Capability of nilpotent Lie algebras of small dimension

Abstract

Given a nilpotent Lie algebra $L$ of dimension $\le 6$ on an arbitrary field of characteristic $\neq 2$, we show a direct method which allows us to detect the capability of $L$ via computations on the size of its nonabelian exterior square $L \wedge L$. For dimensions higher than $ 6$, we show a result of general nature, based on the evidences of the low dimensional case, focusing on generalized Heisenberg algebras. Indeed we detect the capability of $L \wedge L$ via the size of the Schur multiplier $M(L/Z^\wedge(L))$ of $L/Z^\wedge(L)$, where $Z^\wedge(L)$ denotes the exterior center of $L$.