Normalizer of a diagonal subgroup of GL2 2026-10-07
Over the reals or a finite field with more than two elements, the normalizer of all invertible diagonal matrices in consists of monomial matrices and has quotient over that diagonal subgroup. Over its size is for . For the diagonal subgroup is trivial, so its normalizer is all of , of order six.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 1 10G i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The coordinate axes are exactly the simultaneous eigenspaces of all invertible diagonal matrices in . A matrix normalizing must permute these common eigenspaces: if , then is again a scalar multiple of . Thus a normalizer element has exactly one nonzero entry in each row and column, a monomial matrix. In dimension two it is either diagonal or diagonal times . Conversely swaps the diagonal entries and normalizes . ThereforeThis is the normalizer of a diagonal subgroup of GL2; the quotient records the permutation of the two axes.