So(3) Definition and 55 Threads

##SO(3)## is a Lie group of dimension 3. It is the set of 3x3 matrices ##R## with the following properties: $$RR^T = R^TR=I, \text{det}(R)=+1$$ There exists a parametrization of ##SO(3)## that maps it on the sphere in ##\mathbb R^3## of radius ##\pi## where the antipodal points are identified...

All of the formulations of the Lie algebra of ##\frak{so}(3)## (or ##\frak{su}(2)##) utilizing raising/lowering operators that I have seen in the literature involve complexification to ##\frak{su}(2) + i \frak{su}(2) \cong \frak{sl}(2,\mathbb{C})##. I have found explicit derivations in a...

I will ask a mathematical and a physical-cum-philosophical question pertaining to the fact that SO(3) is not simply connected. Context Classical rotations in three spatial dimensions are represented by the group SO(3), whose elements represent 3D rotations. Having said that, note that classical...

Hi, in the following video at 15:15 the twist of ##4\pi## along the ##x## red axis is "untwisted" through a continuous deformation of the path on the sphere 3D rotations space. My concern is the following: keeping fixed the orientation in space of the start and the end of the belt, it seems...

Good Morning! I know that Rotation matrices are members of the SO(3) group. I can prove some useful properties about it: The inverse is the transpose; Closure properties; However, what is the advantage of asserting that a rotation matrix is a member of the SO(3) group, when all I really need...

We have commutation relation ##[J_j,J_k]=i \epsilon_{jkl}J_l## satisfied for ##2x2##, ##3x3##, ##4x4## matrices. Are in all dimensions these matrices generate ##SO(3)## group? I am confused because I think that maybe for ##4x4## matrices they will generate ##SO(4)## group. For instance for...

1.) The rule for the global ##SO(3)## transformation of the gauge vector field is ##A^i_{\mu} \to \omega_{ij}A^j_{\mu}## for ##\omega \in SO(3)##. The proof is by direct calculation. First, if ##A^i_{\mu} \to \omega_{ij}A^j_{\mu}## then ##F^i_{\mu \nu} \to \omega_{ij}F^j_{\mu\nu}##, so...

Is any way to get Rodrigues' rotation formula from matrix exponential \begin{equation} e^{i\phi (\star\vec{n}) } = e^{i\phi (\vec{n}\cdot\hat{\vec{S}}) } = \hat{I} + (\star\vec{n})\sin\phi + (\star\vec{n})^2( 1 - \cos\phi ). \end{equation} using SO(3) groups comutators properties ONLY...

The group ##\rm{O(3)}## is the group of orthogonal ##3 \times 3## matrices with nine elements and dimension three which is constrained by the condition, $$a_{ik}a_{kj} = \delta_{ij}$$ where ##a_{ik}## are elements of the matrix ##\rm{A} \in O(3)##. This condition gives six constraints (can be...

In Griffith's Introduction to Elementary Particles, he provides a very cursory introduction to group theory at the start of chapter four, which discusses symmetries. He introduces SO(n) as "the group of real, orthogonal, n x n matrices of determinant 1 is SO(n); SO(n) may be thought of as the...

I am just starting a QM course. I hope these are reasonable questions. I have been given my first assignment. I can answer the questions so far but I do not really understand what's going on. These questions are all about so(N) groups, Pauli matrices, Lie brackets, generators and their Lie...

When discussing how a rank two tensor transforms under SO(3), we say that the tensor can be decomposed into three irreducible parts, the anti-symmetric part, traceless-symmetric part, and a 1-dimensional trace part, which transforms as a scalar. How do we know that the symmetric and...

(Weinberg QFT, Vol 1, page 68) He considers Mass-Positive-Definite, in which case the Little Group is SO(3). He then gives the relations Is it difficult to derive these relations? I'm asking this mainly because I haven't seen them anywhere other than in Weinberg's book. Also, I'm finding...

I am trying to improve my understanding of Lie groups and the operations of left multiplication and pushforward. I have been looking at these notes: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2527648/left-invariant-vector-fields-example...

Hello! I want to make sure I understand the relation between this and rotation (mainly between SU(2) and SO(3), but also in general). Also, I am a physics major, so I apologize if my statements are not very rigorous, but I want to make sure I understand the basic underlying concepts. So SU(2) is...

Hello! I am reading some representation theory and I am a bit confused about some stuff. I read that SU(2) is the double covering of SO(3), so to each matrix in SO(3) corresponds one in SU(2). I am not sure I understand this. So if we have a 3D representation of SU(2), the 3D object it acts on...

