Octonion

Template:Short description Template:CS1 config Template:Infobox number system In mathematics, the octonions are a normed division algebra over the real numbers, a kind of hypercomplex number system. The octonions are usually represented by the capital letter O, using boldface Template:Math or blackboard bold <math>\mathbb O</math>. Octonions have eight dimensions; twice the number of dimensions of the quaternions, of which they are an extension. They are noncommutative and nonassociative, but satisfy a weaker form of associativity; namely, they are alternative. They are also power associative.

Octonions are not as well known as the quaternions and complex numbers, which are much more widely studied and used. Octonions are related to exceptional structuresTemplate:What in mathematics, among them the exceptional Lie groups. Octonions have applications in fields such as string theory, special relativity and quantum logic. Applying the Cayley–Dickson construction to the octonions produces the sedenions.

HistoryEdit

The octonions were discovered in December 1843 by John T. Graves, inspired by his friend William Rowan Hamilton's discovery of quaternions. Shortly before Graves' discovery of octonions, Graves wrote in a letter addressed to Hamilton on October 26, 1843, "If with your alchemy you can make three pounds of gold, why should you stop there?"<ref name="Baez 2002 loc=p. 1">Template:Harv</ref>

Graves called his discovery "octaves", and mentioned them in a letter to Hamilton dated 26 December 1843.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He first published his result slightly later than Arthur Cayley's article.<ref>Template:Harv</ref> The octonions were discovered independently by Cayley<ref>Template:Citation. Appendix reprinted in The Collected Mathematical Papers, Johnson Reprint Co., New York, 1963, p. 127</ref> and are sometimes referred to as Cayley numbers or the Cayley algebra. Hamilton described the early history of Graves's discovery.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

DefinitionEdit

The octonions can be thought of as octets (or 8-tuples) of real numbers. Every octonion is a real linear combination of the unit octonions:

where Template:Math is the scalar or real element; it may be identified with the real number Template:Nobr That is, every octonion Template:Mvar can be written in the form

with real coefficients Template:Mvar.

Cayley–Dickson constructionEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A more systematic way of defining the octonions is via the Cayley–Dickson construction. Applying the Cayley–Dickson construction to the quaternions produces the octonions, which can be expressed as <math>\mathbb{O}=\mathcal{CD}(\mathbb{H},1)</math>.<ref name="Ensembles">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Much as quaternions can be defined as pairs of complex numbers, the octonions can be defined as pairs of quaternions. Addition is defined pairwise. The product of two pairs of quaternions Template:Math and Template:Math is defined by

where Template:Math denotes the conjugate of the quaternion Template:Mvar. This definition is equivalent to the one given above when the eight unit octonions are identified with the pairs

Template:Math

Arithmetic and operationsEdit

Addition and subtractionEdit

Addition and subtraction of octonions is done by adding and subtracting corresponding terms and hence their coefficients, like quaternions.

MultiplicationEdit

Multiplication of octonions is more complex. Multiplication is distributive over addition, so the product of two octonions can be calculated by summing the products of all the terms, again like quaternions. The product of each pair of terms can be given by multiplication of the coefficients and a multiplication table of the unit octonions, like this one (given both by Arthur Cayley in 1845 and John T. Graves in 1843):<ref name=GSSV> Template:Cite book </ref>

<math>e_ie_j</math>		<math>e_j</math>
<math>e_ie_j</math>		<math>e_0</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>e_2</math>	<math>e_3</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>e_6</math>	<math>e_7</math>
<math>e_i</math>	<math>e_0</math>	<math>e_0</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>e_2</math>	<math>e_3</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>e_6</math>	<math>e_7</math>
	<math>e_1</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>e_3</math>	<math>-e_2</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>-e_4</math>	<math>-e_7</math>	<math>e_6</math>
	<math>e_2</math>	<math>e_2</math>	<math>-e_3</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>e_6</math>	<math>e_7</math>	<math>-e_4</math>	<math>-e_5</math>
	<math>e_3</math>	<math>e_3</math>	<math>e_2</math>	<math>-e_1</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>e_7</math>	<math>-e_6</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>-e_4</math>
	<math>e_4</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>-e_5</math>	<math>-e_6</math>	<math>-e_7</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>e_2</math>	<math>e_3</math>
	<math>e_5</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>-e_7</math>	<math>e_6</math>	<math>-e_1</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>-e_3</math>	<math>e_2</math>
	<math>e_6</math>	<math>e_6</math>	<math>e_7</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>-e_5</math>	<math>-e_2</math>	<math>e_3</math>	<math>-e_0</math>	<math>-e_1</math>
	<math>e_7</math>	<math>e_7</math>	<math>-e_6</math>	<math>e_5</math>	<math>e_4</math>	<math>-e_3</math>	<math>-e_2</math>	<math>e_1</math>	<math>-e_0</math>

