For matrices in the subgroupSU(2),λ 1 =−λ 2 =λ, so in diagonal form an
SU(2) matrix will be (
eiλ 0
0 e−iλ
)
which is the exponential of a corresponding diagonalized skew-adjoint matrix
that has trace zero (
iλ 0
0 −iλ
)
4.8 For further reading
Almost any of the more advanced linear algebra textbooks should cover the
material of this chapter.