lgebra classifications

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�Quaternions were introduced by Hamilton in 1843.[8] Important precursors to this
work included Euler's four-square identity (1748) and Olinde Rodrigues'
parameterization of general rotations by four parameters (1840), but neither of
these writers treated the four-parameter rotations as an algebra.[9][10] Carl
Friedrich Gauss had also discovered quaternions in 1819, but this work was not
published until 1900.[11][12]

Hamilton knew that the complex numbers could be interpreted as points in a plane,
and he was looking for a way to do the same for points in three-dimensional space.
Points in space can be represented by their coordinates, which are triples of
numbers, and for many years he had known how to add and subtract triples of
numbers. However, for a long time, he had been stuck on the problem of
multiplication and division. He could not figure out how to calculate the quotient
of the coordinates of two points in space. In fact, Ferdinand Georg Frobenius later
proved in 1877 that for a division algebra over the real numbers to be finite-
dimensional and associative, it cannot be three-dimensional, and there are only
three such division algebras:
�
,
�
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R,C} } (complex numbers) and
�
\mathbb {H} (quaternions) which have dimension 1, 2, and 4 respectively.

The great breakthrough in quaternions finally came on Monday 16 October 1843 in

Dublin, when Hamilton was on his way to the Royal Irish Academy to preside at a
council meeting. As he walked along the towpath of the Royal Canal with his wife,
the concepts behind quaternions were taking shape in his mind. When the answer
dawned on him, Hamilton could not resist the urge to carve the formula for the
quaternions,

�
2
=
�
2
=
�
2
=
�
�
�
=
−
1
{\displaystyle \mathbf {i} ^{2}=\mathbf {j} ^{2}=\mathbf {k} ^{2}=\mathbf {i\,j\,k}
=-1}
into the stone of Brougham Bridge as he paused on it. Although the carving has
since faded away, there has been an annual pilgrimage since 1989 called the
Hamilton Walk for scientists and mathematicians who walk from Dunsink Observatory
to the Royal Canal bridge in remembrance of Hamilton's discovery.

On the following day, Hamilton wrote a letter to his friend and fellow
mathematician, John T. Graves, describing the train of thought that led to his
discovery. This letter was later published in a letter to the London, Edinburgh,
and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science;[13] Hamilton states:

And here there dawned on me the notion that we must admit, in some sense, a fourth
dimension of space for the purpose of calculating with triples ... An electric
circuit seemed to close, and a spark flashed forth.[13]

Hamilton called a quadruple with these rules of multiplication a quaternion, and he

devoted most of the remainder of his life to studying and teaching them. Hamilton's
treatment is more geometric than the modern approach, which emphasizes quaternions'
algebraic properties. He founded a school of "quaternionists", and he tried to
popularize quaternions in several books. The last and longest of his books,
Elements of Quaternions,[14] was 800 pages long; it was edited by his son and
published shortly after his death.

After Hamilton's death, the Scottish mathematical physicist Peter Tait became the
chief exponent of quaternions. At this time, quaternions were a mandatory
examination topic in Dublin. Topics in physics and geometry that would now be
described using vectors, such as kinematics in space and Maxwell's equations, were
described entirely in terms of quaternions. There was even a professional research
association, the Quaternion Society, devoted to the study of quaternions and other
hypercomplex number systems.

From the mid-1880s, quaternions began to be displaced by vector analysis, which had
been developed by Josiah Willard Gibbs, Oliver Heaviside, and Hermann von
Helmholtz. Vector analysis described the same phenomena as quaternions, so it
borrowed some ideas and terminology liberally from the literature on quaternions.
However, vector analysis was conceptually simpler and notationally cleaner, and
eventually quaternions were relegated to a minor role in mathematics and physics. A
side-effect of this transition is that Hamilton's work is difficult to comprehend
for many modern readers. Hamilton's original definitions are unfamiliar and his
writing style was wordy and difficult to follow.

