Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-3/3/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 3 3 ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The diagonal Cartan subalgebra isPut and ; then , and on . For the matrix unit , . Applying this to the general matrix in part (i) gives the following one-dimensional root spaces and chosen root vectors:Each row satisfies and belongs to the Special orthogonal Lie algebra. The two diagonal parameters and eight root vectors span the ten-parameter matrix from part (i), giving the explicit root-space decompositionThis is the B2 root system, with short roots on the coordinate axes and long roots on the diagonals.
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