Most off-diagonal elements of the table are antisymmetric, making it almost a skew-symmetric matrix except for the elements on the main diagonal, as well as the row and column for which Template:Math is an operand.

The table can be summarized as follows:<ref name= Shestakov>

Template:Cite book</ref>

<math>

e_\ell e_m = \begin{cases} e_m , & \text{if }\ell = 0 \\ e_\ell , & \text{if }m = 0 \\ - \delta_{\ell m}e_0 + \varepsilon _{\ell m n} e_n, & \text{otherwise} \end{cases} </math>

where Template:Mvar is the Kronecker delta (equal to Template:Math if Template:Math, and Template:Math for Template:Math), and Template:Mvar is a completely antisymmetric tensor with value Template:Math when Template:Math and any even number of permutations of the indices, but Template:Math for any odd permutations of the listed triples (e.g. <math>\ \varepsilon_{1 2 3} = +1\ </math> but <math>\ \varepsilon_{1 3 2} = \varepsilon_{2 1 3} = -1\ ,</math> however, <math>\ \varepsilon_{3 1 2} = \varepsilon_{2 3 1} = +1\ </math> again). Whenever any two of the three indices are the same, Template:Nobr

The above definition is not unique, however; it is only one of 480 possible definitions for octonion multiplication with Template:Math. The others can be obtained by permuting and changing the signs of the non-scalar basis elements Template:Math The 480 different algebras are isomorphic, and there is rarely a need to consider which particular multiplication rule is used.

Each of these 480 definitions is invariant up to signs under some 7 cycle of the points Template:Nobr and for each 7 cycle there are four definitions, differing by signs and reversal of order. A common choice is to use the definition invariant under the 7 cycle (1234567) with Template:Math by using the triangular multiplication diagram, or Fano plane below that also shows the sorted list of Template:Nobr based 7-cycle triads and its associated multiplication matrices in both Template:Math and <math>\ \mathrm{IJKL}\ </math> format.

Octonion triads, Fano plane, and multiplication matrices

A variant of this sometimes used is to label the elements of the basis by the elements Template:Math, 0, 1, 2, ..., 6, of the projective line over the finite field of order 7. The multiplication is then given by Template:Math and Template:Math, and all equations obtained from this one by adding a constant (modulo 7) to all subscripts: In other words using the seven triples Template:Nobr These are the nonzero codewords of the quadratic residue code of length 7 over the Galois field of two elements, Template:Math. There is a symmetry of order 7 given by adding a constant mod 7 to all subscripts, and also a symmetry of order 3 given by multiplying all subscripts by one of the quadratic residues 1, 2, 4 mod 7 .<ref name=Parra> Template:Cite book </ref><ref name=Manogue> Template:Cite journal

Available as Template:Cite journal, in particular Template:Cite AV media

</ref> These seven triples can also be considered as the seven translates of the set {1,2,4} of non-zero squares forming a cyclic (7,3,1)-difference set in the finite field Template:Math of seven elements.

The Fano plane shown above with <math>e_n</math> and IJKL multiplication matrices also includes the geometric algebra basis with signature Template:Nobr and is given in terms of the following 7 quaternionic triples (omitting the scalar identity element):

Template:Math

or alternatively:

Template:Math

in which the lower case items {i, j, k, l} are vectors (e.g. {<math>\gamma_{0},\gamma_{1},\gamma_{2},\gamma_{3}</math>}, respectively) and the upper case ones {I,J,K}={σ₁,σ₂,σ₃} are bivectors (e.g. <math>\gamma_{\{1,2,3\}}\gamma_{0}</math>, respectively) and the Hodge star operator Template:Math is the pseudo-scalar element. If the Template:Math is forced to be equal to the identity, then the multiplication ceases to be associative, but the Template:Math may be removed from the multiplication table resulting in an octonion multiplication table.

