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In mathematics, 'Clifford algebras' are a type of associative algebra. They can be thought of as one of the possible generalizations of the complex numbers and quaternions. The theory of Clifford algebras is intimately connected with the theory of quadratic forms and orthogonal transformations. Clifford algebras have important applications in a variety of fields including geometry and theoretical physics. They are named for the English geometer William Kingdon Clifford.
:''Some familiarity with the basics of multilinear algebra will be useful in reading this article.''
Specifically, a Clifford algebra is a unital associative algebra which contains and is generated by a vector space ''V'' equipped with a quadratic form ''Q''. The Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is the "freest" algebra generated by ''V'' subject to the condition[1]
:
If the characteristic of the ground field ''K'' is not 2, then one can rewrite this fundamental identity in the form
:
where <''u'', ''v''> = ½(''Q''(''u'' + ''v'') − ''Q''(''u'') − ''Q''(''v'')) is the symmetric bilinear form associated to Q. This idea of "freest" or "most general" algebra subject to this identity can be formally expressed through the notion of a universal property (see below).
Clifford algebras are closely related to exterior algebras. In fact, if ''Q'' = 0 then the Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is just the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). For nonzero ''Q'' there exists a canonical ''linear'' isomorphism between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'')
whenever the ground field ''K'' does not have characteristic two. That is, they are naturally isomorphic as vector spaces, but with different multiplications (in the case of characteristic two, they are still isomorphic as vector spaces, just not naturally). Clifford multiplication is strictly richer than the exterior product since it makes use of the extra information provided by ''Q''. More precisely, they may be thought
of as quantizations (cf. quantization (physics), Quantum group) of the exterior algebra, in the same way that the
Weyl algebra is a quantization of the symmetric algebra.
Quadratic forms and Clifford algebras in characteristic 2 form an exceptional case. In particular, if char ''K'' = 2 it is not true that a quadratic form is determined by its symmetric bilinear form, or that every quadratic form admits an orthogonal basis. Many of the statements in this article include the condition that the characteristic is not 2, and are false if this condition is removed.
Let ''V'' be a vector space over a field ''K'', and let ''Q'' : ''V'' → ''K'' be a quadratic form on ''V''.
In most cases of interest the field ''K'' is either 'R' or 'C' (which have characteristic 0) or a finite field.
A Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a unital associative algebra over ''K'' together with a linear map ''i'' : ''V'' → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') satisfying ''i''(''v'')2 = ''Q''(''v'')1 for all ''v'' ∈ ''V'', defined by the following universal property: Given any associative algebra ''A'' over ''K'' and any linear map ''j'' : ''V'' → ''A'' such that
:''j''(''v'')2 = ''Q''(''v'')1 for all ''v'' ∈ ''V''
(where 1 denotes the multiplicative identity of ''A''), there is a unique algebra homomorphism ''f'' : ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → ''A''
such that the following diagram commutes (i.e. such that ''f'' o ''i'' = ''j''):
Working with a symmetric bilinear form <·,·> instead of ''Q'' (in characteristic not 2), the requirement on ''j'' is
:''j''(''v'')''j''(''w'') + ''j''(''w'')''j''(''v'')'' = 2<''v'', ''w''> for all ''v'', ''w'' ∈ ''V''.
A Clifford algebra as described above always exists and can be constructed as follows: start with the most general algebra that contains ''V'', namely the tensor algebra ''T''(''V''), and then enforce the fundamental identity by taking a suitable quotient. In our case we want to take the two-sided ideal ''I''''Q'' in ''T''(''V'') generated by all elements of the form
: for all
and define ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as the quotient
:''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') = T(''V'')/''I''''Q''.
It is then straightforward to show that ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') contains ''V'' and satisfies the above universal property, so that ''C''ℓ is unique up to a unique isomorphism; thus one speaks of "the" Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'', ''Q''). It also follows from this construction that ''i'' is injective. One usually drops the ''i'' and considers ''V'' as a linear subspace of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
The universal characterization of the Clifford algebra shows that the construction of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is ''functorial'' in nature. Namely, ''C''ℓ can be considered as a functor from the category of vector spaces with quadratic forms (whose morphisms are linear maps preserving the quadratic form) to the category of associative algebras. The universal property guarantees that linear maps between vector spaces (preserving the quadratic form) extend uniquely to algebra homomorphisms between the associated Clifford algebras.
If the dimension of ''V'' is ''n'' and {''e''1,…,''e''''n''} is a basis of ''V'', then the set
:
is a basis for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The empty product (''k'' = 0) is defined as the multiplicative identity element. For each value of ''k'' there are ''n'' choose ''k'' basis elements, so the total dimension of the Clifford algebra is
:
Since ''V'' comes equipped with a quadratic form, there is a set of privileged bases for ''V'': the orthogonal ones. An orthogonal basis is one such that
:
where <·,·> is the symmetric bilinear form associated to ''Q''. The fundamental Clifford identity implies that for an orthogonal basis
:
This makes manipulation of orthogonal basis vectors quite simple. Given a product of ''distinct'' orthogonal basis vectors, one can put them into standard order by including an overall sign corresponding to the number of flips needed to correctly order them (i.e. the signature of the ordering permutation).
If the characteristic is not 2 then an orthogonal basis for ''V'' exists, and one can easily extend the quadratic form on ''V'' to a quadratic form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') by requiring that distinct elements are orthogonal to one another whenever the {''e''''i''}'s are orthogonal. Additionally, one sets
:.
The quadratic form on a scalar is just ''Q''(λ) = λ2. Thus, orthogonal bases for ''V'' extend to orthogonal bases for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The quadratic form defined in this way is actually independent of the orthogonal basis chosen (a basis-independent formulation will be given later).
Main articles: geometric algebra
The most important Clifford algebras are those over real and complex vector spaces equipped with nondegenerate quadratic forms.
Every nondegenerate quadratic form on a finite-dimensional real vector space is equivalent to the standard diagonal form:
:
where ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'' is the dimension of the vector space. The pair of integers (''p'', ''q'') is called the signature of the quadratic form. The real vector space with this quadratic form is often denoted 'R'''p'',''q''. The Clifford algebra on 'R'''p'',''q'' is denoted ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R').
The symbol
''C''ℓ''n''('R')
means either
''C''ℓ''n'',0('R')
or
''C''ℓ0,''n''('R')
depending on whether the author prefers positive definite or negative definite spaces.
A standard orthonormal basis {''e''''i''} for 'R'''p'',''q'' consists of ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'' mutually orthogonal vectors, ''p'' of which have norm +1 and ''q'' of which have norm −1. The algebra ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') will therefore have ''p'' vectors which square to +1 and ''q'' vectors which square to −1.
