Semi-infinite cohomology and Hecke algebras

This paper provides a homological algebraic foundation for generalizations of classical Hecke algebras introduced in math.QA/9805134. These new Hecke algebras are associated to triples of the form (A,B,e), where A is an associative algebra containing subalgebra B with character e. These algebras are connected with cohomology of associative algebras in the sense that for every left A-module V and right A-module W the Hecke algebra associated to triple (A,B,e) naturally acts in the B-cohomology and B-homology spaces of V and W, respectively. We also introduce the semi-infinite cohomology functor for associative algebras and define modifications of Hecke algebras acting in semi-infinite cohomology spaces. We call these algebras semi-infinite Hecke algebras. As an example we realize the W-algebra W(g) associated to a complex semisimple Lie algebra g as a semi-infinite Hecke algebra. Using this realization we explicitly calculate the algebra W(g) avoiding the bosonization technique used by Feigin and Frenkel.