S T U D E N T M AT H E M AT I C A L L I B R A RY

Volume 79

Matrix Groups
for Undergraduates
Second Edition
Kristopher Tapp
 https://doi.org/10.1090//stml/079

Matrix Groups
for Undergraduates
Second Edition
S T U D E N T M AT H E M AT I C A L L I B R A RY
Volume 79

Matrix Groups
for Undergraduates
Second Edition

Kristopher Tapp

Providence, Rhode Island

 Editorial Board
Satyan L. Devadoss John Stillwell (Chair)
Erica Flapan Serge Tabachnikov

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 20-02, 20G20;

Secondary 20C05, 22E15.

For additional information and updates on this book, visit

www.ams.org/bookpages/stml-79

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tapp, Kristopher, 1971–
Title: Matrix groups for undergraduates / Kristopher Tapp.
Description: Second edition. — Providence, Rhode Island : American Mathe-
matical Society, [2016] — Series: Student mathematical library ; volume 79 —
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015038141 — ISBN 9781470427221 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Matrix groups. — Linear algebraic groups. — Compact groups.
— Lie groups. — AMS: Group theory and generalizations – Research exposition
(monographs, survey articles). msc — Group theory and generalizations – Linear
algebraic groups and related topics – Linear algebraic groups over the reals, the
complexes, the quaternions. msc — Group theory and generalizations – Repre-
sentation theory of groups – Group rings of finite groups and their modules. msc
— Topological groups, Lie groups – Lie groups – General properties and structure
of real Lie groups. msc
Classification: LCC QA184.2 .T37 2016 — DDC 512/.2–dc23 LC record available
at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038141

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Contents

Why study matrix groups? 1

Chapter 1. Matrices 5
§1. Rigid motions of the sphere: a motivating example 5
§2. Fields and skew-fields 7
§3. The quaternions 8
§4. Matrix operations 11
§5. Matrices as linear transformations 15
§6. The general linear groups 17
§7. Change of basis via conjugation 18
§8. Exercises 20

Chapter 2. All matrix groups are real matrix groups 23

§1. Complex matrices as real matrices 24
§2. Quaternionic matrices as complex matrices 28
§3. Restricting to the general linear groups 30
§4. Exercises 31

Chapter 3. The orthogonal groups 33

§1. The standard inner product on K n
33
§2. Several characterizations of the orthogonal groups 36

v
vi Contents

§3. The special orthogonal groups 39

§4. Low dimensional orthogonal groups 40
§5. Orthogonal matrices and isometries 41
§6. The isometry group of Euclidean space 43
§7. Symmetry groups 45
§8. Exercises 48

Chapter 4. The topology of matrix groups 53

§1. Open and closed sets and limit points 54
§2. Continuity 59
§3. Path-connected sets 61
§4. Compact sets 62
§5. Definition and examples of matrix groups 64
§6. Exercises 66

Chapter 5. Lie algebras 69

§1. The Lie algebra is a subspace 70
§2. Some examples of Lie algebras 72
§3. Lie algebra vectors as vector fields 75
§4. The Lie algebras of the orthogonal groups 77
§5. Exercises 79

Chapter 6. Matrix exponentiation 81

§1. Series in K 81
§2. Series in Mn (K) 84
§3. The best path in a matrix group 86
§4. Properties of the exponential map 88
§5. Exercises 92

Chapter 7. Matrix groups are manifolds 95

§1. Analysis background 96
§2. Proof of part (1) of Theorem 7.1 100
§3. Proof of part (2) of Theorem 7.1 102
Contents vii

§4. Manifolds 105

§5. More about manifolds 108
§6. Exercises 112

Chapter 8. The Lie bracket 117

§1. The Lie bracket 117
§2. The adjoint representation 121
§3. Example: the adjoint representation for SO(3) 124
§4. The adjoint representation for compact matrix groups 125
§5. Global conclusions 128
§6. The double cover Sp(1) → SO(3) 130
§7. Other double covers 133
§8. Exercises 135

Chapter 9. Maximal tori 139

§1. Several characterizations of a torus 140
§2. The standard maximal torus and center of SO(n),
SU (n), U (n) and Sp(n) 144
§3. Conjugates of a maximal torus 149
§4. The Lie algebra of a maximal torus 156
§5. The shape of SO(3) 157
§6. The rank of a compact matrix group 159
§7. Exercises 161

