutation relations between the Fourier coefficients of $`Y(A,z)`$ and $`Y_{V,M}(B,w)`$, which is proved in the same way as in the case $`M=V`$ (see \[FB\], § 3.3.6). If we write

$$Y_M(A,z)=\underset{n}{}A_{(n)}z^{n1},Y_{V,M}(B,w)=\underset{n}{}B_{(n)}w^{n1},$$

then we have

(7.2)
$$[B_{(m)},A_{(k)}]=\underset{n0}{}\left(\begin{array}{c}m\\ n\end{array}\right)(B_{(n)}A)_{(m+kn)}.$$

In particular, we obtain that

(7.3)
$$[Y_{V,M}(B,z)𝑑z,Y(A,w)]=Y_{V,M}(Y_{V,M}(B,z)𝑑zA,w).$$

### 7.3. The screening operator

Let us apply the results of Section 7.2 in the case of the vertex algebra $`W_{0,k}`$ and its module $`W_{2,k}`$ for $`k2`$. Then we find, in the same way as in \[FB\], § 4.2.6, that

$$Y_{W_{0,k},W_{2,k}}(a_1v_{2,k})=S_k(z)\stackrel{def}{=}a(z)V_2(z),$$

where $`V_2(z)`$ is the bosonic vertex operator acting from $`\pi _0^{k+2}`$ to $`\pi _2^{k+2}`$ given by the formula

(7.4)
$$V_2(z)=T_2\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{k+2}\underset{n<0}{}\frac{b_n}{n}z^n\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{k+2}\underset{n>0}{}\frac{b_n}{n}z^n\right).$$

Here we denote by $`T_2`$ the translation operator $`\pi _0^{k+2}\pi _2^{k+2}`$ sending the highest weight vector to the highest weight vector and commuting with all $`b_n,n0`$.

Now formula (7.2) implies that the operator $`S_k(z)`$ has the following OPEs:

$`e(z)S_k(w)`$ $`=\mathrm{reg}.,h(z)S_k(w)=\mathrm{reg}.,`$
$`f(z)S_k(w)`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{(k+2)V_2(w)}{(zw)^2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{(k+2)_wV_2(w)}{zw}}+\mathrm{reg}.`$
$`=(k+2)_w{\displaystyle \frac{V_2(w)}{zw}}+\mathrm{reg}.`$
Since the residue of a total derivative is equal to $`0`$, we obtain the following:

###### Proposition 7.1.

The residue $`S_k={\displaystyle S_k(w)𝑑w}`$ is an intertwining operator between the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–modules $`W_{0,k}`$ and $`W_{2,k}`$.

We call $`S_k`$ the screening operator of the first kind for $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$.

###### Proposition 7.2.

For $`k2+_0`$ the sequence

$$0V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)W_{0,k}\stackrel{S_k}{}W_{2,k}0$$

is exact.

###### Proof.

By Proposition 5.2, $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$ is naturally an $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–submodule of $`W_{0,k}`$ for any value of $`k`$. The module $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$ is generated from the vector $`v_k`$, whose image in $`W_{0,k}`$ is the highest weight vector. This vector is clearly in the kernel of $`S_k`$. Hence $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$ belongs to the kernel of $`S_k`$.

In order to prove that $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$ coincides with the kernel of $`S_k`$, we compare their characters. See Section 4.3 for the definition of the character. We will use the notation $`q=e^\delta ,u=e^\alpha `$.

Since $`V_k(𝔤)`$ is isomorphic to the universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra spanned by $`e_n,h_n`$ and $`f_n`$ with $`n<0`$, we find that

(7.5)
$$\mathrm{ch}V_k(𝔤)=\underset{n>0}{}(1q^n)^1(1uq^n)^1(1u^1q^n)^1.$$

Similarly, we obtain that

$$\mathrm{ch}W_{\lambda ,k}=u^{\lambda /2}\underset{n>0}{}(1q^n)^1(1uq^n)^1(1u^1q^{n1})^1.$$

Thus, $`\mathrm{ch}W_{\lambda ,k}=\mathrm{ch}M_{\lambda ,k}`$, where $`M_{\lambda ,k}`$ is the Verma module over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ with highest weight $`(\lambda ,k)`$. Therefore if $`M_{\lambda ,k}`$ is irreducible, then so is $`W_{\lambda ,k}`$. The set of values $`(\lambda ,k)`$ for which $`M_{\lambda ,k}`$ is irreducible is described in \[KK\]. It follows from this description that if $`k2+_0`$, then $`M_{2,k}`$, and hence $`W_{2,k}`$, is irreducible. It is easy to check that $`S_k(a_0^{}v_{0,k})=v_{2,k}`$, so that $`S_k`$ is a non-zero homomorphism. Hence it is surjective for such values of $`k`$. Therefore the character of its kernel for such $`k`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{ch}W_{0,k}\mathrm{ch}W_{2,k}=\mathrm{ch}V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$. This completes the proof. ∎

Next, we will describe the second screening operator for $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$. For that we need to recall the Friedan–Martinec–Shenker bosonization.

### 7.4. Friedan–Martinec–Shenker bosonization

Consider the Heisenberg Lie algebra with the generators $`p_n,q_n,n`$, and the central element $`K`$ with the commutation relations

$$[p_n,p_m]=n\delta _{n,m}K,[q_n,q_m]=n\delta _{n,m}K,[p_n,q_m]=0.$$

We set

$$p(z)=\underset{n}{}p_nz^{n1},q(z)=\underset{n}{}q_nz^{n1}.$$

For $`\lambda ,\mu `$, let $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\lambda ,\mu }`$ be the Fock representation of this Lie algebra generated by a highest weight vector $`|\lambda ,\mu `$ such that

$$p_n|\lambda ,\mu =\lambda \delta _{n,0}|\lambda ,\mu ,q_n|\lambda ,\mu =\mu \delta _{n,0}|\lambda ,\mu ,n0;K|\lambda ,\mu =|\lambda ,\mu .$$

Consider the vertex operators $`V_{\lambda ,\mu }(z):\mathrm{\Pi }_{\lambda ^{},\mu ^{}}\mathrm{\Pi }_{\lambda +\lambda ^{},\mu +\mu ^{}}`$ given by the formula

$$V_{\lambda ,\mu }(z)=T_{\lambda ,\mu }z^{\lambda \lambda ^{}\mu \mu ^{}}\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n<0}{}\frac{\lambda p_n+\mu q_n}{n}z^n\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n>0}{}\frac{\lambda p_n+\mu q_n}{n}z^n\right),$$

where $`T_{\lambda ,\mu }`$ is the translation operator $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{0,0}\mathrm{\Pi }_{\lambda ,\mu }`$ sending the highest weight vector to the highest weight vector and commuting with all $`p_n,q_n,n0`$.

Abusing notation, we will write these operators as $`e^{\lambda u+\mu v}`$, where $`u(z)`$ and $`v(z)`$ stand for the anti-derivatives of $`p(z)`$ and $`q(z)`$, respectively, i.e., $`p(z)=_zu(z),q(z)=_zv(z)`$.

For $`\alpha `$, set

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_\alpha =\underset{n}{}\mathrm{\Pi }_{n+\alpha ,n+\alpha }.$$

Using the vertex operators, one defines a vertex algebra structure on the direct sum $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ (with the vacuum vector $`|0,0`$) as in \[FB\], § 4.2.6.

The following theorem is due to Friedan, Martinec and Shenker \[FMS\] (see also \[FF5\]).

###### Theorem 7.3.

There is a (unique) embedding of vertex algebras $`M\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ under which the fields $`a(z)`$ and $`a^{}(z)`$ are mapped to the fields

$$\stackrel{~}{a}(z)=e^{u+v},\stackrel{~}{a}^{}(z)=(_ze^u)e^v=:p(z)e^{uv}:.$$

Further, the image of $`M`$ in $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ is equal to the kernel of the operator $`{\displaystyle e^u𝑑z}`$.

Equivalently, $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ may be described as the localization of $`M`$ with respect to $`a_1`$, i.e.,

(7.6)
$$\mathrm{\Pi }_0M[(a_1)^1]=[a_n]_{n<1}[a_n^{}]_{n0}[(a_1)^{\pm 1}].$$

The vertex algebra structure on $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ is obtained by a natural extension of the vertex algebra structure on $`M`$.

###### Remark 7.4.

Under the embedding $`M\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ the Virasoro vertex operator of $`M`$ described in Section 5.3 maps to the following conformal vector in $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$:

$$\frac{1}{2}:p(z)^2:\frac{1}{2}_zp(z)\frac{1}{2}:q(z)^2:+\frac{1}{2}_zq(z).$$

Thus, the map $`M\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ becomes a homomorphism of conformal vertex algebras if we choose these conformal structures.∎

The above “bosonization” allows us to make sense of the field $`a(z)^\alpha `$, where $`\alpha `$ is an arbitrary complex number. Namely, we replace $`a(z)^\alpha `$ with the field

$$\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^\alpha =e^{\alpha (u+v)}:\mathrm{\Pi }_0\mathrm{\Pi }_\alpha .$$

Now we take the tensor product $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0\pi _0^{k+2}`$, where we again assume that $`k2`$. This is a vertex algebra which contains $`M\pi _0^{k+2}`$, and hence $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$, as vertex subalgebras. In particular, for any $`\alpha ,\lambda `$, the tensor product $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\alpha \pi _\lambda ^{k+2}`$ is a module over $`V_k(𝔰𝔩_2)`$ and hence over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$. We denote it by $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{\alpha ,\lambda ,k}`$. In addition, we introduce the bosonic vertex operator

(7.7)
$$V_{2(k+2)}(z)=T_{2(k+2)}\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n<0}{}\frac{b_n}{n}z^n\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n>0}{}\frac{b_n}{n}z^n\right),$$

A straightforward computation similar to the one performed in Section 7.3 yields:

###### Proposition 7.5.

The residue

$$\stackrel{~}{S}_k=\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^{(k+2)}V_{2(k+2)}(z):\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{(k+2),2(k+2),k}$$

is an intertwining operator between the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–modules $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{(k+2),2(k+2),k}`$.

We call $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$, or its restriction to $`W_{0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$, the screening operator of the second kind for $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$. This operator was first introduced by V. Dotsenko \[D\].

###### Proposition 7.6.

For generic $`k`$ the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–submodule $`V_\kappa (𝔰𝔩_2)W_{0,k}`$ is equal to the kernel of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k:W_{0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{(k+2),2(k+2),k}`$.

###### Proof.

We will show that for generic $`k`$ the kernel of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k:W_{0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{(k+2),2(k+2),k}`$ coincides with the kernel of the screening operator of the first kind, $`S_k:W_{0,k}W_{2,k}`$. This, together with Proposition 7.2, will imply the statement of the proposition. The above two kernels are equal to the intersection of $`W_{0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$ and the kernels of the operators $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ and $`S_k`$ acting from $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$ to $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{(k+2),2(k+2),k}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,2,k}`$, respectively, (note that the operator $`S_k`$ has an obvious extension to an operator $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,2,k}`$). Therefore it is sufficient to show that the kernels of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ and $`S_k`$ in $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$ are equal for generic $`k`$.

Now let $`\varphi (z)`$ be the anti-derivative of $`b(z)`$, i.e., $`b(z)=_z\varphi (z)`$. By abusing notation we will write $`V_2(z)=e^{(k+2)^1\varphi }`$ and $`V_{2(k+2)}(z)=e^\varphi `$. Then the screening currents $`S_k(z)`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k(z)`$ become:

$$S_k(z)=e^{u+v(k+2)^1\varphi (z)},\stackrel{~}{S}_k(z)=e^{(k+2)u(k+2)v+\varphi }.$$

Consider a more general situation: let $`𝔥`$ be an abelian Lie algebra with a non-degenerate inner product $`\kappa `$. Using this inner product, we identify $`𝔥`$ with $`𝔥^{}`$. Let $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ be the Heisenberg Lie algebra and $`\pi _\lambda ^\kappa ,\lambda 𝔥^{}𝔥`$ be its Fock representations, defined as in Section 5.1. Then for any $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$ there is a vertex operator $`V_\chi ^\kappa (z):\pi _0^\kappa \pi _\chi ^\kappa `$ given by the formula

(7.8)
$$V_\chi ^\kappa (z)=T_\chi \mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n<0}{}\frac{\chi _n}{n}z^n\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{n>0}{}\frac{\chi _n}{n}z^n\right),$$

where the $`\chi _n=\chi t^n`$ are the elements of the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ corresponding to $`\chi 𝔥^{}`$, which we identify with $`𝔥`$ using the inner product $`\kappa `$.

Suppose that $`\kappa (\chi ,\chi )0`$, and denote by $`\chi ^{}`$ the element of $`𝔥`$ equal to $`2\chi /\kappa (\chi ,\chi )`$. We claim that if $`\chi `$ is generic (i.e., away from countably many hypersurfaces in $`𝔥`$) then the kernels of $`{\displaystyle V_\chi ^\kappa (z)𝑑z}`$ and $`{\displaystyle V_\chi ^{}^\kappa (z)𝑑z}`$ in $`\pi _0^\kappa `$ coincide. Indeed, each of these kernels is equal to the tensor product of the subspace in $`\pi _0^\kappa `$ generated from the vacuum vector by elements of $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ which commute with $`\chi _n`$ (they span a Heisenberg Lie subalgebra of $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa `$ corresponding to the orthogonal complement of $`\chi `$ in $`𝔥`$; note that by our assumption on $`\chi `$, this orthogonal complement does not contain $`\chi `$) and the kernel of our operator on the Fock representation of the Heisenberg Lie algebra generated by $`\chi _n,n`$. But the latter two kernels coincide for generic values of $`\kappa (\chi ,\chi )`$, as shown in \[FB\], § 14.4.15. Hence the kernels of $`{\displaystyle V_\chi ^\kappa (z)𝑑z}`$ and $`{\displaystyle V_\chi ^{}^\kappa (z)𝑑z}`$ also coincide generically.

Our situation corresponds to the $`3`$–dimensional Lie algebra $`𝔥`$ with a basis $`\overline{u},\overline{v},\overline{\varphi }`$ with the following non-zero inner products of the basis elements:

$$\kappa (\overline{u},\overline{u})=\kappa (\overline{v},\overline{v})=1,\kappa (\overline{\varphi },\overline{\varphi })=2(k+2).$$

Our screening currents $`S_k(z)`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k(z)`$ are equal to $`V_\chi ^\kappa (z)`$ and $`V_\chi ^{}^\kappa (z)`$, where

$$\chi =\overline{u}+\overline{v}(k+2)^1\overline{\varphi },\chi ^{}=(k+2)\chi =(k+2)\overline{u}(k+2)\overline{v}+\overline{\varphi }.$$

Therefore for generic $`k`$ the kernels of the screening operators $`S_k`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ coincide. ∎

## 8. Intertwining operators for an arbitrary $`𝔤`$

In this section we construct screening operators between Wakimoto modules over $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ for an arbitrary simple Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ and use them to characterize $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ inside $`W_{0,\kappa }`$.

