Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-groups-and-representations-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/4/a/solution

For a differentiable curve with , differentiate . Its tangent matrix is real and satisfies . Conversely the matrix exponential of any real antisymmetric matrix is orthogonal, and because . Hence the real Special orthogonal Lie algebra is
Let denote a matrix unit. A simple real basis is
Each independent entry above the diagonal supplies one real parameter, giving parameters. The commutator of two basis matrices is
where and .
A Cartan subalgebra is spanned by the commuting matrices , which generate independent rotations in two orthogonal planes. A generic , with , has distinct complex eigenvalues . A real antisymmetric matrix commuting with it preserves those two planes and the remaining line; it is a multiple of the rotation in each plane and is zero on the line. Thus the commuting Lie subalgebra has dimension two and is maximal toral. Therefore

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