Physlib

Physlib.Relativity.LorentzGroup.Rotations

Rotations

In this module we define rotations of in the Lorentz group.

8 declarations

definition

Subgroup of rotations in the Lorentz group

For a given natural number dd representing the number of spatial dimensions, the subgroup of rotations in the Lorentz group L\mathcal{L} consists of those Lorentz transformations Λ\Lambda such that the time-time component of the matrix is Λ0,0=1\Lambda_{0,0} = 1 and the transformation is proper, i.e., detΛ=1\det \Lambda = 1.

theorem

ΛRotations d    Λ0,0=1detΛ=1\Lambda \in \text{Rotations } d \iff \Lambda_{0,0} = 1 \wedge \det \Lambda = 1

For any Lorentz transformation Λ\Lambda in the Lorentz group with dd spatial dimensions, Λ\Lambda belongs to the subgroup of rotations if and only if its time-time component is Λ0,0=1\Lambda_{0,0} = 1 and it is a proper transformation (i.e., detΛ=1\det \Lambda = 1).

theorem

ΛTRotations(d)    ΛRotations(d)\Lambda^T \in \text{Rotations}(d) \iff \Lambda \in \text{Rotations}(d)

For any Lorentz transformation Λ\Lambda in the Lorentz group with dd spatial dimensions, the matrix transpose ΛT\Lambda^T is an element of the rotation subgroup if and only if Λ\Lambda itself is an element of the rotation subgroup.

definition

Group isomorphism SO(d)RotationsdSO(d) \cong \text{Rotations}_d

For a given number of spatial dimensions dd, this definition establishes a group isomorphism between the special orthogonal group SO(d)SO(d) and the subgroup of rotations in the Lorentz group L\mathcal{L}. Under this isomorphism, a matrix ASO(d)A \in SO(d) is mapped to the (1+d)×(1+d)(1+d) \times (1+d) Lorentz transformation matrix Λ\Lambda defined by the block form: Λ=(100A) \Lambda = \begin{pmatrix} 1 & \mathbf{0} \\ \mathbf{0} & A \end{pmatrix} where 11 is the time-time component and AA corresponds to the spatial transformation. The inverse map extracts the d×dd \times d spatial block from a Lorentz rotation.

theorem

The embedding SO(d)RotationsdSO(d) \hookrightarrow \text{Rotations}_d is continuous

For a given number of spatial dimensions dd, the map ofSpecialOrthogonal:SO(d)Rotationsd\text{ofSpecialOrthogonal} : SO(d) \to \text{Rotations}_d, which embeds the special orthogonal group SO(d)SO(d) into the rotation subgroup of the Lorentz group L\mathcal{L} via the block form A(100A), A \mapsto \begin{pmatrix} 1 & \mathbf{0} \\ \mathbf{0} & A \end{pmatrix}, is continuous with respect to the subspace topologies inherited from the spaces of real matrices.

theorem

The map Rotations(d)SO(d)\text{Rotations}(d) \to SO(d) is continuous

For any natural number dd, let Rotations(d)\text{Rotations}(d) be the subgroup of rotations within the Lorentz group and SO(d)SO(d) be the special orthogonal group of d×dd \times d real matrices. The inverse of the group isomorphism ofSpecialOrthogonal\text{ofSpecialOrthogonal}, which maps a Lorentz rotation ΛRotations(d)\Lambda \in \text{Rotations}(d) to its corresponding d×dd \times d spatial block ASO(d)A \in SO(d), is continuous with respect to the subspace topologies inherited from the respective matrix spaces.

theorem

Rotations(d)L+(d)\text{Rotations}(d) \subseteq \mathcal{L}_+^\uparrow(d)

For any natural number dd representing the number of spatial dimensions, the subgroup of rotations in the Lorentz group is a subgroup of the restricted Lorentz group L+\mathcal{L}_+^\uparrow.

theorem

Rotations Fix the Temporal Basis Vector

For any rotation Λ\Lambda in the subgroup of rotations of the Lorentz group with dd spatial dimensions, the image of the unit temporal basis vector e0e_0 (the basis vector corresponding to the time dimension) under the transformation Λ\Lambda is equal to e0e_0. That is, Λe0=e0\Lambda e_0 = e_0.