Nazarov-Wenzl algebras, coideal subalgebras and categorified skew Howe duality

Abstract

We describe how certain cyclotomic Nazarov-Wenzl algebras occur as endomorphism rings of projective modules in a parabolic version of BGG category O of type $D$. Furthermore we study a family of subalgebras of these endomorphism rings which exhibit similar behaviour to the family of Brauer algebras even when they are not semisimple. The translation functors on this parabolic category O are studied and proven to yield a categorification of a coideal subalgebra of the general linear Lie algebra. Finally this is put into the context of categorifying skew Howe duality for these subalgebras.

arXiv commentRevised version, added details, 71 pages, to appear in Adv. Math