In keeping Template:Math associative and thus not reducing the 4 dimensional geometric algebra to an octonion one, the whole multiplication table can be derived from the equation for Template:Math. Consider the gamma matrices in the examples given above. The formula defining the fifth gamma matrix (<math>\gamma_{5}</math>) shows that it is the Template:Math of a four-dimensional geometric algebra of the gamma matrices.

Fano plane mnemonicEdit

File:FanoPlane.svg

A mnemonic for the products of the unit octonions<ref name="Baez 2002 loc=p. 6">Template:Harv</ref>

File:Octonion-Fano Cube.gif

A 3D mnemonic visualization showing the 7 triads as hyperplanes through the real (Template:Math) vertex of the octonion example given above<ref name="Baez 2002 loc=p. 6"/>

A convenient mnemonic for remembering the products of unit octonions is given by the diagram, which represents the multiplication table of Cayley and Graves.<ref name=GSSV/><ref name=Ablamowicz> Template:Cite book </ref> This diagram with seven points and seven lines (the circle through 1, 2, and 3 is considered a line) is called the Fano plane. The lines are directional. The seven points correspond to the seven standard basis elements of <math>\ \operatorname\mathcal{I_m}\bigl[\ \mathbb{O}\ \bigr]\ </math> (see definition below). Each pair of distinct points lies on a unique line and each line runs through exactly three points.

Let Template:Math be an ordered triple of points lying on a given line with the order specified by the direction of the arrow. Then multiplication is given by

Template:Math and Template:Math

together with cyclic permutations. These rules together with

Template:Math is the multiplicative identity,
<math>{e_i}^2 = -1\ </math> for each point in the diagram

completely defines the multiplicative structure of the octonions. Each of the seven lines generates a subalgebra of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> isomorphic to the quaternions Template:Math.

Conjugate, norm, and inverseEdit

The conjugate of an octonion

is given by

Conjugation is an involution of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> and satisfies Template:Math (note the change in order).

The real part of Template:Mvar is given by

and the imaginary part (sometimes called the pure part) by

The set of all purely imaginary octonions spans a 7 dimensional subspace of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ ,</math> denoted <math>\ \operatorname\mathcal{I_m}\bigl[\ \mathbb{O}\ \bigr] ~.</math>

Conjugation of octonions satisfies the equation

The product of an octonion with its conjugate, Template:Nobr is always a nonnegative real number:

Using this, the norm of an octonion is defined as

This norm agrees with the standard 8 dimensional Euclidean norm on Template:Math.

The existence of a norm on <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> implies the existence of inverses for every nonzero element of <math>\ \mathbb{O} ~.</math> The inverse ofTemplate:Nobr which is the unique octonion Template:Math satisfying Template:Nobr is given by

Exponentiation and polar formEdit

Any octonion Template:Mvar can be decomposed into its real part and imaginary part:

<math>x=\mathfrak{R}(x)+\mathfrak{I}(x)</math>

also sometimes called scalar and vector parts.

We define the unit vector Template:Mvar corresponding to Template:Mvar as

<math>u=\frac{\mathfrak{I}(x)}{\|\mathfrak{I}(x)\|}</math>. It is a pure octonion of norm 1.

It can be proved<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> that any non-zero octonion can be written as:

<math>o=\|o\|(\cos\theta+u\sin\theta)=\|o\|e^{u\theta}</math>

thus providing a polar form.

PropertiesEdit

Octonionic multiplication is neither commutative:

Template:Math if Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar are distinct and non-zero,

nor associative:

Template:Math if Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar are distinct, non-zero and Template:Math.

The octonions do satisfy a weaker form of associativity: they are alternative. This means that the subalgebra generated by any two elements is associative. Actually, one can show that the subalgebra generated by any two elements of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> is isomorphic to [[real numbers|Template:Math]], [[complex numbers|Template:Math]], or [[quaternions|Template:Math]], all of which are associative. Because of their non-associativity, octonions cannot be represented by a subalgebra of a matrix ring over Template:Math, unlike the real numbers, complex numbers, and quaternions.