Note that ''C''ℓ0,0('R') is naturally isomorphic to 'R' since there are no nonzero vectors. ''C''ℓ0,1('R') is a two-dimensional algebra generated by a single vector ''e''1 which squares to −1, and therefore is isomorphic to 'C', the field of complex numbers. The algebra ''C''ℓ0,2('R') is a four-dimensional algebra spanned by {1, ''e''1, ''e''2, ''e''1''e''2}. The latter three elements square to −1 and all anticommute, and so the algebra is isomorphic to the quaternions 'H'. The next algebra in the sequence is ''C''ℓ0,3('R') is an 8-dimensional algebra isomorphic to the direct sum 'H' ⊕ 'H' called Clifford biquaternions.
One can also study Clifford algebras on complex vector spaces. Every nondegenerate quadratic form on a complex vector space is equivalent to the standard diagonal form
:
where ''n'' = dim ''V'', so there is essentially only one Clifford algebra in each dimension. We will denote the Clifford algebra on 'C'''n'' with the standard quadratic form by ''C''ℓ''n''('C'). One can show that the algebra ''C''ℓ''n''('C') may be obtained as the complexification of the algebra ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') where ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'':
:.
Here ''Q'' is the real quadratic form of signature (''p'',''q''). Note that the complexification does not depend on the signature. The first few cases are not hard to compute. One finds that
:''C''ℓ0('C') = 'C'
:''C''ℓ1('C') = 'C' ⊕ 'C'
:''C''ℓ2('C') = ''M''2('C')
where ''M''2('C') denotes the algebra of 2×2 matrices over 'C'.
It turns out that every one of the algebras ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') and ''C''ℓ''n''('C') is isomorphic to a matrix algebra over 'R', 'C', or 'H' or to a direct sum of two such algebras. For a complete classification of these algebras see classification of Clifford algebras.
Given a vector space ''V'' one can construct the exterior algebra Λ(''V''), whose definition is independent of any quadratic form on ''V''. It turns out that if ''F'' does not have characteristic 2 then there is a natural isomorphism between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') considered as vector spaces (and there exists an isomorphism in characteristic two, which may not be natural). This is an algebra isomorphism if and only if ''Q'' = 0. One can thus consider the Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as an enrichment (or more precisely, a quantization, cf. the Introduction) of the exterior algebra on ''V'' with a multiplication that depends on ''Q'' (one can still define the exterior product independent of ''Q'').
The easiest way to establish the isomorphism is to choose an ''orthogonal'' basis {''e''''i''} for ''V'' and extend it to an orthogonal basis for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as described above. The map ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → Λ(''V'') is determined by
:
Note that this only works if the basis {''e''''i''} is orthogonal. One can show that this map is independent of the choice of orthogonal basis and so gives a natural isomorphism.
If the characteristic of ''K'' is 0, one can also establish the isomorphism by antisymmetrizing. Define functions ''f''''k'' : ''V'' × … × ''V'' → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') by
:
where the sum is taken over the symmetric group on ''k'' elements. Since ''f''''k'' is alternating it induces a unique linear map Λ''k''(''V'') → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The direct sum of these maps gives a linear map between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). This map can be shown to be a linear isomorphism, and it is natural.
A more sophisticated way to view the relationship is to construct a filtration on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). Recall that the tensor algebra ''T''(''V'') has a natural filtration: ''F''0 ⊂ ''F''1 ⊂ ''F''2 ⊂ … where ''F''''k'' contains sums of tensors with rank ≤ ''k''. Projecting this down to the Clifford algebra gives a filtration on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The associated graded algebra
:
is naturally isomorphic to the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). Since the associated graded algebra of a filtered algebra is always isomorphic to the filtered
algebra as filtered vector spaces (by choosing complements of ''F''k in ''F''k+1 for all ''k''), this provides an isomorphism (although not a natural one) in any characteristic, even two.
The linear map on ''V'' defined by preserves the quadratic form ''Q'' and so by the universal property of Clifford algebras extends to an algebra automorphism
:α : ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
Since α is an involution (i.e. it squares to the identity) one can decompose ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') into positive and negative eigenspaces
:
where ''C''ℓ''i''(''V'',''Q'') = {''x'' ∈ ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') | α(''x'') = (−1)''i''''x''}. Since α is an automorphism it follows that
:
where the superscripts are read modulo 2. This means that ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a 'Z'2-graded algebra (also known as a superalgebra). Note that ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') forms a subalgebra of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''), called the ''even subalgebra''. The piece ''C''ℓ1(''V'',''Q'') is called the ''odd part'' of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') (it is not a subalgebra). This 'Z'2-grading plays an important role in the analysis and application of Clifford algebras. The automorphism α is called the ''main involution'' or ''grade involution''.
''Remark''. In characteristic not 2 the algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') inherits a 'Z'-grading from the canonical isomorphism with the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). It is important to note, however, that this is a ''vector space grading only''. That is, Clifford multiplication does not respect the 'Z'-grading only the 'Z'2-grading. Happily, the gradings are related in the natural way: 'Z'2 = 'Z'/2'Z'. The ''degree'' of a Clifford number usually refers to the degree in the 'Z'-grading. Elements which are pure in the 'Z'2-grading are simply said to be even or odd.
If the characteristic of ''F'' is not 2 then the even subalgebra ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') of a Clifford algebra is itself a Clifford algebra.
If ''V'' is the orthogonal direct sum of a vector ''a'' of norm ''Q''(''a'') and a subspace ''U'',
then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is isomorphic to ''C''ℓ(''U'',−''Q''(''a'')''Q''),
where −''Q''(''a'')''Q'' is the form ''Q'' restricted to ''U'' and multiplied by −''Q''(''a'').
In particular over the reals this implies that
: for ''q'' > 0, and
:for ''p'' > 0.
In the negative-definite case this gives an inclusion ''C''ℓ0,''n''−1('R') ⊂ ''C''ℓ0, ''n''('R') which extends the sequence
:'R' ⊂ 'C' ⊂ 'H' ⊂ 'H'⊕'H' ⊂ …
Likewise, in the complex case, one can show that the even subalgebra of ''C''ℓ''n''('C') is isomorphic to ''C''ℓ''n''−1('C').
In addition to the automorphism α, there are two antiautomorphisms which play an important role in the analysis of Clifford algebras. Recall that the tensor algebra ''T''(''V'') comes with an antiautomorphism that reverses the order in all products:
:.
