Centralizers of the superalgebra osp(1|2): the Brauer algebra as a quotient of the Bannai-Ito algebra

Abstract

We provide an explicit isomorphism between a quotient of the Bannai--Ito algebra and the Brauer algebra. We clarify also the connection with the action of the Lie superalgebra osp(1|2) on the threefold tensor product of its fundamental representation. Finally, a conjecture is proposed to describe the centralizer of osp(1|2) acting on three copies of an arbitrary finite irreducible representation in terms of a quotient of the Bannai-Ito algebra.

Dedicated to the memory of Peter G. O. Freund