Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-groups-and-representations-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2018/2/a/solution

Write and . Direct matrix multiplication gives
Every product reduces to , with and . These eight matrices are distinct and are precisely the listed elements:
This is the dihedral group of group order eight. Its element commutes with both generators. Conjugation by interchanges and , while conjugation by sends to . It also interchanges and . The resulting conjugacy classes are
These are the stated in order. To see that the last two reflection classes do not merge, conjugation changes the exponent in by an even integer or changes its sign, preserving its parity. The five sets exhaust all eight elements.
Both generators are real orthogonal matrices with determinant . Hence every element obeys and . The normal-form calculation establishes closure and inverses, so
In particular the embedding in the special unitary group uses the given real matrices viewed as complex ones.

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