### 8.1. Parabolic induction

Denote by $`𝔰𝔩_2^{(i)}`$ the Lie subalgebra of $`𝔤`$, isomorphic to $`𝔰𝔩_2`$, which is generated by $`e_i,h_i`$, and $`f_i`$. Let $`𝔭^{(i)}`$ be the parabolic subalgebra of $`𝔤`$ spanned by $`𝔟_{}`$ and $`e_i`$, and $`𝔪^{(i)}`$ its Levi subalgebra. Thus, $`𝔪^{(i)}`$ is equal to the direct sum of $`𝔰𝔩_2^{(i)}`$ and the orthogonal complement $`𝔥_i^{}`$ of $`h_i`$ in $`𝔥`$.

We apply to $`𝔭^{(i)}`$ the results on semi-infinite parabolic induction of Section 6. According to Corollary 6.2, we obtain a functor from the category of smooth representations of $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2\widehat{𝔥}_{i,\kappa _0}^{}`$, with $`k`$ and $`\kappa _0`$ satisfying the conditions of Theorem 6.1, to the category of smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–modules. The condition on $`k`$ and $`\kappa _0`$ is that the inner products on $`𝔰𝔩_2^{(i)}`$ corresponding to $`(k+2)`$ and $`\kappa _0`$ are both restrictions of an invariant inner product $`(\kappa \kappa _c)`$ on $`𝔤`$. In other words, $`(\kappa \kappa _c)(h_i,h_i)=2(k+2)`$ and $`\kappa _0=\kappa |_{𝔥_i^{}}`$. By abuse of notation we will write $`\kappa `$ for $`\kappa _0`$. If $`k`$ and $`\kappa `$ satisfy this condition, then for any smooth $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–module $`R`$ of level $`k`$ and any smooth $`\widehat{𝔥}_\kappa ^{}`$–module the tensor product $`M_{𝔤,𝔭^{(i)}}RL`$ is a smooth $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$–module.

In particular, if we choose $`R`$ to be the Wakimoto module $`W_{\lambda ,k}`$ over $`𝔰𝔩_2`$, and $`L`$ to be the Fock representation $`\pi _{\lambda _0}^\kappa `$, the corresponding $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module will be isomorphic to the Wakimoto module $`W_{(\lambda ,\lambda _0),\kappa +\kappa _c}`$, where $`(\lambda ,\lambda _0)`$ is the weight of $`𝔤`$ built from $`\lambda `$ and $`\lambda _0`$. Under this isomorphism the generators $`a_{\alpha _i,n},n`$, will have a special meaning: they correspond to the right action of the elements $`e_{i,n}`$ of $`\widehat{𝔤}`$, which was defined in Remark 4.4. In other words, making the above identification of modules forces us to choose a system of coordinates $`\{y_\alpha \}_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}`$ on $`N_+`$ such that $`\rho ^R(e_i)=/y_{\alpha _i}`$ (in the notation of Section 1.5), and so $`w^R(e_i(z))=a_{\alpha _i}(z)`$ (in the notation of Remark 4.4). From now on we will denote $`w^R(e_i(z))`$ by $`e_i^R(z)`$. For a general coordinate system on $`N_+`$ we have

(8.1)
$$e_i^R(z)=a_{\alpha _i}(z)+\underset{\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}P_\beta ^{R,i}(a_\alpha ^{}(z))a_\beta (z)$$

(see formula (4.1)).

Now any intertwining operator between Wakimoto modules $`W_{\lambda _1,k}`$ and $`W_{\lambda _2,k}`$ over $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ gives rise to an intertwining operator between the Wakimoto modules $`W_{(\lambda _1,\lambda _0),\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ and $`W_{(\lambda _2,\lambda _0),\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ over $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa +\kappa _c}`$ for any weight $`\lambda _0`$ of $`𝔥_i^{}`$. We will use this fact and the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ screening operators introduced in the previous section to construct intertwining operators between Wakimoto modules over $`𝔤`$.

### 8.2. Screening operators of the first kind

Let $`\kappa `$ be a non-zero invariant inner product on $`𝔤`$. We will use the same notation for the restriction of $`\kappa `$ to $`𝔥`$. Now to any $`\chi 𝔥`$ we associate a vertex operator $`V_\chi ^\kappa (z):\pi _0^\kappa \pi _\chi ^\kappa `$ given by formula (7.8). For $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, we set

$$S_{i,\kappa }(z)\stackrel{def}{=}e_i^R(z)V_{\alpha _i}^{\kappa \kappa _c}(z):W_{0,\kappa }W_{\alpha _i,\kappa },$$

where $`e_i^R(z)`$ is given by formula (4.1). Note that

(8.2)
$$S_{i,\kappa }(z)=Y_{W_{0,\kappa },W_{\alpha _i,\kappa }}(e_{i,1}^Rv_{\alpha _i,\kappa },z)$$

in the notation of Section 7.2.

According to Proposition 7.1 and the above discussion, the operator

$$S_{i,\kappa }=S_{i,\kappa }(z)𝑑z:W_{0,\kappa }W_{\alpha _i,\kappa }$$

is induced by the screening operator of the first kind $`S_k`$ for the $`i`$th $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ subalgebra, where $`k`$ is determined from the formula $`(\kappa \kappa _c)(h_i,h_i)=2(k+2)`$. Hence Proposition 7.1 implies:

###### Proposition 8.1.

The operator $`S_{i,\kappa }`$ is an intertwining operator between the $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–modules $`W_{0,\kappa }`$ and $`W_{\alpha _i,\kappa }`$ for each $`i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

We call $`S_{i,\kappa }`$ the $`i`$th screening operator of the first kind for $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$.

Recall that by Proposition 5.2 $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ is naturally a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–submodule and a vertex subalgebra of $`W_{0,\kappa }`$. On the other hand, the intersection of the kernels of $`S_{i,\kappa },i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, is a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–submodule of $`W_{0,\kappa }`$, by Proposition 8.1, and a vertex subalgebra of $`W_{0,\kappa }`$, due to formula (8.2) and the commutation relations (7.3). The following proposition is proved in \[FF8\].

###### Proposition 8.2.

For generic $`\kappa `$, $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ is equal to the intersection of the kernels of the screening operators $`S_{i,\kappa },i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

Furthermore, in \[FF8\], § 3, a complex $`C^{}(𝔤)`$ of $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–modules is constructed for generic $`\kappa `$. Its $`i`$th degree term is the direct sum of the Wakimoto modules $`W_{w(\rho )\rho ,\kappa }`$, where $`w`$ runs over all elements of the Weyl group of $`𝔤`$ of length $`i`$. Its $`0`$th cohomology is isomorphic to $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$, and all other cohomologies vanish. For $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_2`$ this complex has length one and coincides with the one appearing in Proposition 7.2. In general, the degree zero term of the complex is $`W_{0,\kappa }`$, the degree one term is $`_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}W_{\alpha _i,\kappa }`$, and the zeroth differential is the sum of the screening operators $`S_{i,\kappa }`$.

In \[FF8\] it is also explained how to construct other intertwining operators as compositions of the screening operators $`S_{i,\kappa }`$. Roughly speaking, the screening operators $`S_{i,\kappa }`$ satisfy the $`q`$–Serre relations, i.e., the defining relations of the quantized enveloping algebra $`U_q(𝔫_+)`$ with appropriate parameter $`q`$. Then for generic $`\kappa `$ we attach to a singular vector in the Verma module $`M_\lambda `$ over $`U_q(𝔤)`$ of weight $`\mu `$ an intertwining operator $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa }W_{\mu ,\kappa }`$. This operator is equal to the integral of a product of the screening currents $`S_{i,\kappa }(z)`$ over a certain cycle on the configuration space with coefficients in a local system that is naturally attached to the above singular vector.

### 8.3. Screening operators of the second kind

In order to define the screening operators of the second kind, we need to make sense of the series $`(e_i^R(z))^\alpha `$. So we choose a system of coordinates on $`N_+`$ in such a way that $`e_i^R(z)=a_{\alpha _i}(z)`$ (note that this cannot be achieved for all $`i=1\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$ simultaneously). This is automatically so if we define the Wakimoto modules over $`\widehat{𝔤}`$ via the semi-infinite parabolic induction from Wakimoto modules over the $`i`$th subalgebra $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ (see Section 8.1).

Having chosen such a coordinate system, we define the series $`a_{\alpha _i}(z)^\alpha `$ using the Friedan–Martinec–Shenker bosonization of the Weyl algebra generated by $`a_{\alpha _i,n},a_{\alpha _i,n}^{}`$, $`n`$, as explained in Section 7.4. Namely, we have a vertex algebra

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_0^{(i)}=[a_{\alpha _i,n}]_{n<1}[a_{\alpha _i,n}^{}]_{n0}[a_{\alpha _i,1}^{\pm 1}]$$

containing

$$M_𝔤^{(i)}=[a_{\alpha _i,n}]_{n1}[a_{\alpha _i,n}^{}]_{n0}$$

and a $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0^{(i)}`$–module $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\gamma ^{(i)}`$ defined as in Section 7.4. We then set

$$\stackrel{~}{W}_{\gamma ,\lambda ,\kappa }^{(i)}=W_{\lambda ,\kappa }\underset{M_𝔤^{(i)}}{}\mathrm{\Pi }_\gamma ^{(i)}.$$

This is a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module, which contains $`W_{\lambda ,\kappa }`$ if $`\alpha =0`$. Note that $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa _c}^{(i)}`$ is the $`\widehat{𝔤}`$–module obtained by the semi-infinite parabolic induction from the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–module $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,2}`$.

Now let $`\beta =\frac{1}{2}(\kappa \kappa _c)(h_i,h_i)`$ and define the field

$$\stackrel{~}{S}_{\kappa ,i}(z)\stackrel{def}{=}(e_i^R(z))^\beta V_{\alpha _i^{}}(z):\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa }^{(i)}\stackrel{~}{W}_{\beta ,\beta \alpha _i^{},\kappa }^{(i)}.$$

Here $`\alpha _i^{}=h_i𝔥`$ denotes the $`i`$th coroot of $`𝔤`$. Then the operator $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\kappa ,i}={\displaystyle \stackrel{~}{S}_{\kappa ,i}(z)𝑑z}`$ is induced by the screening operator of the second kind $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ for the $`i`$th $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$ subalgebra, where $`k`$ is determined from the formula $`(\kappa \kappa _c)(h_i,h_i)=2(k+2)`$. Hence Proposition 7.1 implies (see also \[PRY\]):

###### Proposition 8.3.

The operator $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\kappa ,i}`$ is an intertwining operator between the $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–modules $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa }^{(i)}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{\beta ,\beta \alpha _i^{},\kappa }^{(i)}`$.

Note that $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa }`$ is the residue of $`Y_{V,M}((e_{i,1}^R)^\beta v_{\alpha _i^{},\kappa },z)`$, where $`V=\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa }^{(i)}`$ and $`M=\stackrel{~}{W}_{\beta ,\beta \alpha _i^{},\kappa }^{(i)}`$ (see Section 7.2). Therefore, according to the commutation relations (7.3), the intersection of kernels of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa },i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, is naturally a vertex subalgebra of $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa }^{(i)}`$ or $`W_{0,\kappa }`$. Combining Proposition 8.2 and Proposition 7.6, we obtain:

###### Proposition 8.4.

For generic $`\kappa `$, $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ is equal, as a $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$–module and as a vertex algebra, to the intersection of the kernels of the screening operators

$$\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa }:W_{0,\kappa }\stackrel{~}{W}_{\beta ,\beta \alpha _i^{},\kappa }^{(i)},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}.$$

One can use the screening operators $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa }`$ to construct more general intertwining operators following the procedure of \[FF8\].

### 8.4. Screening operators of second kind at the critical level

Now we define the limits of the intertwining operators $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa }`$ as $`\kappa \kappa _c`$.

First we consider the case when $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_2`$. Denote $`\beta =k+2`$. In order to define the limit of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ as $`\beta 0`$ (i.e., $`k2`$) we replace $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,k}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{\beta ,2\beta ,k}`$ by their tensor products with $`[\beta ^{\pm 1}]`$ (still denoted by the same symbols) and define $`[\beta ]`$–lattices in them which are preserved by $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$. These lattices are spanned over $`[\beta ]`$ by the monomials in $`b_n,p_n,q_n,n<0`$, applied to the highest weight vectors.

Consider first the expansion of $`V_{2\beta }(z)`$ in powers of $`\beta `$ with respect to the above lattice. Recall that

$$[b_n,b_m]=2\beta n\delta _{n,m}.$$

Let us write $`V_{2\beta }(z)=_nV_{2\beta }[n]z^n`$. We will identify $`\pi _{2\beta }^\beta `$ and $`\pi _0^\beta `$ with $`\pi ^0=[b_m]_{m>0}`$ in the limit $`\beta 0`$. Introduce the operators $`\overline{V}[n],n0`$, via the formal power series

$$\underset{n0}{}\overline{V}[n]z^n=\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{m>0}{}\frac{b_m}{m}z^m\right).$$

Using formula (7.7), we obtain the following expansion of $`V_{2\beta }[n]`$:

$$V_{2\beta }[n]=\{\begin{array}{cc}\overline{V}[n]+\beta (\mathrm{}),n0,\hfill & \\ 2\beta _{m0}\overline{V}[m]\frac{}{b_{mn}}+\beta ^2(\mathrm{}),n>0.\hfill & \end{array}$$

We denote the $`\beta `$–linear term of $`V_{2\beta }[n],n>0`$, by $`\overline{V}[n]`$.

Next, we consider the expansion of $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^\beta =e^{\beta (u+v)}`$ in powers of $`\beta `$. Let us write $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^\beta =_n\stackrel{~}{a}(z)_{[n]}^\beta z^n`$. In the limit $`\beta 0`$ we will identify $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\beta `$ with $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$. Then we find that

$$\stackrel{~}{a}(z)_{[n]}^\beta =\{\begin{array}{cc}1+\beta (\mathrm{}),n=0,\hfill & \\ \beta \frac{p_n+q_n}{n}+\beta ^2(\mathrm{}),n0.\hfill & \end{array}$$

The above formulas imply the following expansion of the screening operator $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$:

$$\stackrel{~}{S}_k=\beta \left(\overline{V}[1]+\underset{n>0}{}\frac{1}{n}\overline{V}[n+1](p_n+q_n)\right)+\beta ^2(\mathrm{}).$$

Therefore the leading term of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ at $`k=2`$ is the operator

(8.3)
$$\overline{S}\stackrel{def}{=}\overline{V}[1]+\underset{n>0}{}\frac{1}{n}\overline{V}[n+1](p_n+q_n),$$

acting on $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,2}=\mathrm{\Pi }_0\pi ^0`$. It follows from the construction that $`\overline{S}`$ commutes with the $`\widehat{𝔰𝔩}_2`$–action on $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,2}`$.

It is possible to express the operators

$$\frac{p_n+q_n}{n}=(u_n+v_n),n>0,$$

in terms of the Heisenberg algebra generated by $`a_m,a_m^{},m`$. Namely, from the definition $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)=e^{u+v}`$ it follows that $`u(z)+v(z)=\mathrm{log}\stackrel{~}{a}(z)`$, so that the field $`u(z)+v(z)`$ commutes with $`a(w)`$, and we have the following OPE with $`a^{}(w)`$:

$$(u(z)+v(z))a^{}(w)=\frac{1}{zw}\stackrel{~}{a}(w)^1+\mathrm{reg}.$$

Therefore, writing $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^1=_n\stackrel{~}{a}(z)_{[n]}^1z^n`$, we obtain the following commutation relations:

(8.4)
$$[\frac{p_n+q_n}{n},a_m^{}]=\stackrel{~}{a}(z)_{[n+m1]}^1,n>0.$$

Using the realization (7.6) of $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$, the series $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^1`$ is expressed as follows:

(8.5)
$$\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^1=(a_1)^1\left(1+(a_1)^1\underset{n1}{}a_nz^{n1}\right)^1,$$

where the right hand side is expanded as a formal power series in positive powers of $`(a_1)^1`$. It is easy to see that each Fourier coefficient of this power series is well-defined as a linear operator on $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$.

