Quaternions and metric of the 3-sphere

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The discussion centers on the representation of a unit quaternion \( q \) in the context of the 3-sphere metric. The quaternion is expressed as \( q = a + b \mathbf{e_1} + c \mathbf{e_2} + d \mathbf{e_{12}} \) and rearranged to show its relationship with complex numbers. The metric derived for the 3-sphere is \( ds^2 = d\psi^2 + \cos^2\psi d\theta^2 + \sin^2\psi d\phi^2 \), with parameters \( \psi \in [0,\pi/2] \) and \( \theta, \phi \in [0,2\pi] \). The author notes a potential discrepancy in the range of \( \psi \) compared to other sources, ultimately concluding that the ranges align with the definition of Hopf coordinates.

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mnb96
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Hello,
let's supppose I am given a unit-quaternion q expressed as an element of \mathcal{C}\ell_{0,2}(\mathbb{R}) as follows:

\mathit{q} = a + b \mathbf{e_1} + c \mathbf{e_2} + d \mathbf{e_{12}}

I now rearrange the terms in the following way:

\mathit{q} = (a + d \mathbf{e_{12}}) + \mathbf{e_1}(b - c \mathbf{e_{12}})

The terms inside the brackets can be seen as ordinary complex numbers r_1e^{i\theta}[/itex] and r_2e^{i\phi}, so that <i>q</i> is an element of \mathbb{C}^2.<br /> <br /> Since <i>q</i> is a unit quaternion we must have that (r_1)^2 + (r_2)^2 = 1.<br /> Recalling that r_1and r_2[/tex] are non-negative, we can parametrize them with an auxiliary angle \psi \in [0,\pi / 2]&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; r_1 = \cos\psi&lt;br /&gt; r_2 = \sin\psi&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; We have: \mathit{q} = \left( \cos\psi e^{i\theta}, \sin\psi e^{i\phi} \right)&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;*** question: ***&lt;/b&gt; when i compute the metric on the 3-sphere I obtain the well-known form:&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; ds^2 = d\psi^2 + \cos^2\psi d\theta^2 + \sin^2\psi d\phi^2.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; But now, \psi \in [0,\pi/2], and \theta,\phi \in [0,2\pi] which is not correct because other sources says that \psi is in the range [0,\pi].&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Where is the mistake?
 
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ok...it doesn't matter.
Actually I think there might no mistake, in fact I've just noticed that Hopf coordinates are defined with the same ranges as I have used.
 

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