Since the ideal ''I''''Q'' is invariant under this reversal, this operation descends to an antiautomorphism of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') called the ''transpose'' or ''reversal'' operation, denoted by ''x''''t''. The transpose is an antiautomorphism: . The transpose operation makes no use of the 'Z'2-grading so we define a second antiautomorphism by composing α and the transpose. We call this operation ''Clifford conjugation'' denoted
:
Of the two antiautomorphisms, the transpose is the more fundamental.[2]
Note that all of these operations are involutions. One can show that they act as ±1 on elements which are pure in the 'Z'-grading. In fact, all three operations depend only on the degree modulo 4. That is, if ''x'' is pure with degree ''k'' then
:
where the signs are given by the following table:
When the characteristic is not 2
the quadratic form ''Q'' on ''V'' can be extended to a quadratic form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as explained earlier (which we also denoted by ''Q''). A basis independent definition is
:
where <''a''> denotes the scalar part of ''a'' (the grade 0 part in the 'Z'-grading). One can show that
:
where the ''v''''i'' are elements of ''V'' — this identity is ''not'' true for arbitrary elements of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
The associated symmetric bilinear form on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is given by
:
One can check that this reduces to the original bilinear form when restricted to ''V''. The bilinear form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is nondegenerate if and only if it is nondegenerate on ''V''.
It is not hard to verify that the transpose is the adjoint of left/right Clifford multiplication with respect to this inner product. That is,
: and
:
In this section we assume that the vector space ''V'' is finite dimensional and
that the bilinear form of ''Q'' is non-singular. A central simple algebra over ''K''
is a matrix algebra over a (finite dimensional) division algebra with center ''K''. For example, the central simple algebras over the reals are matrix algebras over either the reals or the quaternions.
★ If ''V'' has even dimension then ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has even dimension then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over a quadratic extension of ''K'' or a sum of two isomorphic central simple algebras over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has odd dimension then ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over a quadratic extension of ''K'' or a sum of two isomorphic central simple algebras over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has odd dimension then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over ''K''.
The structure of Clifford algebras can be worked out explicitly using the following result. Suppose that ''U'' has even dimension and a non-singular bilinear form with discriminant ''d'', and suppose that ''V'' is another vector space with a quadratic form. The Clifford algebra of ''U''+''V'' is isomorphic to
the tensor product of the Clifford algebras of ''U'' and (−1)dim(''U'')/2''dV'', which is the space ''V'' with its quadratic form multiplied by (−1)dim(''U'')/2''d''.
Over the reals, this implies in particular that
:
:
:
These formulas can be used to find the structure of all real Clifford algebras; see the classification of Clifford algebras.
In this section we assume that ''V'' is finite dimensional and the bilinear form of ''Q'' is non-singular.
The Clifford group Γ is defined to be the set of invertible elements ''x'' of the Clifford algebra such that
:
for all ''v'' in ''V''.
This formula also defines an action of the Clifford group on the vector space ''V'' that preserves the norm ''Q'', and so gives a homomorphism from the Clifford group to the orthogonal group. The Clifford group contains all elements ''r'' of ''V'' of nonzero norm, and these act on ''V'' by the corresponding reflections that take ''v'' to ''v'' − <''v'',''r''>''r''/''Q''(''r'') (In characteristic 2 these are called orthogonal transvections rather than reflections.)
Many authors define the Clifford group slightly differently, by replacing
the action ''xv''α(''x'')−1 by ''xvx''−1. This produces the same Clifford group, but the action of the Clifford group on ''V'' is changed slightly: the action of the odd elements Γ1 of the Clifford group is multiplied by an extra factor of −1. This action used here has several minor advantages: it is consistent with the usual superalgebra sign conventions, elements of ''V'' correspond to reflections, and in odd dimensions the map from the Clifford group to the orthogonal group is onto, and the kernel is no larger than ''K''
★ . Using the action α(''x'')''vx''−1 instead of ''xv''α(''x'')−1 makes no difference: it produces the same Clifford group with the same action on ''V''.
The Clifford group Γ is the disjoint union of two subsets Γ0 and Γ1, where Γ''i''
is the subset of elements of degree ''i''. The subset Γ0
is a subgroup of index 2 in Γ.
If ''V'' is finite dimensional with nondegenerate bilinear form then the Clifford group maps onto the orthogonal group of ''V'' (by the Cartan-Dieudonné theorem) and the kernel consists of the nonzero elements of the field ''K''. This leads to exact sequences
:
:
In arbitrary characteristic, the spinor norm ''Q'' is defined on the Clifford group by
:
It is a homomorphism from the Clifford group to the group
''K''
★ of non-zero elements of ''K''. It coincides with the quadratic form ''Q'' of ''V'' when ''V'' is identified with a subspace of the Clifford algebra.
Several authors define the spinor norm slightly differently, so that it differs from the one here by a factor of −1, 2, or −2 on Γ1. The difference is not very important.
The nonzero elements of ''K'' have spinor norm in the group ''K''
★ 2 of squares of nonzero elements of the field ''K''. So when ''V'' is finite dimensional and non-singular we get an induced map from the orthogonal group of ''V'' to the group ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2, also called the spinor norm. The spinor norm of the reflection of a vector
''r'' has image ''Q''(''r'') in ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2, and this property uniquely defines it on the orthogonal group. This gives exact sequences:
:
:
Note that in characteristic 2 the group {±1} has just one element.
In this section we assume that ''V'' is finite dimensional and its bilinear form is non-singular. (If ''K'' has characteristic 2 this implies that the dimension of ''V'' is even.)
The Pin group ''Pin''V(''K'') is the subgroup of the
Clifford group Γ of elements of spinor norm 1, and similarly the
Spin group ''Spin''V(''K'') is the subgroup of elements of Dickson invariant 0 in ''Pin''V(''K''). When the characteristic is not 2, these are the elements of determinant 1. The Spin group usually has index 2 in the Pin group.
Recall from the previous section that there is a homomorphism from the Clifford group onto the orthogonal group. We define the special orthogonal group to be the image of Γ0. If ''K'' does not have characteristic 2 this is just the group of elements of the orthogonal group of determinant 1. If ''K'' does have characteristic 2, then all elements of the orthogonal group have determinant 1, and the special orthogonal group is the set of elements of Dickson invariant 0.
There is a homomorphism from the Pin group to the orthogonal group. The image consists of the elements of spinor norm 1 ∈ ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2.
The kernel consists of the elements +1 and −1, and has order 2
unless ''K'' has characteristic 2. Similarly there is a homomorphism from the Spin group to the special orthogonal group of ''V''.
