Past exam of the groups and representations course of the University of Oxford 2019 4 d Solution 2026-10-25
Use the basis matrices from solution. Define the Pauli matrices and the two-by-two identity byThe following five Hermitian four-by-four matrices, written as Kronecker products, realize a Euclidean Clifford algebra:Define the Lie algebra representation on byThese are anti-Hermitian matrices, appropriate to the real compact Lie algebra. For complete explicitness, all ten representation matrices areEach table entry is the image under of the basis matrix immediately to its left. Since the two-by-two factors are specified above, these Kronecker products specify every entry of each four-by-four matrix.
To verify the representation law, the Clifford algebra relations implyApply this identity to and use the commutator product rule. The result isexactly the Lie bracket relation in solution. Thus is a Lie algebra representation.
It remains to identify its highest weight, rather than just its dimension. The commuting Hermitian Cartan subalgebra operators areTheir simultaneous eigenvalues are . Converting with gives exactly the four weights of in solution. A state with has highest weight , so this Clifford realization of the so5 spin representation is the requested .
Finally, , soThis explicitly exhibits the distinction between the spinor representation of , or of , and a single-valued group representation of .