Monday, February 23, 2015

Characterizing 2 x 2 matrices squaring to the identity

Suppose A is an 2 x 2 real matrix such that $A^2 = I$. Then either $A = \pm I$ or \[ A = \begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & -a \end{pmatrix}, a^2 + bc = 1. \]