Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / ia / Paper 1 / 2C (Vectors and Matrices)

A counterclockwise planar rotation matrix has the formTo recover this form from preservation of the Euclidean norm, let $\mathbf{u},\mathbf{v}$ be the columns of $R$. Applying the norm condition to the two coordinate unit vectors gives $|\mathbf{u}|=|\mathbf{v}|=1$. Applying it to their sum givesso $\mathbf{u}\cdot \mathbf{v}=0$. The columns are an orthonormal basis, and $R^{T}R=I$: $R$ is an orthogonal matrix.

Write $\mathbf{u}=(\cos \theta ,\sin \theta {)}^T$. There are two perpendicular unit vectors available for $\mathbf{v}$, namely $\pm (-\sin \theta ,\cos \theta {)}^T$. The first gives determinant $1$, the second $-1$. The positive determinant hypothesis selects the first. A norm-preserving planar map with positive determinant is a rotation.

For the commutation condition, writeDirect matrix multiplication givesEquality forces $c=-b$ and $d=a$, so, with $u=a$ and $v=-b$,If $u=v=0$, take $\lambda =0$ and $R=I$. Otherwise set $\lambda =\sqrt{u^2+v^2}>0$ and choose $\cos \theta =u/\lambda$, $\sin \theta =v/\lambda$. ThenThis describes the centralizer of a planar quarter-turn. Its nonzero elements act as a rotation followed by a uniform scaling, just as multiplication by a nonzero complex number does.