Questions tagged [lie-groups]

A Lie group is a group (in the sense of abstract algebra) that is also a differentiable manifold, such that the group operations (addition and inversion) are smooth, and so we can study them with differential calculus. They are a special type of topological group.

Consider using with the (group-theory) tag.

Lie groups are groups that are also differentiable manifolds that represent the best developed theory of continuous symmetry of mathematical objects.

Examples of lie groups are:

1) The Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^n$ under addition is a lie group.

2) The special orthogonal group of real orthogonal matrices with determinant $1$ (note that $n=3$ is the rotation group in $\mathbb{R}^3$).

3) The spin group, which is the double cover of the special orthogonal group such that $\exists$ a sequence of lie groups:

\begin{equation*} 1\to Z_2\to~\text{Spin}(n)\to SO(n)\to 1. \end{equation*}

Note that it has dimension $\frac{n(n-1)}{2}.$

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Maximal torus of a positive dimensional compact Lie group is nontrivial?

Let $G$ be a compact Lie group. A torus in $G$ is a subgroup $T \leq G$ isomorphic to $(S^1)^n$ for some $n \geq 0$, where we set $(S^1)^0 = \{*\}$ which is the trivial torus. A standard theorem asserts the existence of a maximal torus $T$ in $G$,…
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Example of a diffeomorphism on $\mathbb{R}^{3}$ onto itself (or cube onto itself)

I am looking for an example (or a method to create my own examples) of diffeomorphism on a cube onto itself, similar to the wikipedia example on the page with the same name: but in 3D. I'd like to have an example, but ideally I'd like to learn how…
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any element of open neighborhood of $e$ a connected lie group can be written as

Possible Duplicate: About connected Lie Groups Could any one give me hint for the problem? Let $G$ be a connected Lie group, and $U$ an open neighborhood of the group unit $e$. Show that any $g\in G$ can be written as a product $g =…
Myshkin
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Connectedness of a Lie group

Could any one give me hint how to show $SO(n)$ is connected? I understand that it is closed subset, I can prove $O(n)$ is not connected. Edit: suddenly got some idea, any matrix from $SO(n)$ can be written in this from, where first and second row…
Myshkin
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Are group theoretic splittings of Lie groups automatically differentiable?

Suppose that $G$ is a Lie group, and that $N$ is a normal Lie subgroup of $G$. Then $G / N$ is also a Lie group. If $0 \to N \to G \to G/N \to 0$ splits as groups (i.e. $G$ is a semidirect product of $N$ and $G/N$ as abstract groups, i.e. there is…
Elle Najt
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Is $S_3$ an exceptional Lie group?

Up until now I have had the belief that finite groups do not supply meaningful examples of Lie groups. However in this paper, Kostant claims that the symmetric group on three elements is an exceptional Lie group (page 66). What is the meaning of…
pre-kidney
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Examples of nonabelian Lie Groups that are easy to visualize

Are there some good examples of non-abelian Lie groups $G$ that are easy to visualize? The "prototypical" abelian one I've been using so far is $G = S^1$, which works great; its Lie Algebra $\mathfrak g = T_e G$ can easily by visualized as the line…
Evan Chen
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Finding Lie Subgroups

I've been asked to find all proper lie subgroups of $SU(2)$. I seem to recall thinking that $U(1)$ is the only nontrivial connected lie subgroup, but I can't quite remember how I came up with this (don't you hate that feeling when you did something,…
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Fourier transform over Lie group

let be the Lie Group of translations $ y=x+a$ and dilations $ y=bx $ whose generator are $ \frac{d}{dx} $ and $ x\frac{d}{dx} $ then could i define the Fourier transform over this group if i use a suitable measure ¿what should this measure be ? ,…
Jose Garcia
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What is the automorphism group of the compact symplectic group?

I would like to know what the group of outer automorphisms of $Sp(2)$ is. I think this should be isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}_2$, but I am not completely sure.
user74782
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The simplest way to prove that any left-invariant vector field on a Lie group is complete

It's all in the question: I look for the most intuitive proof that the integral curves of any left-invaraint vector field on a Lie group can be extended for all values of "time". I realize that the argument is always based on the existence of group…
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Am I correct in saying that there are no non-commuting connected one-parameter Lie groups?

I posed myself a question a while ago: are there any non-commuting one parameter Lie groups? I'm thinking that there are no non-commuting connected Lie groups (not sure how to proceed to the disconnected case yet), but I want to be sure. My argument…
Twigg
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Diagonalizing elements of compact lie groups

Chapter 5 of Sepanski's Compact Lie Groups starts with this paragraph: "Since a compact Lie group $G$ can be thought of as a Lie subgroup of $U(n)$, it is possible to diagonalize each $g\in G$ using conjugation in $U(n)$. In fact, the main theorem…
EPS
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When is $SO^0(n,1)$ isomorphic to a complex Lie group?

The group $SO^0(3,1)$ is isomorphic to a complex Lie group, namely $PSL_2(\mathbb{C})$. Are there further examplex when $SO^0(n,1)$ isomorphic to a complex Lie group? An obvious necessary condition is that the dimension is even, i.e. $n$ mod $4$ is…
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Soft question: A good book for introduction to Lie group book

I am taking next semester introduction lie groups. I was wondering what do you guys think what book should I use for this course.
user111750