Chapter 10. Homogeneous manifolds 163

§1. Generalized manifolds 163
§2. The projective spaces 169
§3. Coset spaces are manifolds 172
§4. Group actions 175
§5. Homogeneous manifolds 177
§6. Riemannian manifolds 182
§7. Lie groups 187
§8. Exercises 192
viii Contents

Chapter 11. Roots 197

§1. The structure of su(3) 198
§2. The structure of g = su(n) 201
§3. An invariant decomposition of g 204
§4. The definition of roots and dual roots 206
§5. The bracket of two root spaces 210
§6. The structure of so(2n) 212
§7. The structure of so(2n + 1) 214
§8. The structure of sp(n) 215
§9. The Weyl group 216
§10. Towards the classification theorem 221
§11. Complexified Lie algebras 225
§12. Exercises 230

Bibliography 235

Index 237
Bibliography

1. A. Baker, Matrix Groups: An Introduction to Lie Group Theory,

Springer, 2002.
2. I. Cornfeld, S. Fomin, Ya. Sinai, Ergodic Theory, Springer-Verlag, 1982.
3. M. Curtis, Matrix Groups, Second Edition, Springer, 1975, 1984.
4. G. Frobenius, Journal für die Reine und Angewandte Mathematik, 1878,
Vol. 84, 1-63.
5. J. Gallian, Contemporary Abstract Algebra, Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002.
6. F. Goodman, Algebra: Abstract and Concrete Stressing Symmetry, Pren-
tice Hall, 2003.
7. B. Hall, Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Representations, Springer, 2003.
8. F. R. Harvey, Spinors and Calibrations, Perspectives in Mathematics,
Vol. 9, Academic Press, 1990.
9. S. Helgason, Differential Geometry, Lie Groups, and Symmetric Spaces,
American Mathematical Society, 2001.
10. R. Howe, Very basic Lie theory, American Math. Monthly 90 (1983),
600-623; Correction, Amer. Math. Monthly 91 (1984), 247.
11. W. Rossmann, Lie Groups: An Introduction Through Linear Groups,
Oxford Science Publications, 2002.
12. M. Spivak, A Comprehensive Introduction to Differential Geometry,
Volume 1, Publish or Perish, 1979.
13. F. Warner, Foundations of Differentiable Manifolds and Lie Groups,
Springer-Verlag, 1983.
14. J. Weeks, The Poincaré dodecahedral space and the mystery of the miss-
ing fluctuations, Notices of the AMS 51 (2004), number 6, 610-619.

235
Index

action, 175 complex numbers, C, 8

isometric, 186 complex root, 228
adjoint representation, 122 complex structure, 27
affine group, Affn (K), 49 complex-linear real matrices, 26
alternating group, 46 complexification of a Lie algebra,
atlas, 164 226
conjugate of a quaternion, 10
ball, 54 conjugate-transpose of a matrix,
base of a root system, 223 A∗ , 36
bi-invariant metric, 191 continuous, 59
block-diagonal matrix, 145 convergence
boundary point, 54 absolute, 82
bounded, 62 of a sequence in Rm , 57
of a series in K, 81
of a series in Mn (K), 84
Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff series,
Cramer’s rule, 18
129
curve in a manifold, 166
Cauchy sequence, 57
center, 148, 232
central subgroup, 136 dense, 58
centralizer, 231 derivative
chain rule directional, 96
for Euclidean space, 98 of a function between manifolds,
for manifolds, 110 109, 167
change of basis matrix, 19 of a function from Rm to Rn , 97
clopen – both open and closed, 61 partial, 96
closed determinant
in a set, 58 of a quaternionic matrix, 31
set in Rm , 55 of a real or complex matrix, 13
commutative diagram, 25 diffeomorphic, 105, 168
compact, 62 diffeomorphism

237
238 Index

local, 115, 130 between Riemannian manifolds,

differentiable 184
function between manifolds, 166 group of Euclidean space,
dihedral group, 45 Isom(Rn ), 43
dimension of Rn , 41
of a manifold, 106
of a matrix group, 72 Jacobi identity, 119
discrete subgroup, 142 Lie algebra, 70
distance function on Rm , 54 Lie algebra homomorphism, 119
division algebra, 11 Lie algebra isomorphism, 119
double cover Lie bracket, 118
Sp(1) → SO(3), 130 Lie group, 187
Sp(1) × Sp(1) → SO(4), 133 limit point, 57
definition of, 130 linear function, 15
others, 133 log, 103
dual root, 208
Dynkin diagram, 225 manifold
embedded, 106
eigenvalue, 151 generalized, 164
eigenvector, 151 matrix exponentiation, eA , 85
equivariant, 179 matrix group, definition of, 65
Euclidean space, Rm , 53
exceptional groups, 189 Nash Embedding Theorem, 184
neighborhood, 58
field, 7 norm
free action, 177 of a quaternion, 10
Frobenius, 10 of a vector in K n , 34
fundamental domain, 141 normalizer, 162, 217