The above formulas completely determine the action of $`(p_n+q_n)/n,n>0`$, and hence of $`\overline{S}`$, on any vector in $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,2}=\mathrm{\Pi }_0\pi ^0`$. Namely, we use the commutation relations (8.4) to move $`(p_n+q_n)/n`$ through the $`a_m^{}`$’s. As the result, we obtain Fourier coefficients of $`\stackrel{~}{a}(z)^1`$, which are given by formula (8.5). Applying each of them to any vector in $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,2}`$, we always obtain a finite sum.

This completes the construction of the limit $`\overline{S}`$ of the screening operator $`\stackrel{~}{S}_k`$ as $`k2`$ in the case of $`𝔰𝔩_2`$. Now we consider the case of an arbitrary $`𝔤`$.

The limit of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{i,\kappa }`$ as $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ is by definition the operator $`\overline{S}_i`$ on $`\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa _c}^{(i)}`$, obtained from $`\overline{S}`$ via the functor of semi-infinite parabolic induction. Therefore it is given by the formula

(8.6)
$$\overline{S}_i=\overline{V}_i[1]+\underset{n>0}{}\frac{1}{n}\overline{V}_i[n+1](p_{i,n}+q_{i,n}).$$

Here $`\overline{V}_i[n]:\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ are the linear operators given by the formulas

(8.7)
$$\underset{n0}{}\overline{V}_i[n]z^n=\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{m>0}{}\frac{b_{i,m}}{m}z^m\right),$$

$$\overline{V}_i[1]=\underset{m0}{}\overline{V}_i[m]𝐃_{b_{i,m1}},$$

where $`𝐃_{b_{i,m}}`$ denotes the derivative in the direction of $`b_{i,m}`$ given by the formula

(8.8)
$$𝐃_{b_{i,m}}b_{j,n}=a_{ji}\delta _{n,m},$$

and $`(a_{kl})`$ is the Cartan matrix of $`𝔤`$ (it is normalized so that we have $`𝐃_{b_{i,m}}b_{i,n}=2\delta _{n,m}`$). The operators $`(p_{i,n}+q_{i,n})/n`$ acting on $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0^{(i)}`$ are defined in the same way as above.

Thus, we obtain well-defined linear operators $`\overline{S}_i:W_{0,\kappa _c}\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa _c}^{(i)}`$. By construction, they commute with the action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ on both modules. It is clear that the operators $`\overline{S}_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, annihilate the highest weight vector of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$. Therefore they annihilate all vectors obtained from the highest weight vector under the action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$, i.e., all vectors in $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)W_{0,\kappa _c}`$. Thus we obtain

###### Proposition 8.5.

The vacuum module $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is contained in the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{S}_i:W_{0,\kappa _c}\stackrel{~}{W}_{0,0,\kappa _c}^{(i)},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

## 9. Description of the center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$

In this section we use Proposition 8.5 to describe the center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. Recall from \[FB\], § 4.6.2, that the center of a vertex algebra $`V`$ is by definition its commutative vertex subalgebra spanned by all vectors $`vV`$ such that $`Y(A,z)vV[[z]]`$ for all $`AV`$. In the case when $`V=V_\kappa (𝔤)`$, the center is equal to the space of invariants of the Lie subalgebra $`L_+𝔤=𝔤[[t]]`$ of $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$. According to Lemma 17.4.1 of \[FB\], it is trivial, i.e., equal to the span of the vacuum vector $`v_\kappa `$ if $`\kappa \kappa _c`$. So let us consider the center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$, which we denote by $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$.

### 9.1. The center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ and Wakimoto modules

Recall that by Proposition 5.2 the homomorphism $`w_{\kappa _c}:V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ is injective. The vertex algebra $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ contains the commutative subalgebra $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$, its center. On the other hand, $`W_{0,\kappa _c}=M_𝔤\pi _0`$ contains the commutative subalgebra $`\pi _0`$, which is its center.

###### Lemma 9.1.

The image of $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ in $`W_{\kappa _c,0}`$ under $`w_{\kappa _c}`$ is contained in $`\pi _0W_{\kappa _c,0}`$.

###### Proof.

Observe that the lexicographically ordered monomials of the form

(9.1)
$$\underset{n_{r(\alpha )}<0}{}e_{\alpha ,n_{r(\alpha )}}^R\underset{m_{s(\alpha )}0}{}a_{\alpha ,m_{s(\alpha )}}^{}\underset{n_{t(i)}<0}{}b_{i,n_{t(i)}}|0,$$

where the $`e_{i,n}^R`$’s are given by formula (4.1), form a basis of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$. The image of any element of $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ in $`W_{\kappa _c,0}`$ is an $`L_+𝔤`$–invariant vector. In particular, it is annihilated by $`L_+𝔫_+=𝔫_+[[t]]`$ and by $`𝔥`$. Since $`L_+𝔫_+`$ commutes with $`e_{\alpha ,n}^R`$ and $`b_{i,n}`$, the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants of $`W_{\kappa _c,0}`$ is equal to the tensor product of the subspace $`M_{𝔤,}`$ of $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ spanned by all monomials (9.1) not containing $`a_{\alpha ,n}^{}`$, and the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants in $`M_{𝔤,+}=[a_{\alpha ,n}^{}]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+,n0}`$. According to Section 3.3, $`M_{𝔤,+}`$ is an $`L_+𝔤`$–module isomorphic to $`\mathrm{Coind}_{L_+𝔟_{}}^{L_+𝔤}`$. Therefore the action of $`L_+𝔫_+`$ on it is co-free, and the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants is one-dimensional, spanned by constants.

Thus, we obtain that the space of $`L_+𝔫_+`$–invariants in $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ is equal to $`M_{𝔤,}`$. However, its subspace of $`𝔥`$–invariants is the span of the monomials (9.1), which only involve the $`b_{i,n}`$’s, i.e., $`\pi _0W_{0,\kappa _c}`$. This completes the proof. ∎

Using Proposition 8.5, we now obtain that $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is contained in the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{S}_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, restricted to $`\pi _0W_{0,\kappa _c}`$. But according to formula (8.6), the restriction of $`\overline{S}_i`$ to $`\pi _0`$ is nothing but the operator $`\overline{V}_i[1]:\pi _0\pi _0`$ given by the formula

(9.2)
$$\overline{V}_i[1]=\underset{m0}{}\overline{V}_i[m]𝐃_{b_{i,m1}}$$

where $`\overline{V}_i[m],𝐃_{b_{i,m1}},m0`$, are given by formulas (8.7) and (8.8), respectively. Therefore we obtain the following

###### Proposition 9.2.

The center $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is contained in the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, in $`\pi _0`$.

We now show that $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is actually equal to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

### 9.2. The associated graded of $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$

The $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–module $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ has a natural filtration induced by the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt filtration on the universal enveloping algebra $`U(\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c})`$, and the action of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ preserves this filtration. Furthermore, it is clear that the associated graded space $`\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is isomorphic to

$$\mathrm{Sym}𝔤((t))/𝔤[[t]]\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]],$$

where we use the following (coordinate-dependent) pairing

(9.3)
$$Af(t),Bg(t)=\kappa (A,B)\mathrm{Res}f(t)g(t)\frac{dt}{t},$$

and $`\kappa `$ is an arbitrary fixed non-degenerate inner product on $`𝔤`$.

Recall that $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is equal to the space of $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariants in $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. The symbol of a $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant vector in $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is a $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant vector in $`\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$, i.e., an element of the space of $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariants in $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$. Hence we obtain an injective map

(9.4)
$$\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]])^{𝔤[[t]]}.$$

In order to describe the space $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]])^{𝔤[[t]]}`$, recall that $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^𝔤`$ is a polynomial algebra in generators $`P_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, of degrees $`d_i+1`$, where $`d_i`$ is the $`i`$th exponent of $`𝔤`$. Each $`P_i`$ is a polynomial in the basis elements $`J^a`$ of $`𝔤`$ (considered as linear functionals of $`𝔤`$ via the inner product $`\kappa `$). Substituting the generating functions

$$J^a(t)=\underset{n<0}{}J_n^at^{n1}$$

of the basis elements $`J_n^a`$ of $`t^1𝔤[t^1]`$ into $`P_i`$ instead of the $`J^a`$’s, we obtain a generating series

$$P_i(J^a(t))=\underset{n0}{}P_{i,n}t^n$$

of elements of $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$. Clearly, its coefficients $`P_{i,n}`$ is $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant. Furthermore we have the following result due to Beilinson and Drinfeld, \[BD1\], § 2.4.1. For reader’s convenience, we reproduce the proof (see also \[M\], Appendix, Prop. A.1):

###### Proposition 9.3.

The algebra $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]])^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ is the free polynomial algebra in the generators $`P_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n0`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`G`$ be the connected simply-connected algebraic group with the Lie algebra $`𝔤`$. Then the space of $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariants in $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$ coincides with the space of $`G[[t]]`$–invariants in $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$.

Recall that given an algebraic variety $`X`$, we denote by $`JX`$ its infinite jet scheme, as defined in \[FB\], § 8.4.4 (see also \[M\], where the notation $`X_{\mathrm{}}`$ is used). In particular, $`J𝔤=𝔤[[t]]`$ and $`JG=G[[t]]`$.

Let $`𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ be the smooth open subset of $`𝔤`$ consisting of regular elements. It is known that the morphism

$$\chi :𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}𝒫:=\mathrm{Spec}(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^𝔤=\mathrm{Spec}[P_1,\mathrm{},P_{\mathrm{}}]$$

is smooth and surjective (see \[Ko\]). Therefore the morphism

$$J\chi :J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}J𝒫:=\mathrm{Spec}[P_{1,m},\mathrm{},P_{\mathrm{},m}]_{m0}$$

is also smooth and surjective.

Consider the map $`a:G\times 𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}\underset{𝒫}{\times }𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ defined by the formula $`a(g,x)=(x,gx)`$. The map $`a`$ is smooth, and since $`G`$ acts transitively along the fibers of $`\chi `$, it is also surjective. Hence the corresponding map of jet schemes $`Ja:JG\times J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}\underset{J𝒫}{\times }J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is surjective. Given two points $`y_1,y_2`$ in the same fiber of $`J\chi `$, let $`(h,y_1)`$ be a point in the (non-empty) fiber $`(Ja)^1(y_1,y_2)`$. Then $`y_2=hy_1`$. Hence $`JG`$ acts transitively along the fibers of the map $`J\chi `$. This implies that the ring of $`JG`$–invariant functions on $`J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is equal to $`[P_{1,m},\mathrm{},P_{\mathrm{},m}]_{m0}`$. Because $`𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is an open dense subset of $`𝔤`$, we obtain that $`J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is dense in $`J𝔤`$, and so any $`JG`$–invariant function on $`J𝔤`$ is determined by its restriction to $`J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$. This proves the proposition. ∎

We have an action of the operator $`L_0=t_t`$ on $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$. It defines a $``$–gradation on $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]`$ such that $`\mathrm{deg}J_n^a=n`$. Then $`\mathrm{deg}P_{i,n}=d_i+n+1`$, and we obtain the following formula for the character of $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]])^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ (i.e., the generating function of its graded dimensions):

(9.5)
$$\mathrm{ch}(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]])^{𝔤[[t]]}=\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\underset{n_id_i+1}{}(1q^{n_i})^1.$$

### 9.3. Computation of the character of $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$

We now show that the map (9.4) is an isomorphism using Proposition 6.3.

Consider the Lie subalgebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+=(𝔟_+1)(𝔤t[[t]])`$ of $`𝔤[[t]]`$. The natural surjective homomorphism $`M_{0,\kappa _c}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ gives rise to a map of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariants

$$\varphi :M_{0,\kappa _c}^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}.$$

Both $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ and $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ have natural filtrations which are preserved by the homomorphism between them. Therefore we have the corresponding map of associated graded

$$\varphi _{\mathrm{cl}}:(\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}.$$

Since $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is a direct sum of finite-dimensional representations of the constant subalgebra $`𝔤1`$ of $`𝔤[[t]]`$, we find that any $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant in $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ or $`\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ is automatically a $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant. Thus, we have

$`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}`$ $`=V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{𝔤[[t]]},`$
$`(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}`$ $`=(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}=[P_{1,m},\mathrm{},P_{\mathrm{},m}]_{m0}.`$
We need to describe $`(\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}`$. First, observe that

$$\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c}=\mathrm{Sym}𝔤((t))/\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+\mathrm{Fun}\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)},$$

where

$$\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}=(𝔫_+t^1)𝔤[[t]],$$

and we use the pairing (9.3) on $`𝔤((t))`$. In terms of this identification, the map $`\varphi _{\mathrm{cl}}`$ becomes a ring homomorphism

$$\mathrm{Fun}\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}\mathrm{Fun}𝔤[[t]]$$

induced by the natural embedding $`𝔤[[t]]\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}`$.

We construct $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant functions on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}`$ in the same way as above, by substituting the generating functions $`J^a(t)`$ into the $`P_i`$’s. However, now $`J^a(t)`$ has non-zero $`t^1`$ coefficients if the inner product of $`J^a`$ with $`𝔫_+`$ is non-zero. Therefore the resulting series $`P_i(J^a(t))`$ will have non-zero coefficients $`P_{i,m}`$ in front of $`t^m`$ if and only if $`md_i`$. Thus, we obtain a natural inclusion

$$[P_{i,m_i}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};m_id_i}(\mathrm{Fun}\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}.$$

###### Lemma 9.4.

This inclusion is an equality.

###### Proof.

Let $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+=(𝔫_+1)t𝔤[[t]]=t\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}`$. Clearly, the spaces of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant functions on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$ are isomorphic, so we will consider the latter space.

Denote by $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ the intersection of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$ and $`J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}=𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}t𝔤[[t]]`$. Thus, $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}=\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}t𝔤[[t]]`$, where $`𝔫_+^{\mathrm{reg}}=𝔫_+𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is an open dense subset of $`𝔫_+`$, so that $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is open and dense in $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$.

Recall the morphism $`J\chi :J𝔤_{\mathrm{reg}}J𝒫`$ introduced in the proof of Proposition 9.3. It was shown there that the group $`JG=G[[t]]`$ acts transitively along the fibers of $`J\chi `$. Let $`\stackrel{~}{B}_+`$ be the subgroup of $`G[[t]]`$ corresponding to the Lie algebra $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+𝔤[[t]]`$. Note that for any $`x\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$, the group $`\stackrel{~}{B}_+`$ is equal to the subgroup of all elements $`g`$ of $`G[[t]]`$ such that $`gx\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$. Therefore $`\stackrel{~}{B}_+`$ acts transitively along the fibers of the restriction of the morphism $`J\chi `$ to $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$.

