EXTREMAL RAYS IN THE HERMITIAN EIGENVALUE PROBLEM FOR ARBITRARY TYPES

Abstract

The Hermitian eigenvalue problem asks for the possible eigenvalues of a sum of Hermitian matrices given the eigenvalues of the summands. This is a problem about the Lie algebra of the maximal compact subgroup of G = SL(n). There is a polyhedral cone (the \eigencone) determining the possible answers to the problem. These eigencones can be defined for arbitrary semisimple groups G, and also control the (suitably stabilized) problem of existence of non-zero invariants in tensor products of irreducible representations of G. We give a description of the extremal rays of the eigencones for arbitrary semisimple groups G by first observing that extremal rays lie on regular facets, and then classifying extremal rays on an arbitrary regular face. Explicit formulas are given for some extremal rays, which have an explicit geometric meaning as cycle classes of interesting loci, on an arbitrary regular face. The remaining extremal rays on that face are understood by a geometric process we introduce, and explicate numerically, called induction from Levi subgroups. Several numerical examples are given. The main results, and methods, of this paper generalize [B3] which handled the case of G = SL(n).