The octonions do retain one important property shared by Template:Math, Template:Math, and Template:Math: the norm on <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> satisfies

This equation means that the octonions form a composition algebra. The higher-dimensional algebras defined by the Cayley–Dickson construction (starting with the sedenions) all fail to satisfy this property. They all have zero divisors.

Wider number systems exist which have a multiplicative modulus (for example, 16 dimensional conic sedenions). Their modulus is defined differently from their norm, and they also contain zero divisors.

As shown by Hurwitz, Template:Math, Template:Math, or Template:Math, and <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> are the only normed division algebras over the real numbers. These four algebras also form the only alternative, finite-dimensional division algebras over the real numbers (up to an isomorphism).

Not being associative, the nonzero elements of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> do not form a group. They do, however, form a loop, specifically a Moufang loop.

Commutator and cross productEdit

The commutator of two octonions Template:Mvar and Template:Mvar is given by

This is antisymmetric and imaginary. If it is considered only as a product on the imaginary subspace <math>\ \operatorname\mathcal{I_m}\bigl[\ \mathbb{O}\ \bigr]\ </math> it defines a product on that space, the seven-dimensional cross product, given by

<math>x \times y = \tfrac{\ 1\ }{ 2 }\ (xy - yx) ~.</math>

Like the cross product in three dimensions this is a vector orthogonal to Template:Mvar and Template:Mvar with magnitude

<math>\|x \times y\| = \|x\|\ \|y\|\ \sin \theta ~.</math>

But like the octonion product it is not uniquely defined. Instead there are many different cross products, each one dependent on the choice of octonion product.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>

AutomorphismsEdit

An automorphism, Template:Mvar, of the octonions is an invertible linear transformation of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> which satisfies

The set of all automorphisms of <math>\ \mathbb{O}\ </math> forms a group called Template:Nobr<ref>Template:Harv</ref> The group Template:Math is a simply connected, compact, real Lie group of dimension 14. This group is the smallest of the exceptional Lie groups and is isomorphic to the subgroup of Template:Math that preserves any chosen particular vector in its 8 dimensional real spinor representation. The group Template:Math is in turn a subgroup of the group of isotopies described below.

See also: Template:Math – the automorphism group of the Fano plane.

IsotopiesEdit

An isotopy of an algebra is a triple of bijective linear maps Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar such that if Template:Math then Template:Math. For Template:Math this is the same as an automorphism. The isotopy group of an algebra is the group of all isotopies, which contains the group of automorphisms as a subgroup.

The isotopy group of the octonions is the group Template:Math, with Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar acting as the three 8 dimensional representations.<ref>Template:Harv</ref> The subgroup of elements where Template:Mvar fixes the identity is the subgroup Template:Math, and the subgroup where Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar all fix the identity is the automorphism group Template:Nobr

Matrix representationEdit

Just as quaternions can be represented as matrices, octonions can be represented as tables of quaternions. Specifically, because any octonion can be defined a pair of quaternions, we represent the octonion <math> ( q_0, q_1 )</math> as: <math display=block>\begin{bmatrix}

        q_0 & q_1 \\
       -q_1^* & q_0^*

\end{bmatrix}</math>

Using a slightly modified (non-associative) quaternionic matrix multiplication: <math display=block>\begin{bmatrix}

        \alpha_0 & \alpha_1 \\
       \alpha_2 & \alpha_3

\end{bmatrix}\circ\begin{bmatrix}

        \beta_0 & \beta_1 \\
       \beta_2 & \beta_3

\end{bmatrix}=\begin{bmatrix}

        \alpha_0\beta_0+\beta_2\alpha_1 & \beta_1\alpha_0+\alpha_1\beta_3\\
       \beta_0\alpha_2+\alpha_3\beta_2 & \alpha_2\beta_1+\alpha_3\beta_3

\end{bmatrix}</math> we can translate octonion addition and multiplication to the respective operations on quaternionic matrices.<ref name="Ensembles"></ref>

