Dirac Operators, Dirac Cohomology and Unitarity for $A(m\vert n)$

Abstract

Dirac operators and Dirac cohomology for Lie superalgebras of Riemannian type, introduced by Huang and Pand\v{z}i\'{c}, provide an effective tool for the study of unitarizable supermodules. In this article, we study these objects for Lie superalgebras of type $A$ and relate them systematically to unitarity. In the first part, we establish the basic structure of the theory in this setting. We relate unitarity to the Dirac operator, derive the corresponding Dirac inequality, and show that Dirac cohomology determines unitarizable supermodules. We also determine explicitly the Dirac cohomology of unitarizable simple supermodules. In the second part, we turn to applications. We obtain a new characterization of unitarity, establish a relation with Kostant's cohomology, derive a formula for formal characters, and introduce a Dirac index.