In mathematics, a symplectic matrix is a
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
matrix
M
{\displaystyle M}
with real entries that satisfies the condition
|
M
T
Ω
M
=
Ω
,
{\displaystyle M^{\text{T}}\Omega M=\Omega ,}
| 1 |
where
M
T
{\displaystyle M^{\text{T}}}
denotes the transpose of
M
{\displaystyle M}
and
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
is a fixed
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
nonsingular, skew-symmetric matrix. This definition can be extended to
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
matrices with entries in other fields, such as the complex numbers, finite fields, p-adic numbers, and function fields.
Typically
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
is chosen to be the block matrix
Ω
=
[
0
I
n
−
I
n
0
]
,
{\displaystyle \Omega ={\begin{bmatrix}0&I_{n}\\-I_{n}&0\\\end{bmatrix}},}
where
I
n
{\displaystyle I_{n}}
is the
n
×
n
{\displaystyle n\times n}
identity matrix. The matrix
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
has determinant
+
1
{\displaystyle +1}
and its inverse is
Ω
−
1
=
Ω
T
=
−
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega ^{-1}=\Omega ^{\text{T}}=-\Omega }
.
Properties
Generators for symplectic matrices
Every symplectic matrix has determinant
+
1
{\displaystyle +1}
, and the
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
symplectic matrices with real entries form a subgroup of the general linear group
G
L
(
2
n
;
R
)
{\displaystyle \mathrm {GL} (2n;\mathbb {R} )}
under matrix multiplication since being symplectic is a property stable under matrix multiplication. Topologically, this symplectic group is a connected noncompact real Lie group of real dimension
n
(
2
n
+
1
)
{\displaystyle n(2n+1)}
, and is denoted
S
p
(
2
n
;
R
)
{\displaystyle \mathrm {Sp} (2n;\mathbb {R} )}
. The symplectic group can be defined as the set of linear transformations that preserve the symplectic form of a real symplectic vector space.
This symplectic group has a distinguished set of generators, which can be used to find all possible symplectic matrices. This includes the following sets
D
(
n
)
=
{
(
A
0
0
(
A
T
)
−
1
)
:
A
∈
GL
(
n
;
R
)
}
N
(
n
)
=
{
(
I
n
B
0
I
n
)
:
B
∈
Sym
(
n
;
R
)
}
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}D(n)=&\left\{{\begin{pmatrix}A&0\\0&(A^{T})^{-1}\end{pmatrix}}:A\in {\text{GL}}(n;\mathbb {R} )\right\}\\N(n)=&\left\{{\begin{pmatrix}I_{n}&B\\0&I_{n}\end{pmatrix}}:B\in {\text{Sym}}(n;\mathbb {R} )\right\}\end{aligned}}}
where
Sym
(
n
;
R
)
{\displaystyle {\text{Sym}}(n;\mathbb {R} )}
is the set of
n
×
n
{\displaystyle n\times n}
symmetric matrices. Then,
S
p
(
2
n
;
R
)
{\displaystyle \mathrm {Sp} (2n;\mathbb {R} )}
is generated by the set[1]p. 2
{
Ω
}
∪
D
(
n
)
∪
N
(
n
)
{\displaystyle \{\Omega \}\cup D(n)\cup N(n)}
of matrices. In other words, any symplectic matrix can be constructed by multiplying matrices in
D
(
n
)
{\displaystyle D(n)}
and
N
(
n
)
{\displaystyle N(n)}
together, along with some power of
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
.
Inverse matrix
Every symplectic matrix is invertible with the inverse matrix given by
M
−
1
=
Ω
−
1
M
T
Ω
.
{\displaystyle M^{-1}=\Omega ^{-1}M^{\text{T}}\Omega .}
Furthermore, the product of two symplectic matrices is, again, a symplectic matrix. This gives the set of all symplectic matrices the structure of a group. There exists a natural manifold structure on this group which makes it into a (real or complex) Lie group called the symplectic group.