This implies that the ring of $`\stackrel{~}{B}_+`$–invariant (equivalently, $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant) polynomials on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is the ring of functions on the image of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ in $`J𝒫`$ under the map $`J\chi `$. But it follows from the construction that the image of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ in $`J𝒫`$ is the subspace determined by the equations $`P_{i,m}=0,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};m>0`$. Hence the ring of $`\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+`$–invariant polynomials on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is equal to $`[P_{i,m}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};m>0}`$. Since $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is dense in $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$, we obtain that this is also the ring of invariant polynomials on $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$. When we pass from $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+`$ to $`\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)}`$, we obtain the statement of the lemma. ∎

###### Corollary 9.5.

The map $`\varphi _{\mathrm{cl}}`$ is surjective.

Since $`\mathrm{deg}P_{i,m}=d_i+m+1`$, we obtain the character of $`(\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}=(\mathrm{Fun}\stackrel{~}{𝔫}_+^{(1)})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}`$:

$$\mathrm{ch}(\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}=\underset{m>0}{}(1q^m)^{\mathrm{}}.$$

Now recall that by Theorem 6.3, the Verma module $`M_{0,\kappa _c}`$ is isomorphic to the Wakimoto module $`W_{0,\kappa _c}^+`$. Hence $`(M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}=(W_{0,\kappa _c}^+)^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}`$. In addition, according to Lemma 6.5 we have $`(W_{0,\kappa _c}^+)^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}=\pi _0`$, and so its character is also equal to $`{\displaystyle \underset{m>0}{}}(1q^m)^{\mathrm{}}`$. Therefore we find that the natural embedding

$$\mathrm{gr}(M_{0,\kappa _c}^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+})(\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}$$

is an isomorphism. Now consider the commutative diagram

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{gr}(M_{0,\kappa _c}^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+})& & \mathrm{gr}(V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{𝔤[[t]]})\\ & & & & \\ (\mathrm{gr}M_{0,\kappa _c})^{\stackrel{~}{𝔟}_+}& & (\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}.\end{array}$$

It follows from the above discussion that the left vertical arrow is an isomorphism. Moreover, by Corollary 9.5 the lower horizontal arrow is surjective. Therefore we obtain an isomorphism

$$\mathrm{gr}(V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{𝔤[[t]]})(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}.$$

In particular, this implies that the character of $`\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})=\mathrm{gr}(V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ is equal to that of $`(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{𝔤[[t]]})`$ given by formula (9.5). Thus we find that

(9.6)
$$\mathrm{ch}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})=\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\underset{n_id_i+1}{}(1q^{n_i})^1.$$

### 9.4. The center and the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra

According to Proposition 9.2, $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is contained in the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, on $`\pi _0`$. Now we compute the character of this intersection and compare it with the character formula (9.6) for $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ to show that $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is equal to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1]`$.

First, we identify this intersection with a classical limit of a one-parameter family of vertex algebras, called the $`𝒲`$–algebras. The $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝒲_\nu (𝔤)`$ associated to a simple Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ and an invariant inner product $`\nu `$ on $`𝔤`$ is defined via the quantum Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction in \[FB\], Ch. 14. It is shown there that $`𝒲_\nu (𝔤)`$ is a vertex subalgebra of $`\pi _0^\nu `$, which for generic values of $`\nu `$ is equal to the intersection of the kernels of screening operators.

More precisely, consider another copy of the Heisenberg Lie algebra $`\widehat{𝔥}_\nu `$ introduced in Section 5.1. To avoid confusion, we will denote the generators of this Heisenberg Lie algebra by $`𝐛_{i,n}`$. We have the vertex operator $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu (z):\pi _0^\nu \pi _{\alpha _i}^\nu `$ defined by formula (7.8), and let $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu [1]=V_{\alpha _i}^\nu (z)𝑑z`$ be its residue. We call it the $`𝒲`$–algebra screening operator (to distinguish it from the Kac-Moody screening operators defined above). Since $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu (z)=Y_{\pi _0^\nu ,\pi _{\alpha _i}^\nu }(z)`$ (in the notation of Section 7.2), we obtain that the intersection of the kernels of $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu [1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, in $`\pi _0^\nu `$ is a vertex subalgebra of $`\pi _0^\nu `$. By Theorem 14.4.12 of \[FB\], for generic values of $`\nu `$ the $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝒲_\nu (𝔤)`$ is isomorphic to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu [1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, in $`\pi _0^\nu `$.

Now we consider the limit when $`\nu \mathrm{}`$. We fix an invariant inner product $`\nu _0`$ on $`𝔤`$ and denote by $`ϵ`$ the ratio between $`\nu _0`$ and $`\nu `$. We have the following formula for the $`i`$th simple root $`\alpha _i𝔥^{}`$ as an element of $`𝔥`$ using the identification between $`𝔥^{}`$ and $`𝔥`$ induced by $`\nu =\nu _0/ϵ`$:

$$\alpha _i=ϵ\frac{2}{\nu _0(h_i,h_i)}h_i.$$

Let

(9.7)
$$𝐛_{i,n}^{}=ϵ\frac{2}{\nu _0(h_i,h_i)}𝐛_{i,n}.$$

Consider the $`[ϵ]`$–lattice in $`\pi _0^\nu [ϵ]`$ spanned by all monomials in $`𝐛_{i,n}^{},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n<0`$. We denote by $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$ the specialization of this lattice at $`ϵ=0`$; it is a commutative vertex algebra. In the limit $`ϵ0`$, we obtain the following expansion of the operator $`V_{\alpha _i}^\nu [1]`$:

$$V_{\alpha _i}^\nu [1]=ϵ\frac{2}{\nu _0(h_i,h_i)}𝐕_i[1]+\mathrm{},$$

where the dots denote terms of higher order in $`ϵ`$, and the operator $`𝐕_i[1]`$ acting on $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$ is given by the formula

(9.8)
$$𝐕_i[1]=\underset{m0}{}𝐕_i[m]𝐃_{𝐛_{i,m1}^{}},$$

where

$$𝐃_{𝐛_{i,m}^{}}b_{j,n}=a_{ij}\frac{}{𝐛_{i,n}^{}}\delta _{n,m},$$

$`(a_{ij})`$ is the Cartan matrix of $`𝔤`$, and

$$\underset{n0}{}𝐕_i[n]z^n=\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{m>0}{}\frac{𝐛_{i,m}^{}}{m}z^m\right).$$

The intersection of the kernels of the operators $`𝐕_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, is a commutative vertex subalgebra of $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$, which we denote by $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ and call the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra associated to $`𝔤`$ and $`\nu _0`$. Note that the structures of commutative vertex algebra on $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$ and $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ and the operators $`𝐕_i[1]`$ are independent of the choice of $`\nu _0`$. However, as we will see below, both $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$ and $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ also carry vertex Poisson algebra structures, and those structures do depend on $`\nu _0`$.

Now let us look at the $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$, attached to the Langlands dual Lie algebra $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$ whose Cartan matrix is the transpose of the Cartan matrix of $`𝔤`$. Comparing formulas (9.2) and (9.8), we find that if we make the substitution $`b_{i,n}𝐛_{i,n}^{}`$, then operator $`\overline{V}_i[1]`$ attached to $`𝔤`$ becomes the operator $`𝐕_i[1]`$ attached to $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. Therefore the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, attached to a simple Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ is isomorphic to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`𝐕_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, attached to $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$, i.e., to $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$.

We need to show that the character of $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ is given by the right hand side of formula (9.6). This may be done in several ways. One of the possible ways is presented in Section 11.2 below. Another possibility is to use the results of \[FF7\]. According to \[FF7\], Prop. 2.2.8, the operators $`𝐕_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, satisfy the Serre relations of $`𝔤`$, and so they generate an action of the Lie algebra $`𝔫_+`$ on $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$. Moreover, by \[FF7\], Prop. 2.4.6, the action of $`𝔫_+`$ on $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$ is co-free, and this enables us to compute the character of $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$. The result is that the character of $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ is given by the right hand side of formula (9.6) (see \[FF7\], Prop. 2.4.7). Hence we obtain that the character of the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, is equal to the character of $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$. Therefore $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is isomorphic to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$. Thus, we obtain the following result.

###### Theorem 9.6.

The center $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is isomorphic to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`\overline{V}_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, on $`\pi _{0,\nu _0}`$, and to the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\nu _0}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$.

The natural map $`\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ is an isomorphism.

The theorem implies in particular that for each generator $`P_{i,0}`$ of $`(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ there exists an element $`S_i`$ of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)^{𝔤[[t]]}`$ whose symbol is equal to $`P_{i,0}`$. Moreover, we have

$$𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})=[S_i^{(n)}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n0},$$

where $`S_i^{(n)}=T^nS_i`$, and we use the commutative algebra structure on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ which comes from its commutative vertex algebra structure (see \[FB\], § 1.4). Note that the symbol of $`S_i^{(n)}`$ is then equal to $`n!P_{i,n}`$.

For example, the vector $`S_1`$, which is unique up to a scalar, is the Segal–Sugawara vector

(9.9)
$$S_1=\frac{1}{2}\underset{a}{}J_1^aJ_{a,1}v_{\kappa _c},$$

where $`\{J_a\}`$ is the basis of $`𝔤`$ dual to the basis $`\{J^a\}`$ with respect to a non-degenerate invariant inner product. Explicit formulas for other elements $`S_i,i>1`$, are unknown in general (see however \[H, GW\]).

We note that the center $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ may be identified with the algebra of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$–endomorphisms of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. Indeed, a $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant vector $`xV_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ gives rise to a non-trivial endomorphism of $`V`$, which maps the highest weight vector $`v_{\kappa _c}`$ to $`x`$. On the other hand, given an endomorphism $`e`$ of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$, we obtain a $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant vector $`e(v)`$. It is clear that the two maps are inverse to each other. Now let $`x_1`$ and $`x_2`$ be two $`𝔤[[t]]`$–invariant vectors in $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. Let $`e_1`$ and $`e_2`$ be the corresponding endomorphisms of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. Then the image of $`v`$ under the composition $`e_1e_2`$ equals $`e_1(x_2)=x_2x_1`$, where in the right hand side we use the product structure on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$. Therefore we find that as an algebra $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is isomorphic to the algebra $`\mathrm{End}_{\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ with the opposite multiplication. But since $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is commutative, we obtain an isomorphism of algebras

$$𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{End}_{\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤).$$

### 9.5. The vertex Poisson algebra structure

In addition to the structures of commutative vertex algebras, both $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ and $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ also carry the structures of vertex Poisson algebra. For the definition of vertex Poisson algebra, see, e.g., \[FB\], § 15.2. In particular, we recall that to a vertex Poisson algebra $`P`$ we attach a Lie algebra

$$\mathrm{Lie}(P)=P((t))/\mathrm{Im}(T1+1_t)$$

(see \[FB\], § 15.1.7).

According to Proposition 15.2.7 of \[FB\], if $`V_ϵ`$ is a one-parameter family of vertex algebras, then the center $`𝒵(V_0)`$ of $`V_0`$ acquires a natural vertex Poisson algebra structure. Namely, at $`ϵ=0`$ the polar part of the operation $`Y`$, restricted to $`𝒵(V_0)`$, vanishes, so we define the operation $`Y_{}`$ on $`𝒵(V_0)`$ as the $`ϵ`$–linear term of the polar part of $`Y`$.

Let us fix a non-zero inner product $`\kappa _0`$ on $`𝔤`$, and let $`ϵ`$ be the ratio between the inner products $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ and $`\kappa _0`$. Consider the vertex algebras $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ as a one-parameter family using $`ϵ`$ as a parameter. Then we obtain a vertex Poisson structure on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$, the center of $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ (corresponding to $`ϵ=0`$). We will denote $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$, equipped with this vertex Poisson structure, by $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$.

Likewise, we obtain a vertex Poisson structure on $`\pi _{0,\kappa _0}`$ by considering the vertex algebras $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$ as a one-parameter family with the same parameter $`ϵ`$, in the same way as in Section 9.4. The corresponding vertex Poisson structure on $`\pi _{0,\kappa _0}`$ is uniquely characterized by the Poisson brackets

$$\{b_{i,n},b_{j,m}\}=n\kappa _0(h_i,h_j)\delta _{n,m}.$$

Recall that the homomorphism $`w_{\kappa _c}:V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)W_{0,\kappa _c}=M\pi _0`$ may be deformed to a homomorphism $`w_\kappa :V_\kappa (𝔤)W_{0,\kappa }=M\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}`$. Therefore the $`ϵ`$–linear term of the polar part of the operation $`Y`$ of $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$, restricted to $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$, which is used in the definition of the vertex Poisson structure on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$, may be computed by restricting to $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\pi _0`$ the $`ϵ`$–linear term of the polar part of the operation $`Y`$ of $`\pi _0^{\kappa \kappa _c}W_{0,\kappa }`$. But the latter defines the vertex Poisson structure on $`\pi _{0,\kappa _0}`$. Therefore we obtain the following

###### Lemma 9.7.

The embedding $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}\pi _{0,\kappa _0}`$ is a homomorphism of vertex Poisson algebras and the corresponding map of local Lie algebras $`\mathrm{Lie}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0})\mathrm{Lie}(\pi _{0,\kappa _0})`$ is a Lie algebra homomorphism.

On the other hand, it follows from the definition of the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(^L𝔤)`$ that it also carries a vertex Poisson algebra structure. The isomorphism of Theorem 9.6 preserves the vertex Poisson algebra structures in the following sense.

Note that the restriction of a non-zero invariant inner product $`\kappa _0`$ on $`𝔤`$ to $`𝔥`$ defines a non-zero inner product on $`𝔥^{}`$, which is the restriction of an invariant inner product $`\kappa _0^{}`$ on $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. To avoid confusion, let us denote by $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}`$ and $`\pi _0({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)_{\kappa _0^{}}`$ the classical limits of the Heisenberg vertex algebras for $`𝔤`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$, respectively, with their vertex Poisson structures corresponding to $`\kappa _0`$ and $`\kappa _0^{}`$, respectively. We have an isomorphism of vertex Poisson algebras

$`ı:\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}`$ $`\stackrel{}{}\pi _0({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)_{\kappa _0^{}},`$
$`b_{i,n}\widehat{𝔥}`$ $`𝐛_{i,n}^{}\widehat{{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥},`$
where $`𝐛_{i,n}^{}`$ is given by formula (9.7). The restriction of the isomorphism $`ı`$ to the subspace $`_{1i\mathrm{}}\mathrm{Ker}\overline{V}_i[1]`$ of $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}`$ gives us an isomorphism of vertex Poisson algebras

$$\underset{1i\mathrm{}}{}\mathrm{Ker}\overline{V}_i[1]\underset{1i\mathrm{}}{}\mathrm{Ker}𝐕_i^{}[1],$$

where by $`𝐕_i^{}[1]`$ we denote the operator (9.8) attached to $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. Recall that we have the following isomorphisms of vertex Poisson algebras:

$`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{1i\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{Ker}\overline{V}_i[1],`$
$`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{1i\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{Ker}𝐕_i^{}[1].`$
Therefore we obtain the following strengthening of Theorem 9.6:

###### Theorem 9.8.

The center $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$ is isomorphic, as a vertex Poisson algebra, to the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$. The Lie algebras $`\mathrm{Lie}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0})`$ and $`\mathrm{Lie}(𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤))`$ are also isomorphic.