However, quaternions have had a revival since the late 20th century, primarily due
to their utility in describing spatial rotations. The representations of rotations
by quaternions are more compact and quicker to compute than the representations by
matrices. In addition, unlike Euler angles, they are not susceptible to "gimbal
lock". For this reason, quaternions are used in computer graphics,[15][16] computer
vision, robotics,[17] control theory, signal processing, attitude control, physics,
bioinformatics, molecular dynamics, computer simulations, and orbital mechanics.
For example, it is common for the attitude control systems of spacecraft to be
commanded in terms of quaternions. Quaternions have received another boost from
number theory because of their relationships with the quadratic forms.[18]

Quaternions in physics
P.R. Girard's 1984 essay The quaternion group and modern physics[19] discusses some
roles of quaternions in physics. The essay shows how various physical covariance
groups, namely SO(3), the Lorentz group, the general theory of relativity group,
the Clifford algebra SU(2) and the conformal group, can easily be related to the
quaternion group in modern algebra. Girard began by discussing group
representations and by representing some space groups of crystallography. He
proceeded to kinematics of rigid body motion. Next he used complex quaternions
(biquaternions) to represent the Lorentz group of special relativity, including the
Thomas precession. He cited five authors, beginning with Ludwik Silberstein, who
used a potential function of one quaternion variable to express Maxwell's equations
in a single differential equation. Concerning general relativity, he expressed the
Runge–Lenz vector. He mentioned the Clifford biquaternions (split-biquaternions) as
an instance of Clifford algebra. Finally, invoking the reciprocal of a
biquaternion, Girard described conformal maps on spacetime. Among the fifty
references, Girard included Alexander Macfarlane and his Bulletin of the Quaternion
Society. In 1999 he showed how Einstein's equations of general relativity could be
formulated within a Clifford algebra that is directly linked to quaternions.[20]

The finding of 1924 that in quantum mechanics the spin of an electron and other
matter particles (known as spinors) can be described using quaternions (in the form
of the famous Pauli spin matrices) furthered their interest; quaternions helped to
understand how rotations of electrons by 360° can be discerned from those by 720°
(the "Plate trick").[21][22] As of 2018, their use has not overtaken rotation
groups.[a]

Definition
A quaternion is an expression of the form

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+
�
�
+
�
�
+
�
�

,
{\displaystyle a+b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} \ ,}
where a, b, c, d, are real numbers, and i, j, k, are symbols that can be
interpreted as unit-vectors pointing along the three spatial axes. In practice, if
one of a, b, c, d is 0, the corresponding term is omitted; if a, b, c, d are all
zero, the quaternion is the zero quaternion, denoted 0; if one of b, c, d equals 1,
the corresponding term is written simply i, j, or k.

Hamilton describes a quaternion

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=
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+
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+
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{\displaystyle q=a+b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} }, as consisting
of a scalar part and a vector part. The quaternion
�
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+
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+
�
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{\displaystyle b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} } is called the
vector part (sometimes imaginary part) of q, and a is the scalar part (sometimes
real part) of q. A quaternion that equals its real part (that is, its vector part
is zero) is called a scalar or real quaternion, and is identified with the
corresponding real number. That is, the real numbers are embedded in the
quaternions. (More properly, the field of real numbers is isomorphic to a subset of
the quaternions. The field of complex numbers is also isomorphic to three subsets
of quaternions.)[23] A quaternion that equals its vector part is called a vector
quaternion.

The set of quaternions is a 4-dimensional vector space over the real numbers, with
{
1
,
�
,
�
,
�
}
{\displaystyle \left\{1,\mathbf {i} ,\mathbf {j} ,\mathbf {k} \right\}} as a basis,
by the component-wise addition

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,
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}&(a_{1}+b_{1}\,\mathbf {i} +c_{1}\,\mathbf {j}
+d_{1}\,\mathbf {k} )+(a_{2}+b_{2}\,\mathbf {i} +c_{2}\,\mathbf {j} +d_{2}\,\mathbf
{k} )\\[3mu]&\qquad =(a_{1}+a_{2})+(b_{1}+b_{2})\,\mathbf {i} +(c_{1}+c_{2})\,\
mathbf {j} +(d_{1}+d_{2})\,\mathbf {k} ,\end{aligned}}}
and the component-wise scalar multiplication

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{\displaystyle \lambda (a+b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} )=\lambda
a+(\lambda b)\,\mathbf {i} +(\lambda c)\,\mathbf {j} +(\lambda d)\,\mathbf {k} .}
A multiplicative group structure, called the Hamilton product, denoted by
juxtaposition, can be defined on the quaternions in the following way:

The real quaternion 1 is the identity element.