Determinantal properties
It follows easily from the definition that the determinant of any symplectic matrix is ±1. Actually, it turns out that the determinant is always +1 for any field. One way to see this is through the use of the Pfaffian and the identity
Pf
(
M
T
Ω
M
)
=
det
(
M
)
Pf
(
Ω
)
.
{\displaystyle {\mbox{Pf}}(M^{\text{T}}\Omega M)=\det(M){\mbox{Pf}}(\Omega ).}
Since
M
T
Ω
M
=
Ω
{\displaystyle M^{\text{T}}\Omega M=\Omega }
and
Pf
(
Ω
)
≠
0
{\displaystyle {\mbox{Pf}}(\Omega )\neq 0}
we have that
det
(
M
)
=
1
{\displaystyle \det(M)=1}
.
When the underlying field is real or complex, one can also show this by factoring the inequality
det
(
M
T
M
+
I
)
≥
1
{\displaystyle \det(M^{\text{T}}M+I)\geq 1}
.[2]
Block form of symplectic matrices
Suppose Ω is given in the standard form and let
M
{\displaystyle M}
be a
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
block matrix given by
M
=
(
A
B
C
D
)
{\displaystyle M={\begin{pmatrix}A&B\\C&D\end{pmatrix}}}
where
A
,
B
,
C
,
D
{\displaystyle A,B,C,D}
are
n
×
n
{\displaystyle n\times n}
matrices. The condition for
M
{\displaystyle M}
to be symplectic is equivalent to the two following equivalent conditions[3]
A T C , B T D {\displaystyle A^{\text{T}}C,B^{\text{T}}D}
symmetric, and A T D − C T B = I {\displaystyle A^{\text{T}}D-C^{\text{T}}B=I}
A B T , C D T {\displaystyle AB^{\text{T}},CD^{\text{T}}}
symmetric, and A D T − B C T = I {\displaystyle AD^{\text{T}}-BC^{\text{T}}=I}
The second condition comes from the fact that if
M
{\displaystyle M}
is symplectic, then
M
T
{\displaystyle M^{T}}
is also symplectic. When
n
=
1
{\displaystyle n=1}
these conditions reduce to the single condition
det
(
M
)
=
1
{\displaystyle \det(M)=1}
. Thus a
2
×
2
{\displaystyle 2\times 2}
matrix is symplectic if and only if it has unit determinant.
Inverse matrix of block matrix
With
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
in standard form, the inverse of
M
{\displaystyle M}
is given by
M
−
1
=
Ω
−
1
M
T
Ω
=
(
D
T
−
B
T
−
C
T
A
T
)
.
{\displaystyle M^{-1}=\Omega ^{-1}M^{\text{T}}\Omega ={\begin{pmatrix}D^{\text{T}}&-B^{\text{T}}\\-C^{\text{T}}&A^{\text{T}}\end{pmatrix}}.}
The group has dimension
n
(
2
n
+
1
)
{\displaystyle n(2n+1)}
. This can be seen by noting that
(
M
T
Ω
M
)
T
=
−
M
T
Ω
M
{\displaystyle (M^{\text{T}}\Omega M)^{\text{T}}=-M^{\text{T}}\Omega M}
is anti-symmetric. Since the space of anti-symmetric matrices has dimension
(
2
n
2
)
,
{\textstyle {\binom {2n}{2}},}
the identity
M
T
Ω
M
=
Ω
{\displaystyle M^{\text{T}}\Omega M=\Omega }
imposes
(
2
n
2
)
{\textstyle 2n \choose 2}
constraints on the
(
2
n
)
2
{\displaystyle (2n)^{2}}
coefficients of
M
{\displaystyle M}
and leaves
M
{\displaystyle M}
with
n
(
2
n
+
1
)
{\displaystyle n(2n+1)}
independent coefficients.