### 9.6. $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–module structures

Both $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$ and $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ carry actions of the group $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ and the isomorphism of Theorem 9.8 intertwines these actions. To see that, we describe the two actions as coming from the vertex Poisson algebra structures.

In both cases the action of the group $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ is obtained by exponentiation of the action of the Lie algebra $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$. In the case of the center $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$, the action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ is the restriction of the natural action on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$ which comes from its action on $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$ (and preserving its Lie subalgebra $`𝔤[[t]]`$) by infinitesimal changes of variables. But away from the critical level, i.e., when $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, the action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ is obtained thtough the action of the Virasoro algebra which comes from the conformal vector $`𝐬_\kappa `$ given by formula (5.3) which we rewrite as follows:

$$𝐬_\kappa =\frac{\kappa _0}{\kappa \kappa _c}S_1,$$

where $`S_1`$ is given by formula (9.9) and $`\kappa _0`$ is the inner product used in that formula. Thus, the Fourier coefficients $`𝐬_{\kappa ,(n)},n1`$, of the vertex operator

$$Y(𝐬_\kappa ,z)=\underset{n}{}𝐬_{\kappa ,(n)}z^{n1}$$

generate the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`V_\kappa (𝔤)`$ when $`\kappa \kappa _c`$.

In the limit $`\kappa \kappa _c`$, we have $`𝐬_\kappa =ϵ^1S_1`$, where as before $`ϵ={\displaystyle \frac{\kappa \kappa _c}{\kappa _0}}`$. Therefore the action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ is obtained through the vertex Poisson operation $`Y_{}`$ (defined as the limit of $`ϵ^1`$ times the polar part of $`Y`$ when $`ϵ0`$, see \[FB\], § 15.2) on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ applied to $`S_1𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$. In other words, the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action is generated by the Fourier coefficients $`S_{1,(n)},n0`$, of the series

$$Y_{}(S_1,z)=\underset{n0}{}S_{1,(n)}z^{n1},$$

namely, $`L_nS_{(n)}`$. Thus, we see that the natural $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action (and hence $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–action) on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is encoded in the vector $`S_1𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ through the vertex Poisson algebra structure on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$. Note that this action endows $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ with a quasi-conformal structure (see Section 5.4).

Likewise, there is a $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ coming from its vertex Poisson algebra structure. The vector generating this action is also equal to the limit of a conformal vector in the quantum $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝒲_\nu ({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ as $`\nu \mathrm{}`$. This conformal vector is unique because as we see from the character formula for $`𝒲_\nu ({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ given in the right hand side of (9.6) the homogeneous component of $`𝒲_\nu ({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ of degree two (where all conformal vectors live) is one-dimensional. The limit of this vector as $`\nu \mathrm{}`$ gives rise to a vector $`𝐭`$ in $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ such that the Fourier coefficients of $`Y_{}(t,z)`$ generate a $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action on $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ (in the next section we will explain the geometric meaning of this action). Since such a vector is unique, it must be the image of $`S_1𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ under the isomorphism $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$. This implies the following result.

###### Proposition 9.9.

The isomorphism Theorem 9.8 intertwines the actions of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ and $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ and $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$.

We have already calculated in formula (5.3) the image of $`𝐬_\kappa `$ in $`W_{0,\kappa }`$ when $`\kappa \kappa _c`$. By passing to the limit $`\kappa \kappa _c`$ we find that the image of $`S_1=ϵ𝐬_\kappa `$ belongs to $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}W_{0,\kappa }`$ and is equal to

$$\frac{1}{2}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}b_{i,1}b_1^i\rho _2,$$

where $`\{b_i\}`$ and $`\{b^i\}`$ are dual bases with respect to the inner product $`\kappa _0`$ used in the definition of $`S_1`$, restricted to $`𝔥`$, and $`\rho `$ is the element of $`𝔥`$ corresponding to $`\rho 𝔥^{}`$ under the isomorphism $`𝔥^{}𝔥`$ induced by $`\kappa _0`$. Under the isomorphism of Theorem 9.8, this vector becomes the vector $`𝐭\pi _0({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)_{\kappa _0^{}}\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}`$, which automatically lies in $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)\pi _0({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)_{\kappa _0^{}}`$ and is responsible for the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ action on it.

The action of the corresponding operators $`L_n\mathrm{Der}𝒪,n1`$, on $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}`$ is given by derivations of the algebra structure which are uniquely determined by formulas (5.11). Therefore the action of the $`L_n`$’s on $`𝐖_{\kappa _0^{}}({}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)`$ is as follows (recall that $`b_{i,n}𝐛_{i,n}^{}`$):

$`L_n𝐛_{i,m}^{}`$ $`=m𝐛_{i,n+m}^{},1n<m,`$
(9.10) $`L_n𝐛_{i,n}^{}`$ $`=n,n>0,`$
$`L_n𝐛_{i,m}^{}`$ $`=0,n>m.`$
## 10. Opers and Miura opers

In this section we introduce opers, (generic) Miura opers and a natural map between them. We will then show in the next section that the corresponding rings of functions are isomorphic to $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ and $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\nu _0}`$, respectively, and the corresponding homomorphism $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)\pi _0(𝔤)_{\nu _0}`$ is the embedding constructed in Section 9.4. In other words, the ring of functions on opers is isomorphic to the subring of the ring of functions on generic Miura opers equal to the intersection of the kernels of the screening operators $`𝐕_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

### 10.1. Opers

Let $`G`$ be a simple algebraic group of adjoint type, $`B`$ a Borel subgroup and $`N=[B,B]`$ its unipotent radical, with the corresponding Lie algebras $`𝔫𝔟𝔤`$. There is an open $`B`$–orbit $`𝐎𝔫^{}/𝔟𝔤/𝔟`$, consisting of vectors which are stabilized by the radical $`NB`$, and such that all of their negative simple root components, with respect to the adjoint action of $`H=B/N`$, are non-zero. This orbit may also be described as the $`B`$–orbit of the sum of the projections of simple root generators $`f_i`$ of any nilpotent subalgebra $`𝔫_{}`$, which is in generic position with $`𝔟`$, onto $`𝔤/𝔟`$. The torus $`H=B/N`$ acts simply transitively on $`𝐎`$, so $`𝐎`$ is an $`H`$–torsor.

Suppose we are given a principal $`G`$–bundle $``$ on a smooth curve $`X`$, or on a disc $`D=\mathrm{Spec}𝒪`$, or on a punctured disc $`D^\times =\mathrm{Spec}𝒦`$ (here we use the notation of Section 4.4), together with a connection $``$ (automatically flat) and a reduction $`_B`$ to the Borel subgroup $`B`$ of $`G`$. Then we define the relative position of $``$ and $`_B`$ (i.e., the failure of $``$ to preserve $`_B`$) as follows. Locally, choose any flat connection $`^{}`$ on $``$ preserving $`_B`$, and take the difference $`^{}`$. It is easy to show that the resulting local sections of $`(𝔤/𝔟)__B\mathrm{\Omega }`$ are independent of $`^{}`$, and define a global $`(𝔤/𝔟)__B`$–valued one-form on $`X`$, denoted by $`/_B`$.

Let $`X`$ be as above. A $`G`$oper on $`X`$ is by definition a triple $`(,,_B)`$, where $``$ is a principal $`G`$–bundle $``$ on $`X`$, $``$ is a connection on $``$ and $`_B`$ is a $`B`$–reduction of $``$, such that the one–form $`/_B`$ takes values in $`𝐎__B(𝔤/𝔟)__B`$.

This definition is due to A. Beilinson and V. Drinfeld \[BD1\] (in the case when $`X`$ is the punctured disc opers were introduced in \[DS\]). Note that $`𝐎`$ is $`^\times `$–invariant, so that $`𝐎\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is a well-defined subset of $`(𝔤/𝔟)__B\mathrm{\Omega }`$.

Equivalently, the above condition may be reformulated as saying that if we choose a local trivialization of $`_B`$ and a local coordinate $`t`$ then the connection will be of the form

(10.1)
$$=_t+\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\psi _i(t)f_i+𝐯(t),$$

where each $`\psi _i(t)`$ is a nowhere vanishing function, and $`𝐯(t)`$ is a $`𝔟`$–valued function. If we change the trivialization of $`_B`$, then this operator will get transformed by the corresponding gauge transformation. This observation allows us to describe opers on a disc $`D=\mathrm{Spec}𝒪`$ in a more explicit way.

Let us choose a coordinate $`t`$ on $`D`$, i.e., an isomorphism $`𝒪[[t]]`$. Then the space $`\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ of $`G`$–opers on $`D`$ is the quotient of the space of all operators of the form (10.1), where $`\psi _i(t)[[t]],\psi _i(0)0,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, and $`𝐯(t)𝔟[[t]]`$, by the action of the group $`B[[t]]`$ by gauge transformations:

$$g(_t+A(t))=_t+gA(t)g^1g^1_tg.$$

Since the $`B`$–orbit $`𝐎`$ is an $`H`$–torsor, we can use the $`H`$–action to make all functions $`\psi _i(t)`$ equal to $`1`$. Thus, we obtain that $`\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ is equal to the quotient of the space $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{Op}}_G(D)`$ of operators of the form

(10.2)
$$=_t+\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_i+𝐯(t),𝐯(t)𝔟[[t]],$$

by the action of the group $`N[[t]]`$ by gauge transformations.

If we choose another coordinate $`s`$, such that $`t=\phi (s)`$, then the operator (10.2) will become

$$=_s+\phi ^{}(s)\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_i+\phi ^{}(s)𝐯(\phi (s)).$$

In order to bring it back to the form (10.2) we need to apply the gauge transformation by $`\rho ^{}(\phi ^{}(s))`$, where $`\rho ^{}:^\times H`$ is the one-parameter subgroup of $`H`$ equal to the sum of the fundamental coweights of $`G`$. Choose a splitting $`ı:HB`$ of the homomorphism $`BH`$. Then, considering $`\rho ^{}`$ as an element of the Lie algebra $`𝔥=\mathrm{Lie}H`$, we have $`[\rho ^{},e_i]=e_i`$ and $`[\rho ^{},f_i]=f_i`$. Therefore we find that

$$\rho ^{}(\phi ^{}(s))\left(_s+\phi ^{}(s)\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_i+\phi ^{}(s)𝐯(\phi (s))\right)$$

(10.3)
$$=_s+\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_i+\phi ^{}(s)\rho ^{}(\phi ^{}(s))𝐯(\phi (s))\rho ^{}(\phi ^{}(s))^1.$$

Thus we obtain a well-defined action of the group $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ on the space $`\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ of opers on the standard disc,

$$𝔻=\mathrm{Spec}[[t]].$$

We may therefore define $`\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ as the twist of $`\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ by the $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–torsor $`𝒜ut`$ (see Section 4.4).

In particular, the above formulas imply the following result. Consider the $`H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$ on $`D`$, defined in the same way as in Section 5.5 (where we considered the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$).

###### Lemma 10.1.

The $`H`$–bundle $`_H=_B\underset{𝐵}{\times }H=_B/N`$ is isomorphic to $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$.

###### Proof.

It follows from formula (10.3) for the action of the changes of variables on opers that if we pass from a coordinate $`t`$ on $`D`$ to the coordinate $`s`$ such that $`t=\phi (s)`$, then we obtain a new trivialization of the $`H`$–bundle $`_H`$, which is related to the old one by the transformation $`\rho ^{}(\phi ^{}(s))`$. This precisely means that $`_H\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$. ∎

### 10.2. Canonical representatives

In this section we find canonical representatives in the $`N[[t]]`$–gauge classes of connections of the form (10.2).

###### Lemma 10.2 (\[DS\]).

The action of $`N[[t]]`$ on $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{Op}}_G(D)`$ is free.

###### Proof.

The operator $`\mathrm{ad}\rho ^{}`$ defines the principal gradation on $`𝔟`$, with respect to which we have a direct sum decomposition $`𝔟=_{i0}𝔟_i`$. Let

$$p_1=\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_i.$$

The operator $`\mathrm{ad}p_1`$ acts from $`𝔟_{i+1}`$ to $`𝔟_i`$ injectively for all $`i0`$. Hence we can find for each $`i0`$ a subspace $`V_i𝔟_i`$, such that $`𝔟_i=[p_1,𝔟_{i+1}]V_i`$. It is well-known that $`V_i0`$ if and only if $`i`$ is an exponent of $`𝔤`$, and in that case $`dimV_i`$ is equal to the multiplicity of the exponent $`i`$. In particular, $`V_0=0`$. Let $`V=_{iE}V_i𝔫`$, where $`E`$ is the set of exponents of $`𝔤`$ counted with multiplicity.

We claim that each element of $`_t+p_1+𝐯(t)\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{Op}}_G(D)`$ can be uniquely represented in the form

(10.4)
$$_t+p_1+𝐯(t)=\mathrm{exp}\left(\mathrm{ad}U\right)\left(_t+p_1+𝐜(t)\right),$$

where $`U𝔫[[t]]`$ and $`𝐜(t)V[[t]]`$. To see that, we decompose with respect to the principal gradation: $`U=_{j0}U_j`$, $`𝐯(t)=_{j0}𝐯_j(t)`$, $`𝐜(t)=_{jE}𝐜_j(t)`$. Equating the homogeneous components of degree $`j`$ in both sides of (10.4), we obtain that $`𝐜_i+[U_{i+1},p_1]`$ is expressed in terms of $`𝐯_i,𝐜_j,j<i`$, and $`U_j,ji`$. The injectivity of $`\mathrm{ad}p_1`$ then allows us to determine uniquely $`𝐜_i`$ and $`U_{i+1}`$. Hence $`U`$ and $`𝐜`$ satisfying equation (10.4) may be found uniquely by induction, and the lemma follows. ∎

There is a special choice of the transversal subspace $`V=_{iE}V_i`$ defined in the proof of Lemma 10.2. Namely, let $`p_1`$ be the unique element of $`𝔫`$, such that $`\{p_1,2\rho ^{},p_1\}`$ is an $`𝔰𝔩_2`$–triple. Let $`V_{\mathrm{can}}=_{iE}V_{\mathrm{can},i}`$ be the space of $`\mathrm{ad}p_1`$–invariants in $`𝔫`$. Then $`p_1`$ spans $`V_{\mathrm{can},1}`$. Let $`p_j`$ be a linear generator of $`V_{\mathrm{can},d_j}`$ (if the multiplicity of $`d_j`$ is greater than one, which happens only in the case $`𝔤=D_{2n}^{(1)},d_j=2n`$, then we choose linearly independent vectors in $`V_{\mathrm{can},d_j}`$).

