In mathematics, a unitary transformation is a linear isomorphism that preserves the inner product: the inner product of two vectors before the transformation is equal to their inner product after the transformation.[1]
Formal definition
More precisely, a unitary transformation is an isometric isomorphism between two inner product spaces (such as Hilbert spaces). In other words, a unitary transformation is a bijective function
between two inner product spaces, and such that
It is a linear isometry, as one can see by setting
Unitary operator
In the case when and are the same space, a unitary transformation is an automorphism of that Hilbert space, and then it is also called a unitary operator.
Relation to unitary matrices
In complex coordinate space unitary transformations always have the shape
- ,
where is a unitary matrix, and the dot before the vector is the matrix-vector-product.
This matrix satisfies [2].
Antiunitary transformation
A closely related notion is that of antiunitary transformation, which is a bijective function
between two complex Hilbert spaces such that
for all and in , where the horizontal bar represents the complex conjugate.
See also
References
- ↑ Hazewinkel, Michiel (1993). Encyclopaedia of Mathematics. Vol. 9. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 337. ISBN 978-1-55608-008-1.
- ↑ Fasi, Massimiliano; Robol, Leonardo (1 July 2021). "Sampling the eigenvalues of random orthogonal and unitary matrices". Linear Algebra and its Applications. 620: 297–321. doi:10.1016/j.laa.2021.02.031.
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