Let . Under the global transformation of the chiral matrix scalar model,
The phase and cancel, and . The cyclic property of the trace implies
Therefore each of the three terms in the scalar potential is invariant separately. Since are constant, , giving invariance of the kinetic matrix trace by the same argument. Hence
is a global symmetry group of the Lagrangian density. Its action has a finite central kernel, which does not affect its Lie algebra or the broken-generator counting below. For special parameter choices the symmetry can be larger; the displayed group is a symmetry for the stated potential without such extra assumptions.