Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ia/paper-1/2a/solution

Taking the conjugate transpose of and using that both parts are Hermitian matrices gives . Addition and subtraction recover the Hermitian parts of a unitary matrix:
These depend only on , so any such decomposition has the same and is unique. Conversely the displayed expressions are Hermitian matrices and sum to in the form , establishing existence as well as uniqueness. Their commutation and quadratic relation are proved in the two labelled parts.

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