Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2013-resit/6/solution
Past exam of the mathematical methods I course of the University of Oxford 2013 resit 6 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
A real square orthogonal matrix satisfies . A complex square unitary matrix satisfies , where denotes conjugate transpose. A Hermitian matrix satisfies . The distinction between transpose and conjugate transpose matters for imaginary entries.
For the three displayed matrices, in their source order:
- First: a unitary matrix, but neither an orthogonal matrix nor a Hermitian matrix.
- Second: an orthogonal matrix, a unitary matrix, and a Hermitian matrix.
- Third: a Hermitian matrix, but neither an orthogonal matrix nor a unitary matrix.
For the first matrix, and , so but . It also fails , even if complex orthogonality is considered. The second matrix is real diagonal with entries : its transpose, conjugate transpose and inverse all equal itself. In the third matrix the imaginary off-diagonal entries are conjugate pairs, establishing the Hermitian matrix condition. Its first column has squared norm , so it is not a unitary matrix; it is not real orthogonal, and the complex bilinear first-column square is as well.
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