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Use the convention that the Hermitian inner product is conjugate-linear in its first argument and linear in its second. In orthonormal coordinates, $⟨v,w⟩={\sum }_i\overline{v_i}{w}_i$. It satisfies conjugate symmetry, sesquilinearity and positive definiteness. Expanding in the orthonormal basis givesApplying the Hermitian inner product and $⟨e_i,e_j⟩={\delta }_{ij}$ yieldsThis identifies exactly where complex conjugation enters; replacing the first factor by $⟨e_i,v⟩$ would generally be wrong under this convention.

Use the point ${\mathbf{p}}_0=(-2,-2,4)$ and the orthonormal basis of directions in the cutting planeBoth vectors are orthogonal to the normal vector $(1,1,2)$, so every point of the plane has unique coordinatesSubstituting into the cone equation givesConsequently the intersection has equationBecause these are orthonormal coordinates, their lengths are the actual lengths in the plane. Thus this is an ellipse with semi-major axis $\sqrt{24}$ and semi-minor axis $\sqrt{8}$, not merely a projected ellipse. By a, its eccentricity is