Simple graded commutative algebras

Abstract

We study the notion of $\Gamma$-graded commutative algebra for an arbitrary abelian group $\Gamma$. The main examples are the Clifford algebras already treated by Albuquerque and Majid. We prove that the Clifford algebras are the only simple finite-dimensional associative graded commutative algebras over $\mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{C}$. Our approach also leads to non-associative graded commutative algebras extending the Clifford algebras.