In the common case when ''V'' is a positive or negative definite space over the reals, the spin group maps onto the special orthogonal group, and is simply connected when ''V'' has dimension at least 3. Please note, however, that this is not true in general: if ''V'' is ''R''''p'',''q'' for ''p'' and ''q'' both at least 2 then the spin group is not simply connected. In this case the algebraic group ''Spin''''p'',''q'' is simply connected as an algebraic group, even though its group of real valued points ''Spin''''p'',''q''(''R'') is not simply connected. This is a rather subtle point, which completely confused the authors of at least one standard book about spin groups.
See spinor group, spinor.
Clifford algebras ''Cℓ''''p'',''q''('C'), with ''p+q=2n'' even, are matrix algebras which have a complex
representation of dimension 2n. By restricting to the group ''Pin''''p'',''q''('R') we get a complex representation of the Pin group
of the same dimension, called the spinor representation. If we restrict this to the spin group ''Spin''''p'',''q''('R') then it splits as the sum of two ''half spin representations'' (or ''Weyl representations'') of dimension 2''n''-1.
If ''p+q=2n+1'' is odd then the Clifford algebra ''Cℓ''''p'',''q''('C') is a sum of two matrix algebras, each of which has a representation of dimension 2n, and these are also both representations of the Pin group ''Pin''''p'',''q''('R'). On restriction to the spin group ''Spin''''p'',''q''('R') these become isomorphic, so the spin group has a complex spinor representation of dimension 2''n''.
More generally, spinor groups and pin groups over any field have similar
representations whose exact structure depends on the structure of the corresponding Clifford algebras: whenever a Clifford algebra has a factor that
is a matrix algebra over some division algebra, we get a corresponding representation of the pin and spin groups over that division algebra.
For examples over the reals see the article on spinors.
To describe the real spin representations, one must know how the spin group sits inside its Clifford algebra. The Pin group, ''Pin''p,q is the set of invertible elements in Clp,q which can be written as a product of unit vectors:
:
Comparing with the above concrete realizations of the Clifford algebras, the Pin group corresponds to the products of arbitrarily many reflections: it is a cover of the full orthogonal group ''O''(''p'',''q''). The Spin group consists of those elements of ''Pin''''p'',''q'' which are products of an even number of unit vectors. Thus by the Cartan-Dieudonné theorem ''Spin'' is a cover of the group of proper rotations ''SO''(''p'',''q'').
Let ''α'' : ''C''ℓ → ''C''ℓ be the automorphism which is given by -''Id'' acting on pure vectors. Then in particular, ''Spin''''p'',''q'' is the subgroup of ''Pin''''p'',''q'' whose elements are fixed by ''α''. Let
:.
(These are precisely the elements of even degree in ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''.) Then the spin group lies within ''C''ℓ0''p'',''q''.
The irreducible representations of Cℓ''p'',''q'' restrict to give representations of the pin group. Conversely, since the pin group is generated by unit vectors, all of its irreducible representation are induced in this manner. Thus the two representations coincide. For the same reasons, the irreducible representations of the spin coincide with the irreducible representations of Cℓ0p,q
To classify the pin representations, one need only appeal to the classification of Clifford algebras. To find the spin representations (which are representations of the even subalgebra), one can first make use of either of the isomorphisms (see above)
:Cℓ0p,q ≈ Cℓp,q-1, for ''q'' > 0
:Cℓ0p,q ≈ Cℓq,p-1, for ''p'' > 0
and realize a spin representation in signature (''p'',''q'') as a pin representation in either signature (''p'',''q''-1) or (''q'',''p''-1).
One of the principal applications of the exterior algebra is in differential geometry where it is used to define the bundle of differential forms on a smooth manifold. In the case of a (pseudo-)Riemannian manifold, the tangent spaces come equipped with a natural quadratic form induced by the metric. Thus, one can define a Clifford bundle in analogy with the exterior bundle. This has a number of important applications in Riemannian geometry.
Clifford algebras have numerous important applications in physics. Physicists usually consider a Clifford algebra to be an algebra spanned by matrices γ1,…,γ''n'' called Dirac matrices which have the property that
:
where η is the matrix of a quadratic form of signature (''p'',''q'') — typically (1,3) when working in Minkowski space. These are exactly the defining relations for the Clifford algebra ''Cl''1,3(''C'') (up to an unimportant factor of 2),
which by the classification of Clifford algebras is isomorphic to
the algebra of 4 by 4 complex matrices.
The Dirac matrices were first written down by Paul Dirac when he was trying to write a relativistic first-order wave equation for the electron, and give an explicit isomorphism from the Clifford algebra to the algebra of complex matrices. The result was used to define the Dirac equation. The entire Clifford algebra shows up in quantum field theory in the form of Dirac field bilinears.
★ Algebra of physical space, APS
★ Classification of Clifford algebras
★ Representations of Clifford algebras
★ Gamma matrices
★ Exterior algebra
★ Geometric algebra
★ Spin group
★ Spinor
★ Paravector
1. Mathematicians who work with real Clifford algebras and prefer positive definite quadratic forms (especially those working in index theory) sometimes use a different choice of sign in the fundamental Clifford identity. That is, they take ''v''2 = −''Q''(''v''). One must replace ''Q'' with −''Q'' in going from one convention to the other.
2. The opposite is true when uses the alternate (−) sign convention for Clifford algebras: it is the conjugate which is more important. In general, the meanings of conjugation and transpose are interchanged when passing from one sign convention to the other. For example, in the convention used here the inverse of a vector is given by while in the (−) convention it is given by .
★ Carnahan, S. ''Borcherds Seminar Notes, Uncut.'' Week 5, "Spinors and Clifford Algebras".
★ Lawson and Michelsohn, ''Spin Geometry'', Princeton University Press. 1989. ISBN 0-691-08542-0. An advanced textbook on Clifford algebras and their applications to differential geometry.
★ Lounesto, P., ''Clifford Algebras and Spinors'', Cambridge University Press. 2001. ISBN 0-521-00551-5.
★ Porteous, I., ''Clifford Algebras and the Classical Groups'', Cambridge University Press. 1995. ISBN 0-521-55177-3.
★ Planetmath entry on Clifford algebras
★ A history of Clifford algebras (unverified)
:''Some familiarity with the basics of multilinear algebra will be useful in reading this article.''