According to Lemma 10.2, each $`G`$–oper may be represented by a unique operator $`=_t+p_1+𝐯(t)`$, where $`𝐯(t)V_{\mathrm{can}}[[t]]`$, so that we can write

$$𝐯(t)=\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}v_j(t)p_j.$$

Suppose now that $`t=\phi (s)`$, where $`s`$ is another coordinate on $`D`$ such that $`t=\phi (s)`$. With respect to the new coordinate $`s`$, $``$ becomes equal to $`_s+\stackrel{~}{𝐯}(s)`$, where $`\stackrel{~}{𝐯}(s)`$ is expressed via $`𝐯(t)`$ and $`\phi (s)`$ as in formula (10.3). By Lemma 10.2, there exists a unique operator $`_s+p_1+\overline{𝐯}(s)`$ with $`\overline{𝐯}(s)V_{\mathrm{can}}[[s]]`$ and $`gB[[s]]`$, such that

(10.5)
$$_s+p_1+\overline{𝐯}(s)=g\left(_s+\stackrel{~}{𝐯}(s)\right).$$

It is straightforward to find that

$`g`$ $`=\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\phi ^{\prime \prime }}{\phi ^{}}}p_1\right)\rho ^{}(\phi ),`$
$`\overline{v}_1(s)`$ $`=v_1(\phi (s))\left(\phi ^{}\right)^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\{\phi ,s\},`$
$`\overline{v}_j(s)`$ $`=v_j(\phi (s))\left(\phi ^{}\right)^{d_j+1},j>1,`$
where

$$\{\phi ,s\}=\frac{\phi ^{\prime \prime \prime }}{\phi ^{}}\frac{3}{2}\left(\frac{\phi ^{\prime \prime }}{\phi ^{}}\right)^2$$

is the Schwarzian derivative.

These formulas mean that under changes of variables, $`v_1`$ transforms as a projective connection, and $`v_j,j>1`$, transforms as a $`(d_j+1)`$–differential on $`D`$. Thus, we obtain an isomorphism

(10.6)
$$\mathrm{Op}_G(D)𝒫roj\times \underset{j=2}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\omega ^{(d_j+1)},$$

where $`\omega ^n`$ is the space of $`n`$–differentials on $`D`$ and $`𝒫roj`$ is the $`\omega ^2`$–torsor of projective connections on $`D`$.

The above formulas also show that the $`G`$–bundle $``$ is defined by the transition function $`U(s)`$. In particular, the $`G`$–bundles $``$ underlying all opers are isomorphic to each other.

### 10.3. Miura opers

A Miura $`G`$–oper on $`X`$, which is a smooth curve, or $`D`$, or $`D^\times `$, is by definition a quadruple $`(,,_B,_B^{})`$, where $`(,,_B)`$ is a $`G`$–oper on $`X`$ and $`_B^{}`$ is another $`B`$–reduction of $``$ which is preserved by $``$.

Consider the space of Miura $`G`$–opers on the disc $`D`$. A $`B`$–reduction of $``$ which is preserved by the connection $``$ is uniquely determined by a $`B`$–reduction of the fiber $`_0`$ of $``$ at the origin $`0D`$ (recall that the underlying $`G`$–bundles of all $`G`$–opers are isomorphic to each other). The set of such reductions is the $`_0`$–twist $`(G/B)__0`$ of the flag manifold $`G/B`$. Therefore the natural forgetful morphism from the space of all Miura opers on $`D`$ to $`\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ is a $`G/B`$–bundle.

A Miura $`G`$–oper is called generic if the $`B`$–reductions $`_B`$ and $`_B^{}`$ are in generic relative position. We denote the space of generic Miura opers on $`D`$ by $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$. We have a natural forgetful morphism $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$. The group $`N_{_{B,0}}`$, where $`_{B,0}`$ is the fiber of $`_B`$ at $`0`$, acts on $`(G/B)__0`$, and the subset of generic reductions is the open $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–orbit of $`(G/B)__0`$. This orbit is in fact an $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–torsor. Therefore we obtain that the morphism $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ is a principal $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–bundle. We denote it by $`\mu `$ and call it the Miura transformation.

Now we identify $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ with the space of $`H`$–connections. Consider the $`H`$–bundles $`_H=_B/N`$ and $`_H^{}=_B^{}/N`$.

###### Lemma 10.3.

The $`H`$–bundles $`_H`$ and $`_H^{}`$ are isomorphic.

###### Proof.

Consider the vector bundles $`𝔤_{}=\underset{𝐺}{\times }𝔤`$, $`𝔟__B=_B\underset{𝐵}{\times }𝔟`$ and $`𝔟__B^{}=_B^{}\underset{𝐺}{\times }𝔟`$. We have the inclusions $`𝔟__B,𝔟__B^{}𝔤_{}`$ which are in generic position. Therefore the intersection $`b__Bb__B^{}`$ is isomorphic to $`𝔟__B/[𝔟__B,𝔟__B]`$, which is the trivial vector bundle with the fiber $`𝔥`$. It naturally acts on the bundle $`𝔤_{}`$ and under this action $`𝔤_{}`$ decomposes into a direct sum of $`𝔥`$ and the line subbundles $`𝔤_{F,\alpha },\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }`$. Furthermore, $`𝔟__B=_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}𝔤_{F,\alpha },𝔟__B^{}=_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_{}}𝔤_{F,\alpha }`$. Since the action of $`B`$ on $`𝔫/[𝔫,𝔫]`$ factors through $`H=B/N`$, we find that

$$_H\underset{𝐻}{\times }\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}_{\alpha _i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}𝔤_{,\alpha _i},_H^{}\underset{𝐻}{\times }\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}_{\alpha _i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}𝔤_{,\alpha _i}.$$

Clearly, the line bundle $`𝔤_{,\alpha }`$ is dual to $`𝔤_{,\alpha }`$. Therefore we obtain that

$$_H\underset{𝐻}{\times }_{\alpha _i}_H^{}\underset{𝐻}{\times }_{\alpha _i},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}.$$

Since $`G`$ is of adjoint type by our assumption, the above associated line bundles completely determine $`_H`$ and $`_H^{}`$. Therefore $`_H_H^{}`$. ∎

Combining Lemma 10.3 with Lemma 10.1, we find that $`_H^{}\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$. Since the $`B`$–bundle $`_B^{}`$ is preserved by the oper connection $``$, we obtain a connection $`\overline{}`$ on $`_H^{}\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$. Therefore we obtain a morphism $`\beta `$ from the space $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ of generic Miura opers on $`D`$ to the space of connections $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{})_D`$ on the $`H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$ on $`D`$.

###### Proposition 10.4.

The map $`\beta :\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{})_D`$ is an isomorphism.

###### Proof.

We define a map $`\tau `$ in the opposite direction. Suppose we are given a connection $`\overline{}`$ on the $`H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}`$ on $`D`$. We associate to it a generic Miura oper as follows. Let us choose a splitting $`HB`$ of the homomorphism $`BH`$ and set $`=\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}\underset{𝐻}{\times }G,_B=\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}\underset{𝐻}{\times }B`$, where we consider the adjoint action of $`H`$ on $`G`$ and on $`B`$ obtained through the above splitting. The choice of the splitting also gives us the opposite Borel subgroup $`B_{}`$, which is the unique Borel subgroup in generic position with $`B`$ containing $`H`$. Then we set $`_B^{}=\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{}\underset{𝐻}{\times }B_{}`$.

Observe that the space of connections on $``$ is isomorphic to the direct product

$$\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{})_D\times \underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }}{}\omega ^{\alpha (\rho ^{})+1}.$$

Its subspace corresponding to negative simple roots is isomorphic to $`\left(_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}𝔤_{\alpha _i}\right)𝒪`$. Having chosen a basis element $`f_i`$ of $`𝔤_{\alpha _i}`$ for each $`i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, we now construct an element $`p_1=_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}f_i`$ of this space. Now we set $`=\overline{}+p_1`$. By construction, $``$ has the correct relative position with the $`B`$–reduction $`_B`$ and preserves the $`B`$–reduction $`_B^{}`$. Therefore the quadruple $`(,,_B,_B^{})`$ is a generic Miura oper on $`D`$. We set $`\tau (\overline{})=(,,_B,_B^{})`$.

This map is independent of the choice of splitting $`HB`$ and of the generators $`f_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$. Indeed, changing the splitting $`HB`$ amounts to a conjugation of the old splitting by an element of $`N`$. This is equivalent to applying to $``$ the gauge transformation by this element. Therefore it will not change the underlying Miura oper structure. Likewise, rescaling of the generators $`f_i`$ may be achieved by a gauge transformation by a constant element of $`H`$, and this again does not change the Miura oper structure. It is clear from the construction that $`\beta `$ and $`\tau `$ are mutually inverse isomorphisms. ∎

## 11. Identification with the $`𝒲`$–algebra and the center

The Miura transformation $`\mu :\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ gives rise to a homomorphism of the corresponding rings of functions $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }:\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$. We will now identify $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ with $`\pi _0(𝔤)_{\nu _0}`$ and the image of $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }`$ with the intersection of kernels of the screening operators. This will give us an identification of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ with $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$.

### 11.1. Screening operators

Since $`\mu `$ is an $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–bundle, we obtain that the image of the homomorphism $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }`$ is equal to the space of $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–invariants of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$, and hence to the space of $`𝔫_{_{B,0}}`$–invariants of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$. We fix a Cartan subalgebra $`𝔥`$ in $`𝔟`$, a coordinate $`t`$ on the disc $`D`$ and a trivialization of $`_B`$. Then we identify $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ with rings of polynomials in infinitely many variables. Each space has an action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }`$ is a $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–equivariant homomorphism between these rings. We will describe the image of $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }`$ as the intersection of the kernels of certain linear operators which will turn out to be nothing but the screening operators used in the definition of the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra.

Using $`t`$ and our trivialization of $`_B`$, we write each oper in the form

$$_t+p_1+\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}v_i(t)𝐜_i,v_i(t)[[t]]$$

(see Section 10.2), where

$$v_i(t)=\underset{n<d_i}{}v_{i,n}t^{nd_i1}.$$

Thus,

$$\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)=[v_{i,n_i}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n_i<d_i}.$$

The action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ on this ring is determined from formulas (10.5).

Likewise, we write each generic Miura oper as

(11.1)
$$_t+p_1+𝐮(t),𝐮(t)𝔥[[t]].$$

Set $`u_i(t)=\alpha _i(𝐮(t)),i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, and

$$u_i(t)=\underset{n<0}{}u_{i,n}t^{n1}.$$

Then

$$\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)=[u_{i,n}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n<0}.$$

The action of $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$ on this ring is determined as follows. If $`s`$ is a new coordinate on $`D`$ such that $`t=\phi (s)`$, then the same Miura oper will appear as $`_s+p_1+\stackrel{~}{𝐮}(s)`$, where

(11.2)
$$\stackrel{~}{𝐮}(s)=\phi ^{}𝐮(\phi (s))\rho ^{}\frac{\phi ^{\prime \prime }}{\phi ^{}}.$$

This translates into the following formulas for the action of the generators $`L_n=t^{n+1}_t`$ on the $`u_{i,m}`$’s:

$`L_nu_{i,m}`$ $`=mu_{i,n+m},1n<m,`$
(11.3) $`L_nu_{i,n}`$ $`=n,n>0,`$
$`L_nu_{i,m}`$ $`=0,n>m.`$
Example. We compute the Miura transformation $`\mu `$ in the case when $`𝔤=𝔰𝔩_2`$. In this case an oper has the form

$$_t+\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& v(t)\\ 1& 0\end{array}\right),$$

and a generic Miura oper has the form

$$_t+\left(\begin{array}{cc}\frac{1}{2}u(t)& 0\\ 1& \frac{1}{2}u(t)\end{array}\right).$$

To compute $`\mu `$, we need to find a element of $`N[[t]]`$ such that the corresponding gauge transformation brings the Miura oper into the oper form. We find that

$$\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& \frac{1}{2}u(t)\\ 0& 1\end{array}\right)\left(_t+\left(\begin{array}{cc}\frac{1}{2}u(t)& 0\\ 1& \frac{1}{2}u(t)\end{array}\right)\right)\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& \frac{1}{2}u(t)\\ 0& 1\end{array}\right)=_t+\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& \frac{1}{4}u(t)^2+\frac{1}{2}_tu(t)\\ 1& 0\end{array}\right).$$

Therefore we obtain

$$\mu (u(t))=v(t)=\frac{1}{4}u(t)^2+\frac{1}{2}_tu(t),$$

which may also be written in the form

$$_t^2v(t)=\left(_t+\frac{1}{2}u(t)\right)\left(_t\frac{1}{2}u(t)\right).$$

It is this transformation that was originally introduced by R. Miura as the map intertwining the flows of the KdV hierarchy and the mKdV hierarchy.

In the case of $`𝔰𝔩_2`$ opers are projective connections and Miura opers are affine connections. The Miura transformation is nothing but the natural map from affine connections to projective connections.∎

Having chosen a trivialization of $`_B`$, we identify the twist $`𝔫_{_{B,0}}`$ with $`𝔫`$. Now we choose the generators $`e_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, of $`𝔫`$ with respect to the action of $`𝔥`$ on $`𝔫`$ in such a way that for each $`i`$ the generator $`e_i`$ and the previously chosen $`f_i`$ satisfy the standard relations of $`𝔰𝔩_2`$. The $`N_{_{B,0}}`$–action on $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ then gives rise to an infinitesimal action of $`e_i`$ on $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$. We will now compute the corresponding derivation on $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$.

The action of $`e_i`$ is given by the infinitesimal gauge transformation

(11.4)
$$\delta 𝐮(t)=[x_i(t)e_i,_t+p_1+𝐮(t)],$$

where $`x_i(t)[[t]]`$ is such that $`x_i(0)=1`$, and the right hand side of formula (11.4) belongs to $`𝔥[[t]]`$. It turns out that these conditions determine $`x_i(t)`$ uniquely. Indeed, the right hand side of (11.4) reads:

$$x_i(t)\alpha _i^{}u_i(t)x_i(t)e_i_tx_i(t)e_i.$$

Therefore it belongs to $`𝔥[[t]]`$ if and only if

(11.5)
$$_tx_i(t)=u_i(t)x_i(t).$$

If we write

$$x_i(t)=\underset{n0}{}x_{i,n}t^n,$$

and substitute it into formula (11.5), we obtain that the coefficients $`x_{i,n}`$ satisfy the following recurrence relation:

$$nx_{i,n}=\underset{k+m=n;k<0;m0}{}u_{i,k}x_{i,m},n<0.$$

We find from this formula that

(11.6)
$$\underset{n0}{}x_{i,n}t^n=\mathrm{exp}\left(\underset{m>0}{}\frac{u_{i,m}}{m}t^m\right).$$

Now we obtain that

$$\delta u_j(t)=\alpha _j(\delta 𝐮(t))=a_{ij}x_i(t),$$

where $`(a_{ij})`$ is the Cartan matrix of $`𝔤`$. In other words, the operator $`e_i`$ acts on the algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)=[u_{i,n}]`$ by the derivation

(11.7)
$$\underset{j=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_{ij}\underset{n0}{}x_{i,n}\frac{}{u_{i,n1}},$$

where $`x_{i,n}`$ are given by formula (11.6). Thus, we obtain the following characterization of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ inside $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$.

###### Proposition 11.1.

The image of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)`$ in $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(D)`$ under the Miura map $`\stackrel{~}{\mu }`$ is equal to the intersection of kernels of the operators given by formula (11.7) for $`i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$.

### 11.2. Back to the $`𝒲`$–algebra

Comparing formula (11.7) with formula (9.8) we find that if we replace $`𝐛_{i,n}^{}`$ by $`u_{i,n}`$ in formula (9.8) for the screening operator $`𝐕_i[1]`$, then we obtain formula (11.7). Therefore the intersection of the kernels of the operators (11.7) is equal to the intersection of the kernels of the operators $`𝐕_i[1],i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$. But the latter is the classical $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$. Hence we obtain a commutative diagram

(11.8)
$$\begin{array}{ccc}\pi _0(𝔤)_{\nu _0}& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻)\\ & & & & \\ 𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)\end{array}$$

where the top arrow is an isomorphism of algebras given on generators by the assignment $`𝐛_{i,n}^{}u_{i,n}`$.