Hello I am hoping someone can explain a sentence to me. Unfortunately, I do not even recall where I read it. I wrote it down years ago and long since lost the source. (Now I think some of it is making sense, but I don't remember the source.) Consider R(t) as an orthogonal rotation matrix...

hello every one can one please construct for me left invariant vector field of so(3) rotational algebra using Euler angles ( coordinates ) by using the push-forward of left invariant vector field ? iv'e been searching for a method for over a month , but i did not find any well defined method...

Consider the eigenvectors ##(0, 1)## and ##(1, 0)## for the quantum system described the magnetic field ##\vec{B} = (0,0,B)##. Say I now rotate the magnetic field as ##\vec{B} = (B\sin\theta\cos\phi,B\sin\theta\sin\phi,B\cos\theta)##. Then the eigenvectors are supposed to change as...

Hello! I need to find the rotation matrix around a given vector v=(a,b,c), by and angle ##\theta##. I can find an orthonormal basis of the plane perpendicular to v but how can I compute the matrix from this? I think I can do it by brute force, rewriting the orthonormal basis rotated by...

Homework Statement How do I use the commutation relations of su(2) and so(3) to construct a Lie-algebra isomorphism between these two algebras? Homework Equations The commutation relations are [ta, tb] = i epsilonabc tc, the ts being the basis elements of the algebras. They basically have the...

Homework Statement Verify that the Lagrangian density ##\mathcal{L}=\frac{1}{2}\partial_{\mu}\phi_{a}\partial^{\mu}\phi_{a}-\frac{1}{2}m^{2}\phi_{a}\phi_{a}## for a triplet of real fields ##\phi_{a} (a=1,2,3)## is invariant under the infinitesimal ##SO(3)## rotation by ##\theta##, i.e...

I am reading in my group theory book the well known commutation relations of the Lie algebra of SO(3), i.e. [J,J]=i\epsilon J. What I don't understand is the statement that "from the relations we can infer that the algebra has rank 1". Any ideas?

Hi to all the readers of the forum. I cannot figure out the following thing. I know that a representation of a group G on a vector spaceV s a homomorphism from G to GL(V). I know that a scalar (in Galileian Physics) is something that is invariant under rotation. How can I reconcile this...

I try to understand the statement "Every representation of SO(3) is also a representation of SU(2)". Does that mean that all the matrices of an integer-spin rep of SU(2) are identical to the matrices of the corresponding spin rep of SO(3)? Say, the j=1 rep of SU(2) has three 3x3 matrices, so...

Hi. I'm having trouble figuring out how SO(N) adjoint rep. transforms under a SO(3) subgroup. Unlike SU(N), SO(N) fundamental N gives \begin{equation} N \otimes N = 1 \oplus A \oplus S \end{equation} So the \begin{equation} S \end{equation} part really bothers. Can you give a help?

Homework Statement Suppose that ##s \to A(s) \subset \mathbb{M}_{33}(\mathbb{R})## is smooth and that ##A(s)## is antisymmetric for all ##s##. If ##Q_0 \in SO(3)##, show that the unique solution (which you may assume exists) to $$\dot{Q}(s) = A(s)Q(s), \quad Q(0) = Q_0$$ satisfies ##Q(s) \in...

I am somewhat confused with the connection between the two groups. In the text I'm reading (An Introduction to Tensors and Group theory for physicists N. Jeevanjee), there is a chapter quite early on (in the group theory part) which outlines a homomorphism from SU(2) to SO(3), however I find...

Hi Everybody! I am working on QFT and learning representation theory from Coleman's lecture notes. Just the necessary stuff to go to the Dirac equation. To my question: From the generators of SO(3) I get through exponentiation an element of SO(3), this holds naturally for any Lie group...

reading that the commutator of rotations on two orthogonal axes is i * the rotation matrix for the third axis but if I commute this \begin{pmatrix}\mathrm{cos}\left( \theta\right) & -\mathrm{sin}\left( \theta\right) & 0\cr \mathrm{sin}\left( \theta\right) & \mathrm{cos}\left(...

Hello all! Clebsch-Gordon Coefficients tell us that in an SO(3) representation 3 x 2 = 4 + 2 (x/+ is the tensor product/sum). In practicing my Young Diagrams I tried to re-create this calcuation, but can't seem to figure out how to draw a doublet. I would appreciate some advice! (The triplet...

