Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-i/3/b/solution

The two nonzero proper invariant subspaces are
Both are preserved by the rotation. To show there are no others, note that
is the linear projection onto , and is the linear projection onto . Every invariant subspace is preserved by , and hence by both of these linear projections. Therefore
Because has dimension one, is either or . If contains a nonzero , it also contains . These two vectors are linearly independent, because their two-dimensional determinant is . They span , so is either or . The only possibilities for are therefore .
Finally every has the unique decomposition , with one summand in each of . Hence
This also illustrates how invariant subspaces of a quarter-turn in three dimensions can be classified by linear projections.

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