Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-short-options-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/8/b/i/solution
Past exam of the short options course of the University of Oxford 2015 8 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Now use and . WritePreservation of the Minkowski metric says that the first column has squared norm , the second has squared norm , and the columns are orthogonal for the Minkowski inner product:Orthochronousness gives . From the orthogonality equation, ; substituting in the second norm identity gives . Hence with . The determinant is then , so properness forces . Thus and .
Set . The first norm identity implies and . With , this givesConversely, the displayed matrix has , equal off-diagonal entries, determinant one, and positive time-time entry. Direct multiplication therefore gives , proving both directions. The plus signs are the Lorentz boost convention used in the paper; reversing the boost direction replaces by .
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