This is a problem from my theoretical physics course. We were given a solution sheet, but it doesn't go into a lot of detail, so I was hoping for some clarification on how some of the answers are derived. Homework Statement For the Lagrangian L=1/2(∂μ∅T∂μ∅-m2∅T∅) derive the Noether...

the group of proper orthogonal transformations SO(3) acts transitively on the 2-sphere S2. show that the isotropy group of any vector r is isomorphic to SO(2) and find a bijective correspondence between the factor space SO(3)/SO(2) and the 2-sphere such that SO(3) has identical left actions...

I'm a layman trying to understand the symmetries used in the std model. I understand that U(1), SU(2), & SU(3) are incorporated in the Lagrangians for internal symmetries. I've read that SO(3) is also used in the std model for Poincare spacetime symmetry. Is that true and if so, how is it...

The SU(2) and SO(3) groups are homomorphic groups. Can we say that the SU(2) group is representation of SO(3) and vice versa (SU(2) representation of SO(3))? Is a representation R of some group G a group too? If so, is it true that G is representation of R?

Hi, I just wondered if someone could check my understanding is correct on this topic. I understand that to find the irreps of a group we can find the irreps of the associated Lie algebra, i.e. in the case of SO(3) find irreducible matrices satisfying the comm relations...

Hi guys, I have a question which is very fundamental to representation theory. What I am wondering is that whether a first rank cartesian representation of so(3) is irreducible. As I understand first rank cartesian representation of so(3) can be parametrized in terms of the Euler angles. That...

we know there is a two to one homomorphism from SU(2) to SO(3) suppose u is an element in SU(2) then u and -u map into the same element in SO(3) the question is, maybe SO(3) is a quotient group of SU(2)? with respect to the subgroup {I,-I}?

it is generally known that there is a two-to-one automorphism from su(2) to so(3) but consider the problem in this way: all elements in so(3) are of the form (up to a unitary transform of the basis) R(\alpha,\beta.\gamma)=e^{-i\alpha F_z} e^{-i\beta F_y} e^{-i \gamma F_z} where F_x...

Hi, What is the difference between lie group SO(3) and lie algebra so(3)? I just got the idea in terms of terminology that one represents the group and the other stands for algebra. But can anyone please provide details as to what exactly is the difference? Regards, Priyanshu

For the special orthogonal group SO(3), with G-set R^3, and the usual G-action, we choose x in R^3 not equal to 0. Then the stabilizer of x (set of all the transformations in SO(3) that doesn't change x) is all the rotations about the axis produced by x (and -x). Can someone explain why the...

I have not seen why SU(2) and SO(3) groups are isomorphic?

I think that the usual action of SO(3) on R^3 (defined by matrix multiplication) is faithful, because to non-identity rotations belong non-identity transformations.If we don't have originally a norm on R^3, but do have a faithful action of SO(3) on it, then we can try to define a norm by taking...

Hi, I was given the following problem, and i couldn't solve it yet: Give a bijection between the elements of SO(3) and the fractional linear transformations of the form \varphi_{z,w}\,(u)=\frac{zu+w}{-\bar wu+\bar z}, where u\in \mathbb C\cup \{\infty\};\, z,w\in \mathbb C. Any ideas...

Homework Statement How can irreducible representations of O(3) and SO(3) be determined from the irreducible representations of SU(2)? The Attempt at a Solution I believe there is a two-one homomorphic mapping from SU(2) to SO(3); is that enough for some shared representations? If I had...

Hi, I'm very new on Group Theory, and lacking of easy to understand document on it. I can't get Representation of SO(3) Groups. Is there anyone can tell me useful information about it? Thanks, Tore Han

there's a surjective homomorphism from a : SU(2) --> SO(3) The kernel of this homomorphism is the center of SU(2) which is Z/2Z. Now the fundamental group of SO(3) is Z/2Z. This is a general thing. The simplest version of my question is how is the center of SU(2) related to the...

SU(2) and SO(3) "have the same Lie algebra". While I understand that their corresponding lie algebras su(3) and so(2) have the same commutator relations \mbox{SO(3)}: \left[ \tau^i, \tau^j\right] = \iota \varepsilon_{ijk} \tau^k \mbox{SU(2)}: \left[ \frac{\sigma^i}{2}...

The SO(3) group is topologically a 3-dimensional ball of radius \pi, if the opposite points on its surface are identified with each other. (the name of it is 3-dimensional projective space). The center of the ball represents the unit element e of the group. An arbitrary point g in the ball...

I was wondering if anyone can help me to show that the subset of SO(3) contaning all matrices A with det(A+id)=0 is a submanifold diffeomorphic to real projective plane. Thanks.