The real quaternions commute with all other quaternions, that is aq = qa for every
quaternion q and every real quaternion a. In algebraic terminology this is to say
that the field of real quaternions are the center of this quaternion algebra.
The product is first given for the basis elements (see next subsection), and then
extended to all quaternions by using the distributive property and the center
property of the real quaternions. The Hamilton product is not commutative, but is
associative, thus the quaternions form an associative algebra over the real
numbers.
Additionally, every nonzero quaternion has an inverse with respect to the Hamilton
product:
(
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+
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−
1
=
1
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2
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2
(
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−
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−
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−
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)
.
{\displaystyle (a+b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} )^{-1}={\frac {1}
{a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2}}}\,(a-b\,\mathbf {i} -c\,\mathbf {j} -d\,\mathbf {k} ).}
Thus the quaternions form a division algebra.

Multiplication of basis elements

Multiplication table
× 1 i j k
1 1 i j k
i i −1 k −j
j j −k −1 i
k k j −i −1
Non commutativity is emphasized by colored squares
The multiplication with 1 of the basis elements i, j, and k is defined by the fact
that 1 is a multiplicative identity, that is,

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1
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,
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1
=
1
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.
{\displaystyle \mathbf {i} \,1=1\,\mathbf {i} =\mathbf {i} ,\qquad \mathbf
{j} \,1=1\,\mathbf {j} =\mathbf {j} ,\qquad \mathbf {k} \,1=1\,\mathbf {k} =\mathbf
{k} \,.}
The products of other basis elements are

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2
=
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2
=
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2
=
−
1
,
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{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {i} ^{2}&=\mathbf {j} ^{2}=\mathbf {k}
^{2}=-1,\\[5mu]\mathbf {i\,j} &=-\mathbf {j\,i} =\mathbf {k} ,\qquad \mathbf {j\,k}
=-\mathbf {k\,j} =\mathbf {i} ,\qquad \mathbf {k\,i} =-\mathbf {i\,k} =\mathbf
{j} .\end{aligned}}}
Combining these rules,

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=
−
1.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {i\,j\,k} &=-1.\end{aligned}}}
Center
The center of a noncommutative ring is the subring of elements c such that cx = xc
for every x. The center of the quaternion algebra is the subfield of real
quaternions. In fact, it is a part of the definition that the real quaternions
belong to the center. Conversely, if q = a + b i + c j + d k belongs to the center,
then

0
=
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−
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=
2
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+
2
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=
2
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−
2
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,
{\displaystyle 0=\mathbf {i} \,q-q\,\mathbf {i} =2c\,\mathbf {ij} +2d\,\mathbf {ik}
=2c\,\mathbf {k} -2d\,\mathbf {j} \,,}
and c = d = 0. A similar computation with j instead of i shows that one has also b
= 0. Thus q = a is a real quaternion.

The quaternions form a division algebra. This means that the non-commutativity of
multiplication is the only property that makes quaternions different from a field.
This non-commutativity has some unexpected consequences, among them that a
polynomial equation over the quaternions can have more distinct solutions than the
degree of the polynomial. For example, the equation z2 + 1 = 0, has infinitely many
quaternion solutions, which are the quaternions z = b i + c j + d k such that b2 +
c2 + d2 = 1. Thus these "roots of –1" form a unit sphere in the three-dimensional
space of vector quaternions.

Hamilton product
For two elements a1 + b1i + c1j + d1k and a2 + b2i + c2j + d2k, their product,
called the Hamilton product (a1 + b1i + c1j + d1k) (a2 + b2i + c2j + d2k), is
determined by the products of the basis elements and the distributive law. The
distributive law makes it possible to expand the product so that it is a sum of
products of basis elements. This gives the following expression:

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1
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+
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2
{\displaystyle {\begin{alignedat}{4}&a_{1}a_{2}&&+a_{1}b_{2}\mathbf {i}
&&+a_{1}c_{2}\mathbf {j} &&+a_{1}d_{2}\mathbf {k} \\{}+{}&b_{1}a_{2}\mathbf {i}
&&+b_{1}b_{2}\mathbf {i} ^{2}&&+b_{1}c_{2}\mathbf {ij} &&+b_{1}d_{2}\mathbf {ik} \\
{}+{}&c_{1}a_{2}\mathbf {j} &&+c_{1}b_{2}\mathbf {ji} &&+c_{1}c_{2}\mathbf {j}
^{2}&&+c_{1}d_{2}\mathbf {jk} \\{}+{}&d_{1}a_{2}\mathbf {k} &&+d_{1}b_{2}\mathbf
{ki} &&+d_{1}c_{2}\mathbf {kj} &&+d_{1}d_{2}\mathbf {k} ^{2}\end{alignedat}}}
Now the basis elements can be multiplied using the rules given above to get:[8]

