Unitary matrix

In mathematics, a complex square matrix U is unitary if its conjugate transpose U is also its inverse – that is, if

U^* U = UU^* = I ,

where I is the identity matrix. In physics, especially in quantum mechanics, the Hermitian conjugate of a matrix is denoted by a dagger (†) and the equation above becomes

U^\dagger U = UU^\dagger = I .

The real analogue of a unitary matrix is an orthogonal matrix. Unitary matrices have significant importance in quantum mechanics because they preserve norms, and thus, probability amplitudes.

Properties

For any unitary matrix U of finite size, the following hold:

\langle Ux, Uy \rangle = \langle x, y \rangle.
U = VDV^*\;
where V is unitary and D is diagonal and unitary.

For any nonnegative integer n, the set of all n-by-n unitary matrices with matrix multiplication forms a group, called the unitary group U(n).

Any square matrix with unit Euclidean norm is the average of two unitary matrices.[1]

Equivalent conditions

If U is a square, complex matrix, then the following conditions are equivalent:

  1. U is unitary.
  2. U is unitary.
  3. U is invertible with U−1 = U.
  4. The columns of U form an orthonormal basis of \mathbb{C}^n with respect to the usual inner product.
  5. The rows of U form an orthonormal basis of \mathbb{C}^n with respect to the usual inner product.
  6. U is an isometry with respect to the usual norm.
  7. U is a normal matrix with eigenvalues lying on the unit circle.

Elementary constructions

2 × 2 unitary matrix

The general expression of a 2 × 2 unitary matrix is:

U = 
\begin{bmatrix}
a & b \\
-e^{i\theta} b^* & e^{i\theta} a^* \\
\end{bmatrix},\qquad \left| a \right| ^2 + \left| b \right| ^2 = 1 ,

which depends on 4 real parameters (the phase of a, the phase of b, the relative magnitude between a and b, and the angle \theta). The determinant of such a matrix is:


\det(U)=e^{i \theta} .

The sub-group of such elements in U where \det(U)=1 is called the special unitary group SU(2).

The matrix U can also be written in this alternative form:

U = 
e^{i\varphi}\begin{bmatrix}
e^{i\varphi_1} \cos \theta & e^{i\varphi_2} \sin \theta \\
-e^{-i\varphi_2} \sin \theta & e^{-i\varphi_1} \cos \theta \\
\end{bmatrix} ,

which, by introducing φ1 = ψ + Δ and φ2 = ψ − Δ, takes the following factorization:

U = 
e^{i\varphi}\begin{bmatrix}
e^{i\psi} & 0 \\
0 & e^{-i\psi}
\end{bmatrix}
\begin{bmatrix}
\cos \theta  & \sin \theta \\
-\sin \theta & \cos \theta \\
\end{bmatrix} 
\begin{bmatrix}
e^{i\Delta} & 0 \\
0 & e^{-i\Delta}
\end{bmatrix} .

This expression highlights the relation between 2 × 2 unitary matrices and 2 × 2 orthogonal matrices of angle θ.

Many other factorizations of a unitary matrix in basic matrices are possible.

See also

References

  1. Li, Chi-Kwong; Poon, Edward (2002). "Additive Decomposition of Real Matrices". Linear and Multilinear Algebra 50 (4): 321–326. doi:10.1080/03081080290025507.

External links

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