Category O for quantum groups

Abstract

In this paper we study of the BGG-categories $\mathcal O_q$ associated to quantum groups. We prove that many properties of the ordinary BGG-category $\mathcal O$ for a semisimple complex Lie algebra carry over to the quantum case. Of particular interest is the case when $q$ is a complex root of unity. Here we prove a tensor decomposition for both simple modules, projective modules, and indecomposable tilting modules. Using the known Kazhdan-Lusztig conjectures for $\mathcal O$ and for finite dimensional $U_q$-modules we are able to determine all irreducible characters as well as the characters of all indecomposable tilting modules in $\mathcal O_q$. As a consequence of our study of the root of unity case we deduce that the non-root of unity case (including the generic case) behaves like $\mathcal O$.