Sunday, 8 November 2015

special relativity - Pure Lorentz boost; transpose neq inverse?


By definition a matrix representing a Lorentz transformation is orthogonal, so that its inverse is equal to its transpose.


Consider a pure boost in the t-x plane; Λx=(cosh(γ)sinh(γ)00sinh(γ)cosh(γ)0000100001).

Λx has inverse Λ1x=(cosh(γ)sinh(γ)00sinh(γ)cosh(γ)0000100001)
but tranpose ΛTx=(cosh(γ)sinh(γ)00sinh(γ)cosh(γ)0000100001).
These are not equal. Where have I gone wrong?



Answer



The matrix representing a Lorentz boost is orthogonal with respect to the Minkowski metric η=diag(1,1,1,1) (or reversed signs), which means ΛηΛT=η or Λ1=ηΛTη.


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