Introduction and basic properties
Specifically, a Clifford algebra is a unital associative algebra which contains and is generated by a vector space ''V'' equipped with a quadratic form ''Q''. The Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is the "freest" algebra generated by ''V'' subject to the condition[1]
:
If the characteristic of the ground field ''K'' is not 2, then one can rewrite this fundamental identity in the form
:
where <''u'', ''v''> = ½(''Q''(''u'' + ''v'') − ''Q''(''u'') − ''Q''(''v'')) is the symmetric bilinear form associated to Q. This idea of "freest" or "most general" algebra subject to this identity can be formally expressed through the notion of a universal property (see below).
Clifford algebras are closely related to exterior algebras. In fact, if ''Q'' = 0 then the Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is just the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). For nonzero ''Q'' there exists a canonical ''linear'' isomorphism between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'')
whenever the ground field ''K'' does not have characteristic two. That is, they are naturally isomorphic as vector spaces, but with different multiplications (in the case of characteristic two, they are still isomorphic as vector spaces, just not naturally). Clifford multiplication is strictly richer than the exterior product since it makes use of the extra information provided by ''Q''. More precisely, they may be thought
of as quantizations (cf. quantization (physics), Quantum group) of the exterior algebra, in the same way that the
Weyl algebra is a quantization of the symmetric algebra.
Quadratic forms and Clifford algebras in characteristic 2 form an exceptional case. In particular, if char ''K'' = 2 it is not true that a quadratic form is determined by its symmetric bilinear form, or that every quadratic form admits an orthogonal basis. Many of the statements in this article include the condition that the characteristic is not 2, and are false if this condition is removed.
Universal property and construction
Let ''V'' be a vector space over a field ''K'', and let ''Q'' : ''V'' → ''K'' be a quadratic form on ''V''.
In most cases of interest the field ''K'' is either 'R' or 'C' (which have characteristic 0) or a finite field.
A Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a unital associative algebra over ''K'' together with a linear map ''i'' : ''V'' → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') satisfying ''i''(''v'')2 = ''Q''(''v'')1 for all ''v'' ∈ ''V'', defined by the following universal property: Given any associative algebra ''A'' over ''K'' and any linear map ''j'' : ''V'' → ''A'' such that
:''j''(''v'')2 = ''Q''(''v'')1 for all ''v'' ∈ ''V''
(where 1 denotes the multiplicative identity of ''A''), there is a unique algebra homomorphism ''f'' : ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → ''A''
such that the following diagram commutes (i.e. such that ''f'' o ''i'' = ''j''):
CliffordAlgebra-01.png
Working with a symmetric bilinear form <·,·> instead of ''Q'' (in characteristic not 2), the requirement on ''j'' is
:''j''(''v'')''j''(''w'') + ''j''(''w'')''j''(''v'')'' = 2<''v'', ''w''> for all ''v'', ''w'' ∈ ''V''.
A Clifford algebra as described above always exists and can be constructed as follows: start with the most general algebra that contains ''V'', namely the tensor algebra ''T''(''V''), and then enforce the fundamental identity by taking a suitable quotient. In our case we want to take the two-sided ideal ''I''''Q'' in ''T''(''V'') generated by all elements of the form
: for all
and define ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as the quotient
:''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') = T(''V'')/''I''''Q''.
It is then straightforward to show that ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') contains ''V'' and satisfies the above universal property, so that ''C''ℓ is unique up to a unique isomorphism; thus one speaks of "the" Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'', ''Q''). It also follows from this construction that ''i'' is injective. One usually drops the ''i'' and considers ''V'' as a linear subspace of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
The universal characterization of the Clifford algebra shows that the construction of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is ''functorial'' in nature. Namely, ''C''ℓ can be considered as a functor from the category of vector spaces with quadratic forms (whose morphisms are linear maps preserving the quadratic form) to the category of associative algebras. The universal property guarantees that linear maps between vector spaces (preserving the quadratic form) extend uniquely to algebra homomorphisms between the associated Clifford algebras.
Basis and dimension
If the dimension of ''V'' is ''n'' and {''e''1,…,''e''''n''} is a basis of ''V'', then the set
:
is a basis for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The empty product (''k'' = 0) is defined as the multiplicative identity element. For each value of ''k'' there are ''n'' choose ''k'' basis elements, so the total dimension of the Clifford algebra is
:
Since ''V'' comes equipped with a quadratic form, there is a set of privileged bases for ''V'': the orthogonal ones. An orthogonal basis is one such that
:
where <·,·> is the symmetric bilinear form associated to ''Q''. The fundamental Clifford identity implies that for an orthogonal basis
:
This makes manipulation of orthogonal basis vectors quite simple. Given a product of ''distinct'' orthogonal basis vectors, one can put them into standard order by including an overall sign corresponding to the number of flips needed to correctly order them (i.e. the signature of the ordering permutation).
If the characteristic is not 2 then an orthogonal basis for ''V'' exists, and one can easily extend the quadratic form on ''V'' to a quadratic form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') by requiring that distinct elements are orthogonal to one another whenever the {''e''''i''}'s are orthogonal. Additionally, one sets
:.
The quadratic form on a scalar is just ''Q''(λ) = λ2. Thus, orthogonal bases for ''V'' extend to orthogonal bases for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The quadratic form defined in this way is actually independent of the orthogonal basis chosen (a basis-independent formulation will be given later).
Examples: Real and complex Clifford algebras
Main articles: geometric algebra
The most important Clifford algebras are those over real and complex vector spaces equipped with nondegenerate quadratic forms.
Every nondegenerate quadratic form on a finite-dimensional real vector space is equivalent to the standard diagonal form:
:
where ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'' is the dimension of the vector space. The pair of integers (''p'', ''q'') is called the signature of the quadratic form. The real vector space with this quadratic form is often denoted 'R'''p'',''q''. The Clifford algebra on 'R'''p'',''q'' is denoted ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R').
The symbol
''C''ℓ''n''('R')
means either
''C''ℓ''n'',0('R')
or
''C''ℓ0,''n''('R')
depending on whether the author prefers positive definite or negative definite spaces.
A standard orthonormal basis {''e''''i''} for 'R'''p'',''q'' consists of ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'' mutually orthogonal vectors, ''p'' of which have norm +1 and ''q'' of which have norm −1. The algebra ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') will therefore have ''p'' vectors which square to +1 and ''q'' vectors which square to −1.
Note that ''C''ℓ0,0('R') is naturally isomorphic to 'R' since there are no nonzero vectors. ''C''ℓ0,1('R') is a two-dimensional algebra generated by a single vector ''e''1 which squares to −1, and therefore is isomorphic to 'C', the field of complex numbers. The algebra ''C''ℓ0,2('R') is a four-dimensional algebra spanned by {1, ''e''1, ''e''2, ''e''1''e''2}. The latter three elements square to −1 and all anticommute, and so the algebra is isomorphic to the quaternions 'H'. The next algebra in the sequence is ''C''ℓ0,3('R') is an 8-dimensional algebra isomorphic to the direct sum 'H' ⊕ 'H' called Clifford biquaternions.