Symplectic transformations
In the abstract formulation of linear algebra, matrices are replaced with linear transformations of finite-dimensional vector spaces. The abstract analog of a symplectic matrix is a symplectic transformation of a symplectic vector space. Briefly, a symplectic vector space
(
V
,
ω
)
{\displaystyle (V,\omega )}
is a
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n}
-dimensional vector space
V
{\displaystyle V}
equipped with a nondegenerate, skew-symmetric bilinear form
ω
{\displaystyle \omega }
called the symplectic form.
A symplectic transformation is then a linear transformation
L
:
V
→
V
{\displaystyle L:V\to V}
which preserves
ω
{\displaystyle \omega }
, i.e.
ω
(
L
u
,
L
v
)
=
ω
(
u
,
v
)
.
{\displaystyle \omega (Lu,Lv)=\omega (u,v).}
Fixing a basis for
V
{\displaystyle V}
,
ω
{\displaystyle \omega }
can be written as a matrix
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
and
L
{\displaystyle L}
as a matrix
M
{\displaystyle M}
. The condition that
L
{\displaystyle L}
be a symplectic transformation is precisely the condition that M be a symplectic matrix:
M
T
Ω
M
=
Ω
.
{\displaystyle M^{\text{T}}\Omega M=\Omega .}
Under a change of basis, represented by a matrix A, we have
Ω
↦
A
T
Ω
A
{\displaystyle \Omega \mapsto A^{\text{T}}\Omega A}
M
↦
A
−
1
M
A
.
{\displaystyle M\mapsto A^{-1}MA.}
One can always bring
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
to either the standard form given in the introduction or the block diagonal form described below by a suitable choice of A.
The matrix Ω
Symplectic matrices are defined relative to a fixed nonsingular, skew-symmetric matrix
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
. As explained in the previous section,
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
can be thought of as the coordinate representation of a nondegenerate skew-symmetric bilinear form. It is a basic result in linear algebra that any two such matrices differ from each other by a change of basis.
The most common alternative to the standard
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
given above is the block diagonal form
Ω
=
[
0
1
−
1
0
0
⋱
0
0
1
−
1
0
]
.
{\displaystyle \Omega ={\begin{bmatrix}{\begin{matrix}0&1\\-1&0\end{matrix}}&&0\\&\ddots &\\0&&{\begin{matrix}0&1\\-1&0\end{matrix}}\end{bmatrix}}.}
This choice differs from the previous one by a permutation of basis vectors.
Sometimes the notation
J
{\displaystyle J}
is used instead of
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
for the skew-symmetric matrix. This is a particularly unfortunate choice as it leads to confusion with the notion of a complex structure, which often has the same coordinate expression as
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
but represents a very different structure. A complex structure
J
{\displaystyle J}
is the coordinate representation of a linear transformation that squares to
−
I
n
{\displaystyle -I_{n}}
, whereas
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
is the coordinate representation of a nondegenerate skew-symmetric bilinear form. One could easily choose bases in which
J
{\displaystyle J}
is not skew-symmetric or
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
does not square to
−
I
n
{\displaystyle -I_{n}}
.
Given a hermitian structure on a vector space,
J
{\displaystyle J}
and
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
are related via
Ω
a
b
=
−
g
a
c
J
c
b
{\displaystyle \Omega _{ab}=-g_{ac}{J^{c}}_{b}}
where
g
a
c
{\displaystyle g_{ac}}
is the metric. That
J
{\displaystyle J}
and
Ω
{\displaystyle \Omega }
usually have the same coordinate expression (up to an overall sign) is simply a consequence of the fact that the metric g is usually the identity matrix.
