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kaksmet
May24-09, 03:27 AM
Hey

Does anyone know where I can find the generators of the group of rotations in four dimensions?

thanks!

matt grime
May24-09, 03:55 AM
The group of all rotation of R^4? That has an uncountable set of generators - I don't think you want to find those.

kaksmet
Jun1-09, 11:06 AM
only needed a set of six that did generate the entire group. Found them, rotations "around planes" instead of around axes. thanks anyway.

George Jones
Jun1-09, 11:37 AM
The group of all rotation of R^4? That has an uncountable set of generators - I don't think you want to find those.

This is an example of miscommunication between pure mathematicians and theoretical physicists, for whom the term "generators of the group" means quite different things.

Here, I think kaksmet was looking for a basis for the 6-dimensional Lie algebra of the Lie group of rotations on R^4.