In particular, we obtain from the above isomorphisms vertex Poisson algebra structures on $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ (the latter structure may alternatively be defined by means of the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction, as we show below). As before, these structures depend on the choice of inner product $`\nu _0`$, which from now on we will use as a subscript.

The above diagram gives us a geometric interpretation of the screening operators $`𝐕_i[1]`$: they correspond to the action of the generators $`e_i`$ of $`𝔫`$ on $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻)`$.

As a byproduct, we obtain a character formula for $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$, as we promised in Section 9.4. Indeed, the action of $`N`$ on $`\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻)`$ is free, so that

$$H^i(𝔫,\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻))=0,i>0.$$

Therefore the character of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ is equal to the character of the Chavalley complex computing the cohomology of $`𝔫`$ with coefficients in $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻)`$. The latter is equal to the character of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_G(𝔻)`$, i.e., $`_{n>0}(1q^n)^{\mathrm{}}`$, times the character of $`^{}𝔫^{}`$. But since $`\mathrm{deg}e_i=1`$, we obtain that that $`\mathrm{deg}e_\alpha =\alpha (\rho ^{})`$, and so

$$\mathrm{ch}{}_{}{}^{}𝔫_{}^{}=\underset{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}{}(1q^{\alpha (\rho ^{})})=\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\underset{n_i=1}{\overset{d_i}{}}(1q^{n_i}).$$

Thus, we obtain that the character of $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ is given by the right hand side of formula (9.6).

Comparing formulas (11.3) and (9.10), we find that the top isomorphism in (11.8) is $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–equivariant. Since the screening operators commute with the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action, we find that the bottom isomorphism is also $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–equivariant. Thus we obtain the following

###### Theorem 11.2.

The classical $`𝒲`$–algebra $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ is $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–equivariantly isomorphic to the algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)`$ of functions on the space of opers on $`𝔻=\mathrm{Spec}[[t]]`$.

Combining Theorem 11.2 with Theorem 9.8 and Proposition 9.9 we come to the following result, where by $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$ we understand the group of inner automorphisms of $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$.

###### Theorem 11.3.

There is an isomorphism $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}`$ which preserves the vertex Poisson structures and the $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–module structures on both sides. Moreover, it fits into a commutative diagram of vertex Poisson algebras equipped with $`\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$–action:

(11.9)
$$\begin{array}{ccc}\pi _0(𝔤)_{\kappa _0}& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}\\ & & & & \\ 𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}\end{array}$$

where the upper arrow is given on the generators by the assignment $`b_{i,n}u_{i,n}`$.

This theorem is consistent with the previously given descriptions of the transformation properties of the $`b_i(t)`$’s and the $`u_i(t)`$’s. Indeed, according to the computations of Section 5.5, the $`b_i(t)`$’s transform as components of a connection on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ on the standard disc $`𝔻=\mathrm{Spec}[[t]]`$. On the other hand, by formula (10.3), the $`u_i(t)`$’s transform as components of a connection on the dual $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ on $`𝔻`$. The map $`b_i(t)u_i(t)`$ sends the former to the latter.

Given any disc $`D`$, we may consider the twists of our algebras by the $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–torsor $`𝒜ut`$, defined as in Section 4.4. We will mark them by the subscript $`D`$. Then we obtain that

$`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)_D`$ $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(D)_{\nu _0},`$
$`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0,D}`$ $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(D)_{\kappa _0^{}}.`$
### 11.3. The associated graded spaces

In this section we describe the isomorphism $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ of Theorem 11.3 at the level of associated graded spaces. Note that both algebras $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ have natural filtrations.

The filtration on $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is induced by the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt filtration on the universal enveloping algebra $`U(\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c})`$, see Section 9.2. By Theorem 9.6, $`\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})=(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}`$. But

$$\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)=\mathrm{Sym}𝔤((t))/𝔤[[t]]\mathrm{Fun}𝔤^{}[[t]]dt,$$

independently of the choice of coordinate $`t`$ and inner product on $`𝔤`$. In Proposition 9.3 we gave a description of $`(\mathrm{gr}V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))^{𝔤[[t]]}`$. The coordinate-independent version of this description is as follows. Let $`C_𝔤^{}=\mathrm{Spec}(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^G`$ and

$$C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}=\mathrm{\Omega }\underset{^\times }{\times }C_𝔤^{},$$

where $`\mathrm{\Omega }=[[t]]dt`$ is the topological module of differentials on $`𝔻=\mathrm{Spec}[[t]]`$. Note that a choice of homogeneous generators $`P_i,i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}`$, of $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^G`$ gives us an identification

$$C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{\Omega }^{(d_i+1)}.$$

By Proposition 9.3 we have a canonical isomorphism

(11.10)
$$\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}.$$

Next we consider the map

$$\alpha :𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\pi _0(𝔤)$$

which is equal to the restriction of the embedding $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ to $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$. In the proof of Proposition 5.2 we described a filtration on $`W_{0,\kappa _c}`$ compatible with the PBW filtration on $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. This implies that the map $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\pi _0(𝔤)`$ is also compatible with filtrations. According to Section 5.5,

$$\pi _0(𝔤)=\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_𝔻.$$

The space $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_𝔻`$ of connections on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ is an affine space over the vector space $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }=𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }`$. Therefore we find that

(11.11)
$$\mathrm{gr}\pi _0(𝔤)=\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }.$$

We have the Harish-Chandra isomorphism $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤^{})^G(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})^W`$, where $`W`$ is the Weyl group of $`𝔤`$, and hence an embedding $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤^{})^G\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{}`$. This embedding gives rise to an embedding

$$\mathrm{Fun}C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }.$$

It follows from the proof of Proposition 5.2 that this is precisely the map

$$\mathrm{gr}\alpha :\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{gr}\pi _0(𝔤)$$

under the identifications (11.10) and (11.11).

Let us now look at the associated graded of the map

(11.12)
$$\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻).$$

Let $`C_𝔤=(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^G`$ and

$$C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}=\mathrm{\Omega }\underset{^\times }{\times }C_𝔤.$$

Using the canonical form of the opers described in Section 10.2, we obtain an identification

(11.13)
$$\mathrm{gr}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)\mathrm{Fun}C_{{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}$$

(see \[BD1\], §§ 3.1.12–3.1.14, for more details). On the other hand, Proposition 10.4 implies that the space $`\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ is isomorphic to the space of connections $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{})_𝔻`$, which is an affine space over the vector space $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }`$. Therefore

(11.14)
$$\mathrm{gr}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }.$$

We have the Harish-Chandra isomorphism $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^G(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥)^W`$, where $`W`$ is the Weyl group of $`𝔤`$, and hence an embedding $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤)^G\mathrm{Fun}𝔥`$. This embedding gives rise to an embedding

$$\mathrm{Fun}C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{Fun}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }.$$

The explicit construction of the morphism $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho ^{})_𝔻\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ given in the proof of Proposition 10.4 implies that the associated graded of the map (11.12), with respect to the identifications (11.13) and (11.14) is nothing but the homomorphism

$$\mathrm{Fun}C_{{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }.$$

Now recall that our isomorphism $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ fits into the commutative diagram (11.9). All maps in this diagram preserve the filtrations and we have described above the maps of the associated graded induced by the vertical arrows in (11.9). Moreover, we have

$$\mathrm{gr}\pi _0(𝔤)\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{}\mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{gr}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻),$$

and

$$\mathrm{gr}𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}=\mathrm{Fun}C_{{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{gr}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻),$$

where we used the canonical isomorphisms

$$(\mathrm{Fun}𝔤^{})^G=(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})^W=(\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥)^W=(\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)^{{}_{}{}^{L}G}.$$

According to Theorem 11.3, under these identifications the map

$$\mathrm{gr}\pi _0(𝔤)\mathrm{gr}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)$$

induced by the upper vertical arrow in the diagram (11.9) is equal to the the operator $`(1)^{\mathrm{deg}}`$ which takes the value $`(1)^n`$ on elements of degree $`n`$. Therefore we obtain that the same is true for the associated graded of our isomorphism

(11.15)
$$𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻).$$

Thus we obtain the following

###### Theorem 11.4.

The isomorphism (11.15) preserves filtrations. The corresponding associated graded spaces are both isomorphic to $`\mathrm{Fun}C_{𝔤,\mathrm{\Omega }}^{}`$. The corresponding isomorphism of the associated graded spaces is equal to $`(1)^{\mathrm{deg}}`$.

## 12. The center of the completed universal enveloping algebra of $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$

Let $`U_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ be the quotient of the universal enveloping algebra $`U(\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa )`$ of $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ by the ideal generated by $`(K1)`$. Define its completion $`\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ as follows:

$$\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})=\underset{}{lim}U_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})/U_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})(𝔤t^N[[t]]).$$

It is clear that $`\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ is a topological algebra which acts on all smooth representations of $`\widehat{𝔤}_\kappa `$ (i.e., such that any vector is annihilated by $`𝔤t^N[[t]]`$ for sufficiently large $`N`$), on which $`K`$ acts as the identity. In this section we describe the center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ of $`\stackrel{~}{U}_{\kappa _c}(\widehat{𝔤})`$ and show that it is isomorphic to the topological algebra of functions on the space $`\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the punctured standard disc $`𝔻`$.

### 12.1. Enveloping algebra of a vertex algebra

Recall from \[FB\], § 3.5, that to any vertex algebra $`V`$ we may attach a topological Lie algebra

$$U(V)=(V((t)))/\mathrm{Im}(T1+1_t).$$

It is topologically spanned by elements $`A_{[n]}=At^n,AV,n`$, with the commutation relations

(12.1)
$$[A_{[m]},B_{[k]}]=\underset{n0}{}\left(\begin{array}{c}m\\ n\end{array}\right)(A_{(n)}B)_{[m+kn]}.$$

Now let $`V=V_\kappa (𝔤)`$. Then each $`AV_\kappa (𝔤)`$ is a linear combination of monomials in $`J_n^a,n<0`$, applied to the vacuum vector. We construct a linear map $`U(V_\kappa (𝔤))\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ sending $`(J_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{n_m}^{a_m}v_\kappa )_{[k]}`$ to

$$\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{Res}_{z=0}Y(J_{n_1}^{a_1}\mathrm{}J_{n_m}^{a_m}v_\kappa ,z)z^kdz\hfill \\ \hfill =\frac{1}{(n_11)!}\mathrm{}\frac{1}{(n_m1)!}\mathrm{Res}_{z=0}:_z^{n_11}J^{a_1}(z)\mathrm{}_z^{n_m1}J^{a_m}(z):z^kdz,\end{array}$$

where as before $`J^a(z)=_nJ_n^az^{n1}`$. The commutation relations between Fourier coefficients of vertex operators (see \[FB\], § 3.3.6) imply that this map is a homomorphism of Lie algebras. This homomorphism is clearly injective. Moreover, the universal enveloping algebra of $`U(V_\kappa (𝔤))`$ also injects into $`\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ and its completion is equal to $`\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$. This motivates the following general construction of the enveloping algebra of a vertex algebra.

Let $`V`$ be a vertex algebra and $`U(V)`$ the corresponding Lie algebra defined as above. Denote by $`U(U(V))`$ the universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra $`U(V)`$. Define its completion

$$\stackrel{~}{U}(U(V))=\underset{}{lim}U(U(V))/I_N,$$

where $`I_N`$ is the left ideal generated by $`A_{[n]},AV,n>N`$. Then $`\stackrel{~}{U}(V)`$ is by definition the quotient of $`\stackrel{~}{U}(U(V))`$ by the two-sided ideal generated by the Fourier coefficients of the series

$$Y[A_{(1)}B,z]:Y[A,z]Y[B,w]:,A,BV,$$

where $`Y[A,z]=_nA_{[n]}z^{n1}`$, and the normal ordering is defined in the same way as for the vertex operators $`Y(A,z)`$. In the case when $`V=V_\kappa (𝔤)`$, we have $`\stackrel{~}{U}(V_\kappa (𝔤))=\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$.

Clearly, the assignment $`V\stackrel{~}{U}(V)`$ gives rise to a functor from the category of vertex algebras to the category of topological associative algebras.

###### Remark 12.1.

A. Beilinson and V. Drinfeld give a more conceptual construction of the topological algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(V)`$ in \[BD1\], § 3.7.1–3.7.3. Namely, they define $`\stackrel{~}{U}(V)`$ as the space of horizontal sections of the left $`𝒟`$–module $`𝒱_{𝔻^\times }`$ on the punctured disc $`𝔻^\times `$ defined by a generalization of the construction given in Section 4.4.∎

### 12.2. From $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ to the center

Let $`B𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)`$. Then $`𝔤[[t]]B=0`$ and formula (12.1) for the commutation relations implies that all Fourier coefficients $`B_{[k]}`$ of the vertex operator $`Y(B,z)`$ commute with the entire affine algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\kappa _c}`$. Thus we obtain an injective map $`U(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$. Moreover, applying the enveloping algebra functor $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ to $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})`$ we obtain an injective homomorphism $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$.

The algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))`$ is a completion of a polynomial algebra. Indeed, recall from Section 9.4 that

$$𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})=[S_i^{(n)}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n0},$$

where $`S_i^{(n)}=T^nS_i`$. Let $`S_{i,[n]},n`$, be the Fourier coefficients of the vertex operator $`Y(S_i,z)`$, considered as elements of $`\stackrel{~}{U}_{\kappa _c}(\widehat{𝔤})`$. Then $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))`$ is the completion of the polynomial algebra $`[S_{i,[n]}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n}`$ with respect to the topology in which the basis of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ is formed by the ideals generated by $`S_{i,[n]},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n>N`$, for $`N`$. Thus, the completed polynomial algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))`$ embeds into the center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ of $`\stackrel{~}{U}_{\kappa _c}(\widehat{𝔤})`$.

###### Proposition 12.2.

$`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is equal to $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤}))`$.

The proof is given in \[BD1\], Theorem 3.7.7. It is based on the description of the associated graded of $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ with respect to the PBW filtration, which is obtained by an argument similar to the one used in the proof of Proposition 9.3. We obtain then that the associated graded of $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is equal to the completed polynomial algebra in $`P_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n`$, which are the Fourier coefficients of the series $`P_i(J^a(z))`$ (see Section 9.2 for the definition of the $`P_i`$’s). But by construction $`P_{i,n}`$ is the symbol of $`S_{i,[n1]}`$. Therefore $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ cannot contain anything but elements of the completed polynomial algebra in the $`S_{i,[n]}`$’s, hence the result.