Diagonalization and decomposition
- For any positive definite symmetric
2
n
×
2
n
{\displaystyle 2n\times 2n}
real symplectic matrix S {\displaystyle S}
, there is a symplectic unitary U {\displaystyle U}
, U ∈ U ( 2 n , R ) ∩ Sp ( 2 n , R ) = O ( 2 n ) ∩ Sp ( 2 n , R ) , {\displaystyle U\in \mathrm {U} (2n,\mathbb {R} )\cap \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} )=\mathrm {O} (2n)\cap \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} ),}
such that S = U T D U for D = diag ( λ 1 , … , λ n , λ 1 − 1 , … , λ n − 1 ) , {\displaystyle S=U^{\text{T}}DU\quad {\text{for}}\quad D=\operatorname {diag} (\lambda _{1},\ldots ,\lambda _{n},\lambda _{1}^{-1},\ldots ,\lambda _{n}^{-1}),}
where the diagonal elements of D {\displaystyle D}
are the eigenvalues of S {\displaystyle S}
.[4][5]
- Any real symplectic matrix S has a polar decomposition of the form:[4]
S
=
U
R
,
{\displaystyle S=UR,}
where U ∈ Sp ( 2 n , R ) ∩ U ( 2 n , R ) , {\displaystyle U\in \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} )\cap \operatorname {U} (2n,\mathbb {R} ),}
and R ∈ Sp ( 2 n , R ) ∩ Sym + ( 2 n , R ) . {\displaystyle R\in \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} )\cap \operatorname {Sym} _{+}(2n,\mathbb {R} ).}
- Any real symplectic matrix can be decomposed as a product of three matrices:
S
=
O
(
D
0
0
D
−
1
)
O
′
,
{\displaystyle S=O{\begin{pmatrix}D&0\\0&D^{-1}\end{pmatrix}}O',}
where O {\displaystyle O}
and O ′ {\displaystyle O'}
are both symplectic and orthogonal, and D {\displaystyle D}
is positive-definite and diagonal.[6] This decomposition is closely related to the singular value decomposition of a matrix and is known as an 'Euler' or 'Bloch-Messiah' decomposition.
- The set of orthogonal symplectic matrices forms a (maximal) compact subgroup of the symplectic group.[7] This set is isomorphic to the set of unitary matrices of dimension
n
{\displaystyle n}
, U ( 2 n , R ) ∩ Sp ( 2 n , R ) = O ( 2 n ) ∩ Sp ( 2 n , R ) ≅ U ( n , C ) {\displaystyle \mathrm {U} (2n,\mathbb {R} )\cap \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} )=\mathrm {O} (2n)\cap \operatorname {Sp} (2n,\mathbb {R} )\cong \mathrm {U} (n,\mathbb {C} )}
. Every symplectic orthogonal matrix can be written as
( ℜ ( V ) − ℑ ( V ) ℑ ( V ) ℜ ( V ) ) = [ 1 2 ( I n i I n I n − i I n ) ] † ( V 0 0 V ∗ ) [ 1 2 ( I n i I n I n − i I n ) ] , {\displaystyle {\begin{pmatrix}\Re (V)&-\Im (V)\\\Im (V)&\Re (V)\end{pmatrix}}=\left[{\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}{\begin{pmatrix}I_{n}&iI_{n}\\I_{n}&-iI_{n}\end{pmatrix}}\right]^{\dagger }{\begin{pmatrix}V&0\\0&V^{*}\end{pmatrix}}\left[{\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}{\begin{pmatrix}I_{n}&iI_{n}\\I_{n}&-iI_{n}\end{pmatrix}}\right],} 2 with V ∈ U ( n , C ) {\displaystyle V\in \mathrm {U} (n,\mathbb {C} )}
This equation implies that every symplectic orthogonal matrix has determinant equal to +1 and thus that this is true for all symplectic matrices as its polar decomposition is itself given in terms symplectic matrices..
Complex matrices
If instead M is a 2n × 2n matrix with complex entries, the definition is not standard throughout the literature. Many authors [8] adjust the definition above to
|
M
∗
Ω
M
=
Ω
.
