Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2008 / Paper 2 / 10

Let $J=\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& 1\\ -1& 0\end{array}\right)$. Since $J^2=-I_2$ and $J^4=I_2$, its powers define the representation of the cyclic group of order four:For the quaternion group, denote the three displayed complex matrices by $A,B,C$. Direct multiplication gives $A^2=B^2=C^2=-I_2$, $AB=C$, $BA=-C$, and $ABC=-I_2$. Together with the images of $\pm 1$, these are exactly the quaternion multiplication relations, proving that the assignment defines a group homomorphism into $\mathrm{GL}(2,\mathbb{C})$.

Use the realification of a complex representation: for $M=X+iY$, define $\mathcal{R}(M)=\left(\begin{array}{cc}X& -Y\\ Y& X\end{array}\right)$. It acts on grouped real and imaginary coordinates and satisfies $\mathcal{R}(MN)=\mathcal{R}(M)\mathcal{R}(N)$. The explicit generators areSet $D(1)=I_4$ and $D(-q)=-D(q)$ to specify all eight elements.

For an invertible real $S$, the equivalent representation $\tilde{D}(q)=SD(q)S^{-1}$ obeys $\tilde{D}(q_1)\tilde{D}(q_2)=SD(q_1{q}_2)S^{-1}=\tilde{D}(q_1{q}_2)$. The trace is invariant under similarity, so their characters agree. Explicitly,