One can also study Clifford algebras on complex vector spaces. Every nondegenerate quadratic form on a complex vector space is equivalent to the standard diagonal form
:
where ''n'' = dim ''V'', so there is essentially only one Clifford algebra in each dimension. We will denote the Clifford algebra on 'C'''n'' with the standard quadratic form by ''C''ℓ''n''('C'). One can show that the algebra ''C''ℓ''n''('C') may be obtained as the complexification of the algebra ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') where ''n'' = ''p'' + ''q'':
:.
Here ''Q'' is the real quadratic form of signature (''p'',''q''). Note that the complexification does not depend on the signature. The first few cases are not hard to compute. One finds that
:''C''ℓ0('C') = 'C'
:''C''ℓ1('C') = 'C' ⊕ 'C'
:''C''ℓ2('C') = ''M''2('C')
where ''M''2('C') denotes the algebra of 2×2 matrices over 'C'.
It turns out that every one of the algebras ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''('R') and ''C''ℓ''n''('C') is isomorphic to a matrix algebra over 'R', 'C', or 'H' or to a direct sum of two such algebras. For a complete classification of these algebras see classification of Clifford algebras.
Properties
Relation to the exterior algebra
Given a vector space ''V'' one can construct the exterior algebra Λ(''V''), whose definition is independent of any quadratic form on ''V''. It turns out that if ''F'' does not have characteristic 2 then there is a natural isomorphism between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') considered as vector spaces (and there exists an isomorphism in characteristic two, which may not be natural). This is an algebra isomorphism if and only if ''Q'' = 0. One can thus consider the Clifford algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as an enrichment (or more precisely, a quantization, cf. the Introduction) of the exterior algebra on ''V'' with a multiplication that depends on ''Q'' (one can still define the exterior product independent of ''Q'').
The easiest way to establish the isomorphism is to choose an ''orthogonal'' basis {''e''''i''} for ''V'' and extend it to an orthogonal basis for ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as described above. The map ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → Λ(''V'') is determined by
:
Note that this only works if the basis {''e''''i''} is orthogonal. One can show that this map is independent of the choice of orthogonal basis and so gives a natural isomorphism.
If the characteristic of ''K'' is 0, one can also establish the isomorphism by antisymmetrizing. Define functions ''f''''k'' : ''V'' × … × ''V'' → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') by
:
where the sum is taken over the symmetric group on ''k'' elements. Since ''f''''k'' is alternating it induces a unique linear map Λ''k''(''V'') → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The direct sum of these maps gives a linear map between Λ(''V'') and ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). This map can be shown to be a linear isomorphism, and it is natural.
A more sophisticated way to view the relationship is to construct a filtration on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). Recall that the tensor algebra ''T''(''V'') has a natural filtration: ''F''0 ⊂ ''F''1 ⊂ ''F''2 ⊂ … where ''F''''k'' contains sums of tensors with rank ≤ ''k''. Projecting this down to the Clifford algebra gives a filtration on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''). The associated graded algebra
:
is naturally isomorphic to the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). Since the associated graded algebra of a filtered algebra is always isomorphic to the filtered
algebra as filtered vector spaces (by choosing complements of ''F''k in ''F''k+1 for all ''k''), this provides an isomorphism (although not a natural one) in any characteristic, even two.
Grading
The linear map on ''V'' defined by preserves the quadratic form ''Q'' and so by the universal property of Clifford algebras extends to an algebra automorphism
:α : ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') → ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
Since α is an involution (i.e. it squares to the identity) one can decompose ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') into positive and negative eigenspaces
:
where ''C''ℓ''i''(''V'',''Q'') = {''x'' ∈ ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') | α(''x'') = (−1)''i''''x''}. Since α is an automorphism it follows that
:
where the superscripts are read modulo 2. This means that ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a 'Z'2-graded algebra (also known as a superalgebra). Note that ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') forms a subalgebra of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q''), called the ''even subalgebra''. The piece ''C''ℓ1(''V'',''Q'') is called the ''odd part'' of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') (it is not a subalgebra). This 'Z'2-grading plays an important role in the analysis and application of Clifford algebras. The automorphism α is called the ''main involution'' or ''grade involution''.
''Remark''. In characteristic not 2 the algebra ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') inherits a 'Z'-grading from the canonical isomorphism with the exterior algebra Λ(''V''). It is important to note, however, that this is a ''vector space grading only''. That is, Clifford multiplication does not respect the 'Z'-grading only the 'Z'2-grading. Happily, the gradings are related in the natural way: 'Z'2 = 'Z'/2'Z'. The ''degree'' of a Clifford number usually refers to the degree in the 'Z'-grading. Elements which are pure in the 'Z'2-grading are simply said to be even or odd.
If the characteristic of ''F'' is not 2 then the even subalgebra ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') of a Clifford algebra is itself a Clifford algebra.
If ''V'' is the orthogonal direct sum of a vector ''a'' of norm ''Q''(''a'') and a subspace ''U'',
then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is isomorphic to ''C''ℓ(''U'',−''Q''(''a'')''Q''),
where −''Q''(''a'')''Q'' is the form ''Q'' restricted to ''U'' and multiplied by −''Q''(''a'').
In particular over the reals this implies that
: for ''q'' > 0, and
:for ''p'' > 0.
In the negative-definite case this gives an inclusion ''C''ℓ0,''n''−1('R') ⊂ ''C''ℓ0, ''n''('R') which extends the sequence
:'R' ⊂ 'C' ⊂ 'H' ⊂ 'H'⊕'H' ⊂ …
Likewise, in the complex case, one can show that the even subalgebra of ''C''ℓ''n''('C') is isomorphic to ''C''ℓ''n''−1('C').
Antiautomorphisms
In addition to the automorphism α, there are two antiautomorphisms which play an important role in the analysis of Clifford algebras. Recall that the tensor algebra ''T''(''V'') comes with an antiautomorphism that reverses the order in all products:
:.
