The Lie algebra of a Lie group is the vector space equipped with the bracket transferred from left-invariant vector fields. For , write . A field is left-invariant when for all . Given , define
This is smooth and left-invariant, because and the chain rule applies. Conversely a left-invariant field is determined by its value at , through this formula. Thus
is a vector-space isomorphism, whose inverse is evaluation at the identity.
The Lie bracket of vector fields is preserved by diffeomorphisms: on functions this follows by transporting the commutator of derivations. Therefore the bracket of two left-invariant fields is again left-invariant. Define . Bilinearity, antisymmetry and the Jacobi identity follow from the same properties of commutators of derivations. This supplies the asserted Lie algebra structure.
For the general linear group , invertible matrices form an open subset of , so . The left-invariant field determined by is . Its ambient derivative is . Therefore differentiating left-invariant matrix fields gives
Hence
This is the general linear Lie algebra, with the ordinary matrix commutator; right invariance with the same identification would give the opposite sign.
Now let be a smooth Lie group homomorphism. It sends the identity to the identity and induces the linear map
Since , differentiation gives
These fields are -related; no injectivity or surjectivity of is needed. For every smooth function on ,
Apply this first with and then with , and subtract the reversed order. The result is
At , smooth functions detect tangent vectors, so
This proves that the differential of a Lie group homomorphism preserves Lie brackets, and hence that is a Lie algebra homomorphism.
For the exponential identity, let be the integral curve of through . Left invariance and uniqueness show for small times: translating the curve through gives the curve through . Repeating this identity extends the curve to all real times. This proves completeness of left-invariant vector fields without assuming that an arbitrary smooth field is complete. Rescaling the parameter also gives . By the definition of the Exponential map of a Lie group, .
The field-related identity shows that is an integral curve of starting at . By uniqueness it equals for all times. At time one,
This is the naturality of the Lie group exponential.
Apply this to the determinant homomorphism . The derivative of the determinant at is
since the permutation formula gives . The left-invariant field on with initial tangent is ; its curve through one solves , hence is . The matrix exponential determinant identity therefore follows from naturality:
This argument uses only the flow definition of the exponential and the scalar exponential, not an unproved matrix formula.
To identify it explicitly with the usual matrix exponential, the series converges in operator norm, uniformly with its differentiated series on bounded intervals. Termwise differentiation gives and . The series commutes with , and differentiating gives zero, so . Thus stays in and, by uniqueness, is the integral curve of through . The matrix series is exactly the flow-defined exponential, justifying either notation in the determinant identity.
A smooth vector field on a smooth manifold is a smooth section of the tangent bundle: it assigns to each , smoothly in local coordinates. In a coordinate chart it has the form , with smooth coefficients . Equivalently, it acts on smooth functions as a derivation, .
For a Lie group , write for Left translation on a Lie group. A left-invariant vector field satisfies
Thus it is determined by its value at the identity. Given the printed , first translate it to the identity:
The unique left-invariant vector field with value at is
The smoothness of multiplication makes this a smooth vector field, the chain rule proves left invariance, and setting gives .
We prove the completeness of left-invariant vector fields: this left-invariant vector field is a complete vector field. The Picard-Lindelöf theorem, applied in a local chart, gives a unique local integral curve of a vector field through . For every , the curve is an integral curve of a vector field through , because
Crucially, the same interval works for every initial point.
Let be the maximal integral curve of a vector field through , with maximal interval . If , choose with . The curve
exists on and agrees with on the overlap by uniqueness of the local ordinary differential equation. It extends past , a contradiction. The same argument at a finite excludes that possibility. Thus , and uniqueness on overlapping intervals gives uniqueness on all of .
After establishing completeness, uniqueness also gives the one-parameter subgroup law for the global curve through :
Both sides, as curves in , are integral curves of a vector field through at . Defining the Exponential map of a Lie group by , the answer is
The identity component is an open normal subgroup, and every open identity neighbourhood generates it. Let be the connected component of . The product of connected spaces is connected, so the image of under multiplication is connected and contains . It is therefore contained in . Inversion has the same property. Thus is a subgroup.
A smooth manifold is locally connected. In particular, a coordinate neighbourhood of can be chosen homeomorphic to an open ball, so there is a connected open neighbourhood of contained in . Its translates , , are open and lie in , and cover . Therefore the identity component of a Lie group is open in . Conjugation by any is a homeomorphism fixing , so it maps into itself; conjugation by gives the reverse inclusion. Hence is a normal subgroup.
If is an open neighbourhood of in , let , allowing inverses in the meaning of generated subgroup. For each , is open and lies in , so is open in . Every other left coset of is also open. Thus is both open and closed in the connected space . It is nonempty, so .
A quadratic form on is a function for a symmetric bilinear form . Equivalently, and the polarization
is a bilinear map. In coordinates there is a unique real symmetric matrix with . No assumption of nondegeneracy or positive definiteness is needed.
An element stabilizes when for every . By the polarization identity, this is equivalent to preserving , or in coordinates to
This is a closed Matrix Lie group. The Lie algebra of a quadratic-form stabilizer is
To prove necessity, differentiate along any smooth curve in with , . The derivative at zero is .
To prove sufficiency, suppose and consider the matrix exponential . Then
Its value at zero is , so for every real . This curve has derivative at zero, proving the claimed tangent space description even for a degenerate quadratic form.
Equivalently, the condition is for all . For a nondegenerate quadratic form it is the corresponding Special orthogonal Lie algebra. To see the degenerate case explicitly, choose a basis with
Writing , the condition becomes
while are arbitrary. Thus the nullspace of the quadratic form is invariant, but arbitrary infinitesimal maps into it are allowed. When , the formula correctly gives and .