general linear groups, GLn (K), 17 octonians, 11

graph of a function, 115 one-parameter group, 91
Grassmann manifold, 178 open
in a set, 58
Heine-Borel Theorem, 63 in a manifold, 165
hermitian inner product, 34 set in Rm , 55
homeomorphism, 60 open cover, 63
homogeneous manifold, 177 orbit space, 176
orientation of R3 , 42
ideal of a Lie algebra, 128 orthogonal, 34
identity component of a matrix orthogonal group, O(n), 36
group, 113 orthonormal, 34
inner product
general, 183 parametrization, 106, 164
on Kn , 34 path-connected, 61
integral curve, 86 Poincaré dodecahedral space, 133
inverse function theorem polar decomposition theorem, 68
for Euclidean space, 99 positive root, 223
for manifolds, 110 power series, 82
isometry projective space, 169
Index 239

projective space, KPn , 169 subalgebra of a Lie algebra, 128

subconvergence, 64
quaternionic-linear complex subspace, 14
matrices, 28 symmetry
quaternions, 9 group of a set, Symm(X), 45
proper and improper, 45
radius of convergence, 83
symplectic group, Sp(n), 36
rank, 160, 222
symplectic inner product, 35
real projective space, RPn , 132
reflection, 161 tangent bundle of a manifold, 114
regular solid, 47 tangent space, 69
regular vector, 209 tangent space to a manifold, 166
representation, 175 topology
representation of a matrix group on of Rm , 56
Rm , 122 of a manifold, 165
Riemannian homogeneous space, of a subset of Rm , 59
186 torus
Riemannian manifold, 183 definition of, 140
Riemannian metric, 183 in a matrix group, 144
Riemannian submersion, 185 maximal, 144
root, 208, 222 of revolution, 107
root space, 199, 202, 204, 208 standard maximal, 145
root system, 221 trace of a matrix, 12
root test, 83 transitive action, 177
transpose of a matrix, AT , 12
Schwarz inequality, 35
triangle inequality, 54
skew-field, 7
skew-hermitian matrices, u(n), 77 unit tangent bundle of a manifold,
skew-symmetric matrices, so(n), 77 114
skew-symplectic matrices, sp(n), 77 unitary group, U (n), 36
smooth upper triangular matrices, group
between manifolds, 168 of, U Tn (K), 67
smoothness
of a function between subsets of vector field, 75, 168
Euclidean spaces, 105 vector space, left, 14
of a function between two
Weyl group, 218, 222
Euclidean spaces, 97
Whitney Embedding Theorem, 168
of an isomorphism between
matrix groups, 112
special linear group, SLn (K), 39
special orthogonal groups
SO(3), 5
SO(n), 39
special unitary group, SU (n), 39
sphere, S n , 6
spin group, 133
stabilizer, 177
Steifel manifold, 179
stereographic projection, 112
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Matrix groups touch an enormous spectrum of the mathematical arena.
This textbook brings them into the undergraduate curriculum. It makes an
excellent one-semester course for students familiar with linear and abstract
algebra and prepares them for a graduate course on Lie groups.
Matrix Groups for Undergraduates is concrete and example-driven, with geometric
motivation and rigorous proofs. The story begins and ends with the rota-
tions of a globe. In between, the author combines rigor and intuition to
describe the basic objects of Lie theory: Lie algebras, matrix exponentia-
tion, Lie brackets, maximal tori, homogeneous spaces, and roots.
This second edition includes two new chapters that allow for an easier
transition to the general theory of Lie groups.

From reviews of the First Edition:

This book could be used as an excellent textbook for a one semester course at university and it
will prepare students for a graduate course on Lie groups, Lie algebras, etc. … The book combines
an intuitive style of writing with rigorous definitions and proofs, giving examples from fields of
mathematics, physics, and other sciences where matrices are successfully applied. The book will
surely be interesting and helpful for students in algebra and their teachers.
—European Mathematical Society Newsletters

This is an excellent, well-written textbook which is strongly recommended to a wide audience

of readers interested in mathematics and its applications.The book is suitable for a one semester
undergraduate lecture course in matrix groups, and would also be useful supplementary reading
for more general group theory courses.
—MathSciNet (or Mathematical Reviews)

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