Since the ideal ''I''''Q'' is invariant under this reversal, this operation descends to an antiautomorphism of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') called the ''transpose'' or ''reversal'' operation, denoted by ''x''''t''. The transpose is an antiautomorphism: . The transpose operation makes no use of the 'Z'2-grading so we define a second antiautomorphism by composing α and the transpose. We call this operation ''Clifford conjugation'' denoted
:
Of the two antiautomorphisms, the transpose is the more fundamental.[2]
Note that all of these operations are involutions. One can show that they act as ±1 on elements which are pure in the 'Z'-grading. In fact, all three operations depend only on the degree modulo 4. That is, if ''x'' is pure with degree ''k'' then
:
where the signs are given by the following table:
| ''k'' mod 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | − | + | − | (−1)''k'' | |
| + | + | − | − | (−1)''k''(''k''−1)/2 | |
| + | − | − | + | (−1)''k''(''k''+1)/2 |
The Clifford scalar product
When the characteristic is not 2
the quadratic form ''Q'' on ''V'' can be extended to a quadratic form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') as explained earlier (which we also denoted by ''Q''). A basis independent definition is
:
where <''a''> denotes the scalar part of ''a'' (the grade 0 part in the 'Z'-grading). One can show that
:
where the ''v''''i'' are elements of ''V'' — this identity is ''not'' true for arbitrary elements of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'').
The associated symmetric bilinear form on ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is given by
:
One can check that this reduces to the original bilinear form when restricted to ''V''. The bilinear form on all of ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is nondegenerate if and only if it is nondegenerate on ''V''.
It is not hard to verify that the transpose is the adjoint of left/right Clifford multiplication with respect to this inner product. That is,
: and
:
Structure of Clifford algebras
In this section we assume that the vector space ''V'' is finite dimensional and
that the bilinear form of ''Q'' is non-singular. A central simple algebra over ''K''
is a matrix algebra over a (finite dimensional) division algebra with center ''K''. For example, the central simple algebras over the reals are matrix algebras over either the reals or the quaternions.
★ If ''V'' has even dimension then ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has even dimension then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over a quadratic extension of ''K'' or a sum of two isomorphic central simple algebras over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has odd dimension then ''C''ℓ(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over a quadratic extension of ''K'' or a sum of two isomorphic central simple algebras over ''K''.
★ If ''V'' has odd dimension then ''C''ℓ0(''V'',''Q'') is a central simple algebra over ''K''.
The structure of Clifford algebras can be worked out explicitly using the following result. Suppose that ''U'' has even dimension and a non-singular bilinear form with discriminant ''d'', and suppose that ''V'' is another vector space with a quadratic form. The Clifford algebra of ''U''+''V'' is isomorphic to
the tensor product of the Clifford algebras of ''U'' and (−1)dim(''U'')/2''dV'', which is the space ''V'' with its quadratic form multiplied by (−1)dim(''U'')/2''d''.
Over the reals, this implies in particular that
:
:
:
These formulas can be used to find the structure of all real Clifford algebras; see the classification of Clifford algebras.
The Clifford group Γ
In this section we assume that ''V'' is finite dimensional and the bilinear form of ''Q'' is non-singular.
The Clifford group Γ is defined to be the set of invertible elements ''x'' of the Clifford algebra such that
:
for all ''v'' in ''V''.
This formula also defines an action of the Clifford group on the vector space ''V'' that preserves the norm ''Q'', and so gives a homomorphism from the Clifford group to the orthogonal group. The Clifford group contains all elements ''r'' of ''V'' of nonzero norm, and these act on ''V'' by the corresponding reflections that take ''v'' to ''v'' − <''v'',''r''>''r''/''Q''(''r'') (In characteristic 2 these are called orthogonal transvections rather than reflections.)
Many authors define the Clifford group slightly differently, by replacing
the action ''xv''α(''x'')−1 by ''xvx''−1. This produces the same Clifford group, but the action of the Clifford group on ''V'' is changed slightly: the action of the odd elements Γ1 of the Clifford group is multiplied by an extra factor of −1. This action used here has several minor advantages: it is consistent with the usual superalgebra sign conventions, elements of ''V'' correspond to reflections, and in odd dimensions the map from the Clifford group to the orthogonal group is onto, and the kernel is no larger than ''K''
★ . Using the action α(''x'')''vx''−1 instead of ''xv''α(''x'')−1 makes no difference: it produces the same Clifford group with the same action on ''V''.
The Clifford group Γ is the disjoint union of two subsets Γ0 and Γ1, where Γ''i''
is the subset of elements of degree ''i''. The subset Γ0
is a subgroup of index 2 in Γ.
If ''V'' is finite dimensional with nondegenerate bilinear form then the Clifford group maps onto the orthogonal group of ''V'' (by the Cartan-Dieudonné theorem) and the kernel consists of the nonzero elements of the field ''K''. This leads to exact sequences
:
:
In arbitrary characteristic, the spinor norm ''Q'' is defined on the Clifford group by
:
It is a homomorphism from the Clifford group to the group
''K''
★ of non-zero elements of ''K''. It coincides with the quadratic form ''Q'' of ''V'' when ''V'' is identified with a subspace of the Clifford algebra.
Several authors define the spinor norm slightly differently, so that it differs from the one here by a factor of −1, 2, or −2 on Γ1. The difference is not very important.
The nonzero elements of ''K'' have spinor norm in the group ''K''
★ 2 of squares of nonzero elements of the field ''K''. So when ''V'' is finite dimensional and non-singular we get an induced map from the orthogonal group of ''V'' to the group ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2, also called the spinor norm. The spinor norm of the reflection of a vector
''r'' has image ''Q''(''r'') in ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2, and this property uniquely defines it on the orthogonal group. This gives exact sequences:
:
:
Note that in characteristic 2 the group {±1} has just one element.
Spin and Pin groups
In this section we assume that ''V'' is finite dimensional and its bilinear form is non-singular. (If ''K'' has characteristic 2 this implies that the dimension of ''V'' is even.)
The Pin group ''Pin''V(''K'') is the subgroup of the
Clifford group Γ of elements of spinor norm 1, and similarly the
Spin group ''Spin''V(''K'') is the subgroup of elements of Dickson invariant 0 in ''Pin''V(''K''). When the characteristic is not 2, these are the elements of determinant 1. The Spin group usually has index 2 in the Pin group.
Recall from the previous section that there is a homomorphism from the Clifford group onto the orthogonal group. We define the special orthogonal group to be the image of Γ0. If ''K'' does not have characteristic 2 this is just the group of elements of the orthogonal group of determinant 1. If ''K'' does have characteristic 2, then all elements of the orthogonal group have determinant 1, and the special orthogonal group is the set of elements of Dickson invariant 0.
There is a homomorphism from the Pin group to the orthogonal group. The image consists of the elements of spinor norm 1 ∈ ''K''
★ /''K''
★ 2.