### 12.3. Identification of the center with $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$

Recall the $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–equivariant isomorphism of vertex Poisson algebras

(12.2)
$$𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}$$

established in Theorem 11.3. For a vertex Poisson algebra $`P`$, the space $`U(P)`$ (also denoted by $`\mathrm{Lie}(P)`$) has a natural Lie algebra structure (see \[FB\], § 15.1.7), and therefore the commutative algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(P)`$ carries a Poisson algebra structure. In particular, $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0})`$ is a Poisson algebra. Under the identification $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0})Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ the corresponding Poisson structure on $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$ may be described as follows. Consider $`\stackrel{~}{U}_\kappa (\widehat{𝔤})`$ as the one-parameter family $`A_ϵ`$ of associative algebras depending on the parameter $`ϵ=(\kappa \kappa _c)/\kappa _0`$. Then $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ is the center of $`A_0`$. Given $`x,yZ(\widehat{𝔤})`$, let $`\stackrel{~}{x},\stackrel{~}{y}`$ be their liftings to $`A_ϵ`$. Then the Poisson bracket $`\{x,y\}`$ is defined as the $`ϵ`$–linear term in the commutator $`[\stackrel{~}{x},\stackrel{~}{y}]`$ considered as a function of $`ϵ`$ (it is independent of the choice of the liftings). The fact that this is indeed a Poisson structure was observed by V. Drinfeld following the work \[H\] of T. Hayashi. We denote the center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ equipped with this Poisson structure by $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$.

Likewise, the vertex Poisson algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}`$ gives rise to a topological Poisson algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}})`$. Then the isomorphism (12.2) gives rise to an isomorphism of Poisson algebras

$$Z(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}).$$

Moreover, this isomorphism is $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–equivariant.

###### Lemma 12.3.

The algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}})`$ is canonically isomorphic to the topological algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ of functions on the space of $`{}_{}{}^{L}G`$–opers on the punctured disc $`𝔻^\times =\mathrm{Spec}((t))`$.

###### Proof.

As explained in Section 11.1, the algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)`$ is isomorphic to the polynomial algebra $`[v_{i,n_i}]_{i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n_i<d_i}`$, where $`v_{i,n}`$ are the coefficients of the oper connection

(12.3)
$$=_t+p_1+\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}v_i(t)𝐜_i,$$

where $`v_i(t)=_{n<d_i}v_{i,n}t^{nd_i1}`$. Then the above construction of the functor $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ implies that the algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}})`$ is the completion of the polynomial algebra in the variables $`v_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n`$, with respect to the topology in which the base of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ is formed by the ideals generated by $`v_{i,n},n<N`$. But this is precisely the algebra of functions on the space of opers of the form (12.3), where $`v_i(t)=_nv_{i,n}t^{nd_i1}((t))`$. ∎

Since $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻)_{\kappa _0^{}}`$ is a vertex Poisson algebra, we obtain that $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ is a Poisson algebra. We will use the subscript $`\kappa _0^{}`$ to indicate the dependence of this Poisson structure on the inner product $`\kappa _0^{}`$ on $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤`$. We will give another definition of this Poisson structure in the next section. Thus we obtain the following result which was originally conjectured by V. Drinfeld.

###### Theorem 12.4.

The center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})_{\kappa _0}`$ is isomorphic, as a Poisson algebra, to the Poisson algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_{\kappa _0^{}}`$. Moreover, this isomorphism is $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$–equivariant.

### 12.4. The Poisson structure on $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻^\times )_{\nu _0}`$

The Poisson algebra of functions on the space $`\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻^\times )`$ of opers on the punctured disc $`𝔻^\times `$ may be obtained by hamiltonian reduction called the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction \[DS\].

We start with the Poisson manifold $`\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤`$ of connections on the trivial $`G`$–bundle on $`𝔻^\times `$, i.e., operators of the form $`=_t+A(t)`$, where $`A(t)𝔤((t))`$. The Poisson structure on this manifold comes from its identification with a hyperplane in the dual space to the affine Kac–Moody algebra $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$. Indeed, the topological dual space to $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$ may be identified with the space of all $`\lambda `$–connections on the trivial bundle on $`𝔻^\times `$, see \[FB\], § 15.4. Namely, we split $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}=𝔤((t))K`$ as a vector space. Then a $`\lambda `$–connection $`_t+A(t)`$ gives rise to a linear functional on $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$ which takes value

$$\lambda b+\mathrm{Res}\nu _0(A(t),B(t))dt$$

on $`(B(t)+bK)𝔤((t))K=\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$. Note that under this identification the action of $`\mathrm{Aut}𝒪`$ by changes of coordinates and the coadjoint (resp., gauge) action of $`G((t))`$ on the space of $`\lambda `$–connections (resp., the dual space to $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$) agree. The space $`\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤`$ is now identified with the hyperplane in $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}^{}`$ which consists of those functionals which take value $`1`$ on the central element $`K`$.

The dual space $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}^{}`$ carries a canonical Poisson structure called the Kirillov–Kostant structure (see, e.g., \[FB\], § 15.4.1 for more details). Because $`K`$ is a central element, this Poisson structure restricts to the hyperplane which we have identified with $`\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤`$. Therefore we obtain a Poisson structure on the $`\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤`$.

The group $`N((t))`$ acts on $`\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤`$ by gauge transformations. This action corresponds to the coadjoint action of the $`N((t))`$ on $`\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}^{}`$ and is hamiltonian, the moment map being the surjection $`m:\mathrm{Conn}_𝔤𝔫((t))^{}`$ dual to the embedding $`𝔫((t))\widehat{𝔤}_{\nu _0}`$. We pick a one–point coadjoint $`N((t))`$–orbit in $`𝔫((t))^{}`$ represented by the linear functional $`\psi `$ which is equal to the composition $`𝔫((t))𝔫/[𝔫,𝔫]((t))=_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}𝔤_{\alpha _i}((t))`$ and the functional

$$(x_i(t))_{i=1}^{\mathrm{}}\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{Res}x_i(t)dt.$$

One shows in the same way as in the proof of Lemma 10.2 that the action of $`N((t))`$ on $`m^1(\psi )`$ is free. Moreover, the quotient $`m^1(\psi )/N((t))`$, which is the Poisson reduced manifold, is canonically identified with the space of $`G`$–opers on $`𝔻^\times `$. Therefore we obtain a Poisson structure on the topological algebra of functions $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻^\times )`$. On the other hand we have defined a Poisson algebra structure on $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻^\times )_{\nu _0}`$ using its identification with $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)_{\nu _0})`$, the isomorphism $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻)_{\nu _0}𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)_{\nu _0}`$ obtained in Theorem 11.2, and the vertex Poisson algebra structure on $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$.

###### Lemma 12.5.

The two Poisson structures coincide.

###### Proof.

In \[FB\], §§ 14.4 and 15.8, we defined a complex $`C_{\mathrm{}}^{}(𝔤)`$ and showed that its $`0`$th cohomology is a vertex Poisson algebra canonically isomorphic to $`𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤)`$ (and all other cohomologies vanish). It is clear from the construction that if we apply the functor $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ to the complex $`C_{\mathrm{}}^{}(𝔤)`$ we obtain the BRST complex of the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction described above. Since the functor $`\stackrel{~}{U}`$ is left exact, we obtain that the $`0`$th cohomology of $`\stackrel{~}{U}(C_{\mathrm{}}^{}(𝔤))`$, i.e., the Poisson algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_G(𝔻^\times )_{\nu _0}`$ is isomorphic to the Poisson algebra $`\stackrel{~}{U}(𝐖_{\nu _0}(𝔤))`$ which is what we needed to prove. ∎

### 12.5. The Miura transformation as the Harish-Chandra homomorphism

The Harish-Chandra homomorphism is the homomorphism from the center $`Z(𝔤)`$ of $`U(𝔤)`$, where $`𝔤`$ is a simple Lie algebra to the algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{}`$ of polynomials on $`𝔥^{}`$. It identifies $`Z(𝔤)`$ with the algebra $`(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})_\rho ^W`$ of $`W`$–invariant polynomials on $`𝔥^{}`$ shifted by $`\rho 𝔥^{}`$. To construct this homomorphism, one needs to assign a central character to each $`\lambda 𝔥^{}`$. This central character is just the character of the center on the Verma module $`M_\lambda `$.

In the affine case, we construct a similar homomorphism from the center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ of $`\stackrel{~}{U}_{\kappa _c}(\widehat{𝔤})`$ to the topological algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }`$ of functions on the space of connections on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ on $`𝔻^\times `$. According Proposition 5.5, points of $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }`$ parameterize Wakimoto modules of critical level. Thus, for each $`\chi \mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }`$ we have the Wakimoto module $`W_\chi `$ of critical level. The following theorem describes the affine analogue of the Harish-Chandra homomorphism.

Note that $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }`$ is the completion of the polynomial algebra in $`b_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n`$, with respect to the topology in which the base of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ is formed by the ideals generated by $`b_{i,n},n<N`$. In the same way as in the proof of Lemma 12.3 we show that it is isomorphic to $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_𝔻)`$. We also define the topological algebra $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ as $`\stackrel{~}{U}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times ))`$. It is the completion of the polynomial algebra in $`u_{i,n},i=1,\mathrm{},\mathrm{};n`$, with respect to the topology in which the base of open neighborhoods of $`0`$ is formed by the ideals generated by $`u_{i,n},n<N`$. The isomorphism of Proposition 10.4 gives rise to an isomorphism of the topological algebras

$$\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times ),$$

under which $`b_{i,n}u_{i,n}`$.

###### Theorem 12.6.

The center $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ acts by a central character on each Wakimoto module $`W_\chi `$. The corresponding homomorphism of algebras $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }`$ fits into a commutative diagram

(12.4)
$$\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_{𝔻^\times }& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )\\ & & & & \\ Z(\widehat{𝔤})& \stackrel{}{}& \mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )\end{array}$$

where the upper arrow is given on the generators by the assignment $`b_{i,n}u_{i,n}`$.

###### Proof.

The action of $`U(V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤))`$, and hence of $`\stackrel{~}{U}_{\kappa _c}(\widehat{𝔤})`$, on $`W_\chi `$ is obtained through the homomorphism of vertex algebra $`V_{\kappa _c}(𝔤)M_𝔤\pi _0(𝔤)`$. In particular, the action of $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ on $`W_\chi `$ is obtained through the homomorphism of commutative vertex algebras $`𝔷(\widehat{𝔤})\pi _0(𝔤)`$. But $`\pi _0(𝔤)=\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_𝔻`$. Therefore the statement of the theorem follows from Theorem 11.3 by applying the functor of enveloping algebras $`V\stackrel{~}{U}(V)`$ introduced in Section 12.1. ∎

Thus, we see that the affine analogue of the Harish-Chandra homomorphism is nothing but the Miura transformation for the Langlands dual group. In particular, its image (which in the finite-dimensional case consists of all $`W`$–invariant polynomials) is equal to the intersection of the kernels of the screening operators.

### 12.6. Compatibility with the finite-dimensional Harish-Chandra homomorphism

We have a natural $``$–gradation on $`Z(\widehat{𝔤})`$ by the operator $`L_0=t_t\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$. Let us denote by the upper script $`0`$ the degree $`0`$ part and by the upper script $`<0`$ be the span of all elements of negative degrees in any $``$–graded object. Consider the Wakimoto modules $`W_\chi `$, where $`\chi =_t+\lambda /t,\lambda 𝔥^{}`$. These Wakimoto modules are $``$–graded, with the degree $`0`$ part $`W_\chi ^0`$ being the subspace $`[a_{\alpha ,0}^{}|0]_{\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_+}M_𝔤W_\chi `$. The Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ acts on this space and it follows immediately from our construction of Wakimoto modules that as a $`𝔤`$–module, $`W_\chi ^0`$ is isomorphic to the contragredient Verma module $`M_\lambda ^{}`$. The algebra

$$Z^{}=Z(\widehat{𝔤})^0/(Z(\widehat{𝔤})Z(\widehat{𝔤})^{<0})^0$$

naturally acts on $`W_\chi ^0`$ and commutes with $`𝔤`$. Therefore varying $`\lambda 𝔥^{}`$ we obtain a homomorphism

(12.5)
$$Z^{}(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})_\rho ^W,$$

which factors through the Harish-Chandra homomorphism $`Z(𝔤)(\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})_\rho ^W`$.

Let $`\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ be the subvariety of opers with regular singularity in $`\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$, whose points are $`B((t))`$–gauge equivalence classes of operators of the form

(12.6)
$$_t+\frac{1}{t}\left(p_1+𝐯(t)\right),𝐯(t){}_{}{}^{L}𝔟[[t]]$$

(see \[BD1\], § 3.8.8).

Likewise we introduce the subvariety $`\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ of Miura opers with regular singularity in $`\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$, whose points are operators of the form

(12.7)
$$_t+p_1+\frac{1}{t}𝐮(t),𝐮(t){}_{}{}^{L}𝔥[[t]].$$

Thus, $`\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ is identified with the space $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_1`$ of connections with regular singularity on the $`{}_{}{}^{L}H`$–bundle $`\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho `$ on $`𝔻`$. The Miura transformation then restricts to a morphism

$$\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1.$$

We have a $``$–gradation on both $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )`$ induced by the action of the operator $`L_0=t_t\mathrm{Der}𝒪`$. This gradation descends to $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ and $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{MOp}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ where it takes only non-negative values.

Define residue maps

$`\mathrm{Res}:`$ $`\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1\mathrm{Spec}(\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)^{{}_{}{}^{L}G},`$
$`\mathrm{Res}:`$ $`\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_1)\mathrm{Spec}^L𝔥,`$
sending an oper (12.6) to $`p_1+𝐯(0)`$ (resp., a Miura oper (12.7) to $`𝐮(0)`$). They give rise to homomorphisms

$`(\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)^{{}_{}{}^{L}G}`$ $`(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1)^0,`$
$`\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥`$ $`(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_1)^0.`$
###### Lemma 12.7.

These homomorphisms are isomorphisms and they fit into the commutative diagram

$$\begin{array}{ccc}(\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥)& \stackrel{}{}& (\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Conn}(\mathrm{\Omega }^\rho )_1)^0\\ & & & & \\ (\mathrm{Fun}{}_{}{}^{L}𝔤)^{{}_{}{}^{L}G}& \stackrel{}{}& (\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1)^0\end{array}$$

where the left vertical arrow is the Harish-Chandra homomorphism shifted by $`\rho `$.

###### Proof.

Note that

$$_t+p_1+\frac{1}{t}𝐮(t)=\rho (t)\left(_t+\frac{p_1}{t}+\frac{1}{t}(𝐮(t)\rho )\right)\rho (t)^1.$$

This implies that the above diagram is commutative. It is clear from the definition that the upper horizontal arrow is an isomorphism. To see that the lower horizontal arrow is an isomorphism we pass to the associated graded spaces where it becomes obvious (see Section 9.3). ∎

Since the ideal of $`\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1`$ in $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )^{<0}`$ we obtain that the isomorphism of Theorem 12.4 gives rise to an isomorphism of algebras

(12.8)
$$Z^{}(\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1)^0.$$

Then Lemma 12.7 implies that the map (12.5) is an isomorphism. Recall that $`{}_{}{}^{L}𝔥=𝔥^{}`$. Now Theorem 12.6 implies the following

###### Proposition 12.8.

There is a commutative diagram of isomorphisms

$$\begin{array}{ccc}Z^{}& \stackrel{}{}& (\mathrm{Fun}\mathrm{Op}_{{}_{}{}^{L}G}(𝔻^\times )_1)^0\\ & & & & \\ (\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})_\rho ^W& \stackrel{}{}& (\mathrm{Fun}𝔥^{})_\rho ^W\end{array}$$

where the lower horizontal arrow is given by $`ff^{}`$, $`f^{}(\lambda +\rho )=f(\lambda \rho )`$.

This is the statement of Theorem 3.8.17 of \[BD1\].