Lie group homomorphism 2026-10-07
A smooth homomorphism of Lie groups has differential at the identity. Differentiating makes the corresponding left-invariant vector fields -related. Their commutator action on pulled-back functions shows that the differential of a Lie group homomorphism preserves Lie brackets. The map need not be injective or surjective.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 17 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
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 , defineThis 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. Thusis 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 givesHenceThis 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 mapSince , differentiation givesThese 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 isAt , smooth functions detect tangent vectors, soThis 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 issince 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.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 2 6 Solution 2026-10-06
A real Lie group is a finite-dimensional real smooth manifold with a group structure whose multiplication and inversion are smooth. Its tangent space at the identity element is the vector space of velocities of smooth curves through . For the general linear group it identifies with . The matrix exponential and local matrix logarithm areThe exponential is globally defined, and each matrix is invertible with inverse . The logarithm here is a local map near ; it is not a globally defined inverse on every real invertible matrix. The differential of at zero is the identity, and the two power series are inverse locally.
For a general , the assumed Exponential map of a Lie group with has a smooth local inverse by the inverse function theorem, giving a local exponential chart. Define the Lie bracket from local group commutators byFor small the group commutator lies in that chart. More explicitly, the map is smooth and has . Its mixed second differential at is a bilinear map of , proving bilinearity. Swapping the two group elements inverts the commutator, and near . Thus and . In the matrix group, expansion to the mixed term gives the familiar commutator .
For , let and define the Adjoint representation of a Lie group by . It is smooth and satisfies . Its derived representation is . Naturality of the Exponential map of a Lie group under conjugation givesAt , the derivative of the logarithm of the commutator is : the derivative of multiplication at adds tangent vectors, and . Differentiate in to concludeTo prove the Jacobi identity without assuming it in the bracket construction, first establish that the differential of a Lie group homomorphism preserves Lie brackets. For a homomorphism , the allowed exponential identity gives locally. Apply this identity to the group commutator and take the mixed derivative to obtain . In particular givesApplying both sides to yields . Rearranging with antisymmetry provesNeither injectivity of nor the existence of a global logarithm was used.
Finally let be a normal Lie subgroup of , with its corresponding Lie algebra . For each , conjugation restricts to , so its differential preserves : . Differentiate along to get for every and . Thus the Lie algebra of a normal Lie subgroup is an ideal of a Lie algebra. The assertion concerns a subgroup carrying the corresponding Lie-subgroup structure, for example any closed subgroup; no arbitrary abstract subgroup is being assigned a tangent space.