The kernel consists of the elements +1 and −1, and has order 2
unless ''K'' has characteristic 2. Similarly there is a homomorphism from the Spin group to the special orthogonal group of ''V''.
In the common case when ''V'' is a positive or negative definite space over the reals, the spin group maps onto the special orthogonal group, and is simply connected when ''V'' has dimension at least 3. Please note, however, that this is not true in general: if ''V'' is ''R''''p'',''q'' for ''p'' and ''q'' both at least 2 then the spin group is not simply connected. In this case the algebraic group ''Spin''''p'',''q'' is simply connected as an algebraic group, even though its group of real valued points ''Spin''''p'',''q''(''R'') is not simply connected. This is a rather subtle point, which completely confused the authors of at least one standard book about spin groups.
See spinor group, spinor.
Spinors
Clifford algebras ''Cℓ''''p'',''q''('C'), with ''p+q=2n'' even, are matrix algebras which have a complex
representation of dimension 2n. By restricting to the group ''Pin''''p'',''q''('R') we get a complex representation of the Pin group
of the same dimension, called the spinor representation. If we restrict this to the spin group ''Spin''''p'',''q''('R') then it splits as the sum of two ''half spin representations'' (or ''Weyl representations'') of dimension 2''n''-1.
If ''p+q=2n+1'' is odd then the Clifford algebra ''Cℓ''''p'',''q''('C') is a sum of two matrix algebras, each of which has a representation of dimension 2n, and these are also both representations of the Pin group ''Pin''''p'',''q''('R'). On restriction to the spin group ''Spin''''p'',''q''('R') these become isomorphic, so the spin group has a complex spinor representation of dimension 2''n''.
More generally, spinor groups and pin groups over any field have similar
representations whose exact structure depends on the structure of the corresponding Clifford algebras: whenever a Clifford algebra has a factor that
is a matrix algebra over some division algebra, we get a corresponding representation of the pin and spin groups over that division algebra.
For examples over the reals see the article on spinors.
Real spinors
To describe the real spin representations, one must know how the spin group sits inside its Clifford algebra. The Pin group, ''Pin''p,q is the set of invertible elements in Clp,q which can be written as a product of unit vectors:
:
Comparing with the above concrete realizations of the Clifford algebras, the Pin group corresponds to the products of arbitrarily many reflections: it is a cover of the full orthogonal group ''O''(''p'',''q''). The Spin group consists of those elements of ''Pin''''p'',''q'' which are products of an even number of unit vectors. Thus by the Cartan-Dieudonné theorem ''Spin'' is a cover of the group of proper rotations ''SO''(''p'',''q'').
Let ''α'' : ''C''ℓ → ''C''ℓ be the automorphism which is given by -''Id'' acting on pure vectors. Then in particular, ''Spin''''p'',''q'' is the subgroup of ''Pin''''p'',''q'' whose elements are fixed by ''α''. Let
:.
(These are precisely the elements of even degree in ''C''ℓ''p'',''q''.) Then the spin group lies within ''C''ℓ0''p'',''q''.
The irreducible representations of Cℓ''p'',''q'' restrict to give representations of the pin group. Conversely, since the pin group is generated by unit vectors, all of its irreducible representation are induced in this manner. Thus the two representations coincide. For the same reasons, the irreducible representations of the spin coincide with the irreducible representations of Cℓ0p,q
To classify the pin representations, one need only appeal to the classification of Clifford algebras. To find the spin representations (which are representations of the even subalgebra), one can first make use of either of the isomorphisms (see above)
:Cℓ0p,q ≈ Cℓp,q-1, for ''q'' > 0
:Cℓ0p,q ≈ Cℓq,p-1, for ''p'' > 0
and realize a spin representation in signature (''p'',''q'') as a pin representation in either signature (''p'',''q''-1) or (''q'',''p''-1).
Applications
Differential geometry
One of the principal applications of the exterior algebra is in differential geometry where it is used to define the bundle of differential forms on a smooth manifold. In the case of a (pseudo-)Riemannian manifold, the tangent spaces come equipped with a natural quadratic form induced by the metric. Thus, one can define a Clifford bundle in analogy with the exterior bundle. This has a number of important applications in Riemannian geometry.
Physics
Clifford algebras have numerous important applications in physics. Physicists usually consider a Clifford algebra to be an algebra spanned by matrices γ1,…,γ''n'' called Dirac matrices which have the property that
:
where η is the matrix of a quadratic form of signature (''p'',''q'') — typically (1,3) when working in Minkowski space. These are exactly the defining relations for the Clifford algebra ''Cl''1,3(''C'') (up to an unimportant factor of 2),
which by the classification of Clifford algebras is isomorphic to
the algebra of 4 by 4 complex matrices.
The Dirac matrices were first written down by Paul Dirac when he was trying to write a relativistic first-order wave equation for the electron, and give an explicit isomorphism from the Clifford algebra to the algebra of complex matrices. The result was used to define the Dirac equation. The entire Clifford algebra shows up in quantum field theory in the form of Dirac field bilinears.
See also
★ Algebra of physical space, APS
★ Classification of Clifford algebras
★ Representations of Clifford algebras
★ Gamma matrices
★ Exterior algebra
★ Geometric algebra
★ Spin group
★ Spinor
★ Paravector
Footnotes
1. Mathematicians who work with real Clifford algebras and prefer positive definite quadratic forms (especially those working in index theory) sometimes use a different choice of sign in the fundamental Clifford identity. That is, they take ''v''2 = −''Q''(''v''). One must replace ''Q'' with −''Q'' in going from one convention to the other.
2. The opposite is true when uses the alternate (−) sign convention for Clifford algebras: it is the conjugate which is more important. In general, the meanings of conjugation and transpose are interchanged when passing from one sign convention to the other. For example, in the convention used here the inverse of a vector is given by while in the (−) convention it is given by .
References
★ Carnahan, S. ''Borcherds Seminar Notes, Uncut.'' Week 5, "Spinors and Clifford Algebras".
★ Lawson and Michelsohn, ''Spin Geometry'', Princeton University Press. 1989. ISBN 0-691-08542-0. An advanced textbook on Clifford algebras and their applications to differential geometry.
★ Lounesto, P., ''Clifford Algebras and Spinors'', Cambridge University Press. 2001. ISBN 0-521-00551-5.
★ Porteous, I., ''Clifford Algebras and the Classical Groups'', Cambridge University Press. 1995. ISBN 0-521-55177-3.
External links
★ Planetmath entry on Clifford algebras
★ A history of Clifford algebras (unverified)
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