{\displaystyle M^{*}\Omega M=\Omega \,.}
| 3 |
where M* denotes the conjugate transpose of M. In this case, the determinant may not be 1, but will have absolute value 1. In the 2×2 case (n=1), M will be the product of a real symplectic matrix and a complex number of absolute value 1.
Other authors [9] retain the definition (1) for complex matrices and call matrices satisfying (3) conjugate symplectic.
Applications
Transformations described by symplectic matrices play an important role in quantum optics and in continuous-variable quantum information theory. For instance, symplectic matrices can be used to describe Gaussian (Bogoliubov) transformations of a quantum state of light.[10] In turn, the Bloch-Messiah decomposition (2) means that such an arbitrary Gaussian transformation can be represented as a set of two passive linear-optical interferometers (corresponding to orthogonal matrices O and O' ) intermitted by a layer of active non-linear squeezing transformations (given in terms of the matrix D).[11] In fact, one can circumvent the need for such in-line active squeezing transformations if two-mode squeezed vacuum states are available as a prior resource only.[12]
See also
References
- Folland, G. B. (1989). Harmonic analysis in phase space. Princeton University Press. pp. 173 f. ISBN 0-691-08527-7.
- Rim, Donsub (2017). "An elementary proof that symplectic matrices have determinant one". Adv. Dyn. Syst. Appl. 12 (1): 15–20. arXiv:1505.04240. doi:10.37622/ADSA/12.1.2017.15-20. S2CID 119595767.
- de Gosson, Maurice. "Introduction to Symplectic Mechanics: Lectures I-II-III" (PDF).
- de Gosson, Maurice A. (2011). Symplectic Methods in Harmonic Analysis and in Mathematical Physics - Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-7643-9992-4. ISBN 978-3-7643-9991-7.
- Houde, Martin; McCutcheon, Will; Quesada, Nicolás (13 March 2024). "Matrix decompositions in quantum optics: Takagi/Autonne, Bloch–Messiah/Euler, Iwasawa, and Williamson". Canadian Journal of Physics. 102 (10). Sec. V, p. 5. arXiv:2403.04596. Bibcode:2024CaJPh.102..497H. doi:10.1139/cjp-2024-0070.
- Ferraro, Alessandro; Olivares, Stefano; Paris, Matteo G. A. (31 March 2005). "Gaussian states in continuous variable quantum information". Sec. 1.3, p. 4. arXiv:quant-ph/0503237.
- Serafini, Alessio (2023). Quantum Continuous Variables. doi:10.1201/9781003250975. ISBN 978-1-003-25097-5.
- Xu, H. G. (July 15, 2003). "An SVD-like matrix decomposition and its applications". Linear Algebra and Its Applications. 368: 1–24. doi:10.1016/S0024-3795(03)00370-7. hdl:1808/374.
- Mackey, D. S.; Mackey, N. (2003). On the Determinant of Symplectic Matrices (Numerical Analysis Report 422). Manchester, England: Manchester Centre for Computational Mathematics.
- Weedbrook, Christian; Pirandola, Stefano; García-Patrón, Raúl; Cerf, Nicolas J.; Ralph, Timothy C.; Shapiro, Jeffrey H.; Lloyd, Seth (2012). "Gaussian quantum information". Reviews of Modern Physics. 84 (2): 621–669. arXiv:1110.3234. Bibcode:2012RvMP...84..621W. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.84.621. S2CID 119250535.
- Braunstein, Samuel L. (2005). "Squeezing as an irreducible resource". Physical Review A. 71 (5) 055801. arXiv:quant-ph/9904002. Bibcode:2005PhRvA..71e5801B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.71.055801. S2CID 16714223.
- Chakhmakhchyan, Levon; Cerf, Nicolas (2018). "Simulating arbitrary Gaussian circuits with linear optics". Physical Review A. 98 (6) 062314. arXiv:1803.11534. Bibcode:2018PhRvA..98f2314C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.98.062314. S2CID 119227039.