General linear group modulo the unitary group Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be the real vector space of Hermitian matrices. The polar decomposition of an invertible complex matrix gives a diffeomorphism
Its inverse sends to
Right multiplication by changes only , so the orbit space is smoothly and the quotient map is a globally trivial principal bundle.
Identify a Minkowski vector with the Hermitian matrix representation of Minkowski four-vectors
For , the real-linear action preserves Hermiticity and the determinant, so it preserves the Lorentz quadratic form. It also preserves the cone of positive-definite Hermitian matrices, hence the future timelike cone. The group is connected, by polar decomposition of an invertible complex matrix into and positive determinant-one Hermitian matrices. Thus its image lies in the proper orthochronous Lorentz group.
If for every Hermitian , taking makes unitary; the remaining equations then say it commutes with every Hermitian matrix. Their real span is all Hermitian matrices and their complex span is all complex matrices, so is scalar. The determinant condition leaves precisely . A discrete kernel gives an injective differential, and the real dimensions of both groups are six. The image is therefore open and equals the connected Lorentz group:
The quotient does not include the disconnected time-reversing component of .
Use signature , the numerical matrices and given in the question, and raise genuine tensor indices with . A real Minkowski spacetime vector corresponds to the Hermitian matrix
For SL(2,C) matrices, is Hermitian and has the same determinant. It therefore induces a real linear Lorentz transformation; composition of the congruence actions agrees with matrix multiplication. The kernel consists of : preservation of makes a kernel element unitary, and preservation of every Hermitian makes it scalar.
Polar decomposition of an invertible complex matrix connects every determinant-one complex matrix to its unitary factor, so the group is connected. The action gives the Lorentz spinor double cover of the proper orthochronous Lorentz group. It covers rotations via and boosts via the positive Hermitian matrices below. Every proper orthochronous transformation is a boost followed by a rotation, since one can first match its image of the future unit time vector and then use its rotation stabilizer. The congruence construction does not cover spatial parity or time reversal. In particular parity has determinant as a four-vector transformation; all transformations continuously produced from SL(2,C) have determinant .
Set , and . The Pauli matrix multiplication law gives . The proposed boost matrix is , with eigenvalues , determinant one and . Split . The perpendicular Pauli part anticommutes with , so multiplication gives
This is an active Lorentz boost. The image of a rest worldline has velocity , fixing the velocity sign convention.
For two nonzero boosts, write and . Their product is
The last term is anti-Hermitian. Thus is not Hermitian unless the axes are collinear; a pure boost has Hermitian lifts , so it cannot give the same Lorentz transformation. The noncollinear boost obstruction from Pauli products is therefore
That rotation is a Wigner rotation. A zero-rapidity factor is the trivial exception, regardless of the arbitrary axis assigned to it.
Define and . The printed Lorentz algebra brackets give
Set , . Then
This is the chiral decomposition of the complex Lorentz algebra. The two copies are the complexifications of the SU(2) algebras conventionally labelled left and right. They are not two independent compact real subalgebras of the real Lorentz algebra: are complex linear combinations of the real generators. The distinction is needed for noncompact boosts.
To verify the infinitesimal two-component action, put
Its trace vanishes by antisymmetry, so . The Pauli matrix multiplication law implies
Since , antisymmetrizing this identity yields
Consequently , exactly the claimed infinitesimal coordinate transformation with .
The two Weyl spinor representations transform as
Both maps preserve group multiplication. For , choose its spin lift and write the finite matrices as
For rotations these coincide as the SU(2) doublet; for boosts their generator signs are opposite. Any complex-linear intertwiner would commute with all rotations and hence be scalar by the Schur lemma, but a nonzero scalar cannot intertwine the opposite boost matrices. They are therefore inequivalent. Infinitesimally their matrices are and , while their matrices are both . Thus they have chiral labels and . The finite matrices are representations of the spin cover; choosing or matters for spinors even though their four-vector transformations coincide.
Using the supplied block gamma matrices, the generator of the Dirac spinor is
The antisymmetry of removes the symmetric Clifford part. Hence
There is a conjugation-order error in the last displayed gamma identity in the PDF. The Clifford algebra gives, with ,
Exponentiating this linear commutator action proves the inverse Lorentz action on gamma matrices
The second identity is the order required for the requested bilinears when . An explicit countercheck to the printed order is a positive boost along the third axis: gives
whereas the printed right side has a plus sign. This cannot be repaired by dropping index raising; the same raising convention is needed in the preceding coordinate transformation.
The adjoint relation supplied in the question gives , hence the Dirac spinor pseudo-unitarity identity . The Dirac adjoint therefore transforms as . It now follows that the Dirac scalar bilinear is
the vector is
and the antisymmetric second-rank tensor is
These are respectively a Lorentz scalar, Lorentz four-vector and Lorentz tensor. The source's inconsistent gamma identity is replaced by its correct inverse/order pair; all three transformation laws then follow with the stated spinor transformation.
A Lie group is a group and smooth manifold whose multiplication and inversion are smooth. A Lie algebra is a vector space with a bilinear alternating bracket satisfying the Jacobi identity. For a Matrix Lie group , a logarithmic chart of a matrix Lie group near sends to ; the matrix exponential is its local inverse, and the Baker--Campbell--Hausdorff formula makes the local group operations smooth.
For , consider the group commutator
Its logarithm takes values in the vector space , and expansion at gives
Thus is closed under the commutator. Bilinearity, alternation, and the Jacobi identity follow from matrix multiplication, so this proves that the Lie algebra of a matrix Lie group has
A principal bundle with structure group is a smooth fiber bundle with a free right -action, each fiber a single orbit, and equivariant local trivializations .
For the right action of the unitary group on , define
The matrix is a positive-definite matrix and a Hermitian matrix, and for . The polar decomposition of an invertible complex matrix gives the unique factorization
Consequently
is a diffeomorphism. If is a neighborhood of zero and , then is an open neighborhood of , it is a union of complete orbits, and
Moreover, two matrices have the same value of exactly when they differ by right multiplication by a unitary matrix. Thus induces the smooth identification
under which is projection . This is the general linear group modulo the unitary group, and is in fact a globally trivial principal -bundle.
Wigner rotation 2026-10-07
Two noncollinear Lorentz boosts produce a Lorentz transformation with both a boost and a rotation. In the SL(2,C) lift, the product of two positive Hermitian boost matrices generally ceases to be Hermitian. Its polar decomposition of an invertible complex matrix separates a positive Hermitian boost factor and a unitary rotation factor. The rotation depends on both boosts and their order, and is called the Wigner rotation.