Generators, projectors, and the Jones-Wenzl algebra

Abstract: We investigate a subalgebra of the Temperley-Lieb algebra called the Jones-Wenzl algebra, which is obtained by action of certain Jones-Wenzl projectors. This algebra arises naturally in applications to conformal field theory and statistical physics. It is also the commutant (centralizer) algebra of the Hopf algebra $U_q(\mathfrak{sl}_2)$ on its type-one modules - this fact is a generalization of the $q$-Schur-Weyl duality of Jimbo. In this article, we find two minimal generating sets for the Jones-Wenzl algebra. In special cases, we also find all of the independent relations satisfied by these generators.