Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2015 / Prelims / Mathematics I / 4 / c

If $T$ is an orthogonal transformation and $e_1,e_2,e_3$ is an orthonormal basis, thenThe images form an orthonormal set, hence are linearly independent and form an orthonormal basis in dimension three.

Conversely, suppose the images $T{e}_1,T{e}_2,T{e}_3$ of one chosen orthonormal basis form an orthonormal basis. Write $u={\sum }_i{a}_i{e}_i$ and $v={\sum }_j{b}_j{e}_j$. By linearity of $T$ and bilinearity,Thus mapping one orthonormal basis to an orthonormal basis is equivalent to preserving every inner product. In the converse, a single chosen orthonormal basis suffices.

Put $p=(3x^2-2)/\sqrt{2}$ and use the orthonormal basis $\mathcal{B}=(1,\sqrt{3/2}x,p)$ from iii. The columns of the given matrix giveConsequentlyThe images of $\mathcal{B}$ are therefore $(p,\sqrt{3/2}x,-1)$, again an orthonormal basis. By i, $T$ is an orthogonal transformation. Its matrix in this orthonormal basis is

$A$ is not an orthogonal matrix. Its first column has squared Euclidean normso $A^{T}A\ne I$. The reason this is compatible with ii is that $1,x,x^2$ is not an orthonormal basis for the given inner product. Its Gram matrix isThe correct condition on this matrix representation of a linear map iswhich follows either by direct multiplication or by the inner product preservation just proved. This is the rule for an orthogonal transformation in a nonorthonormal basis.