A new approach to the construction of subsystems of complex root systems

Dynkin has shown how subsystems of real root systems may be constructed. As the concept of subsystems of complex root systems is not as well developed as in the real case, in this paper we give an algorithm to classify the proper subsystems of complex proper root systems. Furthermore, as an application of this algorithm, we determine the proper subsystems of imprimitive complex proper root systems. These proper subsystems are useful in giving combinatorial constructions of irreducible representations of properly generated finite complex reflection groups.