Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / Paper 1 / 5 / d / iii / Solution

A real matrix is a Hermitian matrix exactly when it is a symmetric matrix. Since $R_1$ is orthogonal, this is equivalent to $R_1=R_1^{-1}$, or $R_1^2=I$. A generic rotation does not satisfy this; for example $\theta =0$, $\varphi =\pi /2$ gives a nonsymmetric quarter-turn. Thus $\boxed{R_1\text{ is not Hermitian in general.}}$

The exceptions are the identity and half-turns, as characterized by real rotation matrices that are Hermitian. For this product, a half-turn occurs when either $\theta$ or $\varphi$ is an odd multiple of $\pi$; the identity occurs when both are even multiples. For example, the half-turn condition follows from $\mathrm{tr}{R}_1=(1+\cos \theta )(1+\cos \varphi )-1=-1$.