Unitary matrix in the context of Unitary group

In mathematics, the special unitary group of degree n, denoted SU(n), is the Lie group of n × n unitary matrices with determinant 1.

The matrices of the more general unitary group may have complex determinants with absolute value 1, rather than real 1 in the special case.

In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix, CKM matrix, quark mixing matrix, or KM matrix is a unitary matrix that contains information on the strength of the flavour-changing weak interaction. Technically, it specifies the mismatch of quantum states of quarks when they propagate freely and when they take part in the weak interactions. It is important in the understanding of CP violation. This matrix was introduced for three generations of quarks by Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, adding one generation to the matrix previously introduced by Nicola Cabibbo. This matrix is also an extension of the GIM mechanism, which only includes two of the three current families of quarks.

In physics, the S-matrix or scattering matrix is a matrix that relates the initial state and the final state of a physical system undergoing a scattering process. It is used in quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum field theory (QFT).

More formally, in the context of QFT, the S-matrix is defined as the unitary matrix connecting sets of asymptotically free particle states (the in-states and the out-states) in the Hilbert space of physical states: a multi-particle state is said to be free (or non-interacting) if it transforms under Lorentz transformations as a tensor product, or direct product in physics parlance, of one-particle states as prescribed by equation (1) below. Asymptotically free then means that the state has this appearance in either the distant past or the distant future.

In functional analysis, a unitary operator is a surjective bounded operator on a Hilbert space that preserves the inner product.Non-trivial examples include rotations, reflections, and the Fourier operator.Unitary operators generalize unitary matrices.Unitary operators are usually taken as operating on a Hilbert space, but the same notion serves to define the concept of isomorphism between Hilbert spaces.