Exponential map of a matrix Lie group ($\exp :\mathfrak{g}\to G$)

For a Matrix Lie group $G$ with Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$, its exponential map is the restriction of the matrix exponential, $X\mapsto e^X$. It maps $\mathfrak{g}$ into $G$ and is a local diffeomorphism at zero, but it need not be surjective globally.

A real matrix with at least one simple negative eigenvalue cannot be a matrix exponential of a real matrix: a logarithm would commute with it and preserve each one-dimensional real negative-eigenvalue space, where exponentiation can only produce a positive eigenvalue. In particular $\mathrm{diag}(-2,-1/2)$ belongs to the connected special linear group ${\mathrm{SL}}_2(\mathbb{R})$ but has no real logarithm.