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Elements of Quaternion Algebras

Subsections

Creation of Elements

A ! 0 : AlgQuat, RngIntElt -> AlgQuatElt
Zero(A) : AlgQuat -> AlgQuatElt
The zero element of the quaternion algebra A.
A ! 1 : AlgQuat, RngIntElt -> AlgQuatElt
One(A) : AlgQuat -> AlgQuatElt
The identity element of the quaternion algebra A.
A . i : AlgQuat, RngIntElt -> AlgQuatElt
S . i : AlgQuat, RngIntElt -> AlgQuatElt
Given a quaternion algebra A or order S and an integer 1 <= i <= 3, returns the i-th generator as an algebra over the base ring. Note that the element 1 is always the first element of a basis, and is never returned as a generating element.

Arithmetic of Elements

x + y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> AlgQuatElt
The sum of x and y.
x - y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> AlgQuatElt
The difference of x and y.
x * y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> AlgQuatElt
The product of x and y.
x / y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> AlgQuatElt
The quotient of x by the unit y in the quaternion algebra.
x eq y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> BoolElt
Returns true if the elements a and b of an algebra A are equal; otherwise false.
x ne y : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuatElt -> BoolElt
Returns true if and only if the elements x and y are not equal.
x in A : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuat -> BoolElt
Returns true if and only if x is in the algebra A.
x notin A : AlgQuatElt, AlgQuat -> BoolElt
Returns true if and only if x is not in the algebra A.
Conjugate(x) : AlgQuatElt -> AlgQuatElt
Conjugate(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> AlgQuatElt
The conjugate bar(x) of x, defined such that the reduced trace and reduced norm are bar(x) + x and bar(x)x, respectively.
ElementToSequence(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> SeqEnum
ElementToSequence(x) : AlgQuatElt -> SeqEnum
Eltseq(x) : AlgQuatElt -> SeqEnum
Eltseq(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> SeqEnum
Coordinates(x) : AlgQuatElt -> SeqEnum
Coordinates(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> SeqEnum
Given an element x of a quaternion algebra, order, or ideal, returns the sequence of coordinates of x in terms of the basis of its parent.
Norm(x) : AlgQuatElt -> FldElt
Norm(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> RngElt
The reduced norm N(x) of x, defined such that the characteristic polynomial for x is x^2 - Tr(x)x + N(x) = 0, where Tr(x) is the reduced trace.
Trace(x) : AlgQuatElt -> FldElt
Trace(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> RngElt
The reduced trace Tr(x) of x, defined such that the characteristic polynomial for x is x^2 - Tr(x)x + N(x) = 0, where N(x) is the reduced norm.
CharacteristicPolynomial(x) : AlgQuatElt -> RngUPolElt
CharacteristicPolynomial(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> RngUPolElt
The characteristic polynomial of degree 2 for x over the base ring of its parent.
MinimalPolynomial(x) : AlgQuatElt -> RngUPolElt
MinimalPolynomial(x) : AlgQuatOrdElt -> RngUPolElt
The minimal polynomial of degree 1 or 2 for x over the base ring of its parent.

Example AlgQuat_Element_Arithmetic (H68E5)

We demonstrate the relation between characteristic polynomial, and reduced trace and norm in the following example.

> A := QuaternionAlgebra< RationalField() | -17, -271 >; 
> x := A![1,-2,3,0];
> Trace(x);
5
> Norm(x);
1640
> x^2 - Trace(x)*x + Norm(x);
0
Note that trace and norm of an element x of any algebra can be defined as the trace of norm of the linear operator of left or right multiplication by x. The reduced trace and norm in a quaternion algebra A are instead the corresponding trace or norm in any two dimensional matrix representation of A, generally over an extension of the base field. The former definition for a general algebra can be realised with the following lines.

> P<X> := PolynomialRing(RationalField());
> M := Matrix(4,4,&cat[ Eltseq(x*y) : y in Basis(A) ]);
> Trace(M);
10
> Factorization(CharacteristicPolynomial(M));
[
    <X^2 - 5*X + 1640, 2>
]
And it is easily verified that the general definition of trace is twice the reduced trace, and the general definition of norm is the square of the reduced norm.

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