ApplicationsEdit

The octonions play a significant role in the classification and construction of other mathematical entities. For example, the exceptional Lie group Template:Math is the automorphism group of the octonions, and the other exceptional Lie groups Template:Math, Template:Math, Template:Math and Template:Math can be understood as the isometries of certain projective planes defined using the octonions.<ref>Baez (2002), section 4.</ref> The set of self-adjoint 3 × 3 octonionic matrices, equipped with a symmetrized matrix product, defines the Albert algebra. In discrete mathematics, the octonions provide an elementary derivation of the Leech lattice, and thus they are closely related to the sporadic simple groups.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Applications of the octonions to physics have largely been conjectural. For example, in the 1970s, attempts were made to understand quarks by way of an octonionic Hilbert space.<ref>Template:Cite journal
Template:Cite journal</ref> It is known that the octonions, and the fact that only four normed division algebras can exist, relates to the spacetime dimensions in which supersymmetric quantum field theories can be constructed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Also, attempts have been made to obtain the Standard Model of elementary particle physics from octonionic constructions, for example using the "Dixon algebra" <math>\ \mathbb C \otimes \mathbb H \otimes \mathbb O ~.</math><ref name=wolchover>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal
Template:Cite journal
Template:Cite journal
Template:Cite conference
Template:Cite book
{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Octonions have also arisen in the study of black hole entropy, quantum information science,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> string theory,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and image processing.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Octonions have been used in solutions to the hand eye calibration problem in robotics.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Deep octonion networks provide a means of efficient and compact expression in machine learning applications.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Integral octonionsEdit

There are several natural ways to choose an integral form of the octonions. The simplest is just to take the octonions whose coordinates are integers. This gives a nonassociative algebra over the integers called the Gravesian octonions. However it is not a maximal order (in the sense of ring theory); there are exactly seven maximal orders containing it. These seven maximal orders are all equivalent under automorphisms. The phrase "integral octonions" usually refers to a fixed choice of one of these seven orders.

These maximal orders were constructed by Template:Harvtxt, Dickson and Bruck as follows. Label the eight basis vectors by the points of the projective line over the field with seven elements. First form the "Kirmse integers" : these consist of octonions whose coordinates are integers or half integers, and that are half integers (that is, halves of odd integers) on one of the 16 sets

Template:Math

of the extended quadratic residue code of length 8 over the field of two elements, given by Template:Math, Template:Math and its images under adding a constant modulo 7, and the complements of these eight sets. Then switch infinity and any one other coordinate; this operation creates a bijection of the Kirmse integers onto a different set, which is a maximal order. There are seven ways to do this, giving seven maximal orders, which are all equivalent under cyclic permutations of the seven coordinates 0123456. (Kirmse incorrectly claimed that the Kirmse integers also form a maximal order, so he thought there were eight maximal orders rather than seven, but as Template:Harvtxt pointed out they are not closed under multiplication; this mistake occurs in several published papers.)

The Kirmse integers and the seven maximal orders are all isometric to the [[E8 lattice|Template:Math lattice]] rescaled by a factor of Template:Frac. In particular there are 240 elements of minimum nonzero norm 1 in each of these orders, forming a Moufang loop of order 240.

The integral octonions have a "division with remainder" property: given integral octonions Template:Mvar and Template:Math, we can find Template:Mvar and Template:Mvar with Template:Math, where the remainder Template:Mvar has norm less than that of Template:Mvar.

In the integral octonions, all left ideals and right ideals are 2-sided ideals, and the only 2-sided ideals are the principal ideals Template:Mvar where Template:Mvar is a non-negative integer.

The integral octonions have a version of factorization into primes, though it is not straightforward to state because the octonions are not associative so the product of octonions depends on the order in which one does the products. The irreducible integral octonions are exactly those of prime norm, and every integral octonion can be written as a product of irreducible octonions. More precisely an integral octonion of norm Template:Mvar can be written as a product of integral octonions of norms Template:Mvar and Template:Mvar.

The automorphism group of the integral octonions is the group Template:Math of order 12,096, which has a simple subgroup of index 2 isomorphic to the unitary group Template:Math. The isotopy group of the integral octonions is the perfect double cover of the group of rotations of the Template:Math lattice.