SU(2) group Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The SU(2) group is the group of two-by-two unitary matrices of determinant one. It is a compact three-dimensional Lie group whose underlying manifold is a three-sphere.
Congruence on real symmetric two-by-two matrices preserves the quadratic form of signature when . Its kernel is and its derivative is injective: for every symmetric implies . Both Lie groups have dimension three, so the connected image is the full identity component. Also identifies with .
For a finite-dimensional vector space over any field with a nondegenerate alternating bilinear form , the symplectic group over a field consists of invertible linear maps preserving . In a symplectic basis its matrices satisfy . Matching two symplectic bases gives a unique such linear map, and a symplectic basis exists by successively splitting off paired vectors. This includes arbitrary-characteristic and infinite-field versions, beyond the real Lie group and the symplectic group over a finite field.
A compact Lie group has finitely many connected components, each an oriented compact manifold of dimension . Componentwise integration identifies its top-degree de Rham cohomology with one real coordinate per component. For a connected group, if top-degree classes are represented by invariant forms, the invariant volume form on a Lie group spans the cohomology: invariant top forms are one-dimensional, and its positive integral proves that its class is nonzero by the Generalized Stokes theorem. A disconnected group cannot have an invariant representative of every top-degree class, since left translations permute its components. For example, has two independent degree-one classes but only one independent invariant top form.
Torus action Created 2026-10-07 Updated 2026-10-14
A smooth action of the compact abelian Lie group . Commuting vector fields with a common periodic normalization give such an action. In action-angle variables, the torus acts by translation of the angles while leaving the actions fixed.
For equivariant local trivializations of a right principal bundle, the change of coordinates is left multiplication in the group coordinate. Indeed an equivariant change satisfies , so evaluating at the identity gives . Its inverse shows that takes values in the Lie group, and restriction to makes it smooth. Composition on triple overlaps gives .
Translation-dilation group of the plane Created 2026-10-07 Updated 2026-10-14
This Lie group acts on the plane by with . Its multiplication is , and its inverse is . It is a semidirect product in which positive dilation acts on the translation subgroup. A dilation generator and translation generators have Lie brackets and .
The universal cover of a connected Lie group carries a unique lifted Lie group structure with a chosen identity, making its covering map a Lie group homomorphism. The kernel is a discrete central subgroup: conjugation of any kernel element is a continuous map from a connected group into a discrete set, hence constant. Every connected Lie group is therefore a quotient of its simply connected cover by a discrete central subgroup.