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1
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2
−
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1
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2
−
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1
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2
−
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1
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+
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+
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+
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1
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+
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1
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+
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2
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2
−
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1
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+
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)
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{\displaystyle {\begin{alignedat}{4}&a_{1}a_{2}&&-b_{1}b_{2}&&-c_{1}c_{2}&&-
d_{1}d_{2}\\{}+{}(&a_{1}b_{2}&&+b_{1}a_{2}&&+c_{1}d_{2}&&-d_{1}c_{2})\mathbf {i} \\
{}+{}(&a_{1}c_{2}&&-b_{1}d_{2}&&+c_{1}a_{2}&&+d_{1}b_{2})\mathbf {j} \\{}+{}
(&a_{1}d_{2}&&+b_{1}c_{2}&&-c_{1}b_{2}&&+d_{1}a_{2})\mathbf {k} \end{alignedat}}}
The product of two rotation quaternions[24] will be equivalent to the rotation a2 +
b2i + c2j + d2k followed by the rotation a1 + b1i + c1j + d1k.

Scalar and vector parts

A quaternion of the form a + 0 i + 0 j + 0 k, where a is a real number, is called
scalar, and a quaternion of the form 0 + b i + c j + d k, where b, c, and d are
real numbers, and at least one of b, c or d is nonzero, is called a vector
quaternion. If a + b i + c j + d k is any quaternion, then a is called its scalar
part and b i + c j + d k is called its vector part. Even though every quaternion
can be viewed as a vector in a four-dimensional vector space, it is common to refer
to the vector part as vectors in three-dimensional space. With this convention, a
vector is the same as an element of the vector space
�
3
.
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3}.}[b]

Hamilton also called vector quaternions right quaternions[26][27] and real numbers
(considered as quaternions with zero vector part) scalar quaternions.

If a quaternion is divided up into a scalar part and a vector part, that is,

�
=
(
�
,

�
→
)
,

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∈
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,
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∈
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,

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→
∈
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3
,
{\displaystyle \mathbf {q} =(r,\ {\vec {v}}),~~\mathbf {q} \in \mathbb {H} ,~~r\
in \mathbb {R} ,~~{\vec {v}}\in \mathbb {R} ^{3},}
then the formulas for addition and multiplication are

(
�
1
,

�
→
1
)
+
(
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2
,

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→
2
)
=
(
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1
+
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2
,

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→
1
+
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→
2
)
,
(
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1
,
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→
1
)
(
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2
,

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→
2
)
=
(
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1
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2
−
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→
1
⋅
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→
2
,

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1
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→
2
+
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2
�
→
1
+
�
→
1
×
�
→
2
)
,
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}(r_{1},\ {\vec {v}}_{1})+(r_{2},\ {\vec
{v}}_{2})&=(r_{1}+r_{2},\ {\vec {v}}_{1}+{\vec {v}}_{2}),\\[5mu](r_{1},\ {\vec
{v}}_{1})(r_{2},\ {\vec {v}}_{2})&=(r_{1}r_{2}-{\vec {v}}_{1}\cdot {\vec {v}}_{2},\
r_{1}{\vec {v}}_{2}+r_{2}{\vec {v}}_{1}+{\vec {v}}_{1}\times {\vec {v}}_{2}),\
end{aligned}}}
where "
⋅\cdot " and "
×\times " denote respectively the dot product and the cross product.
Conjugation, the norm, and reciprocal
Conjugation of quaternions is analogous to conjugation of complex numbers and to
transposition (also known as reversal) of elements of Clifford algebras. To define
it, let
�
=
�
+
�
�
+
�
�
+
�
�
{\displaystyle q=a+b\,\mathbf {i} +c\,\mathbf {j} +d\,\mathbf {k} } be a
quaternion. The conjugate of q is the quaternion
�
∗
=
�
−
�
�
−
�
�
−
�
�
{\displaystyle q^{*}=a-b\,\mathbf {i} -c\,\mathbf {j} -d\,\mathbf {k} }. It is
denoted by q∗, qt,
�
~{\tilde {q}}, or q.[8] Conjugation is an involution, meaning that it is its own
inverse, so conjugating an element twice returns the original element. The
conjugate of a product of two quaternions is the product of the conjugates in the
reverse order. That is, if p and q are quaternions, then (pq)∗ = q∗p∗, not p∗q∗.

The conjugation of a quaternion, in stark contrast to the complex setting, can be

expressed with multiplication and addition of quaternions:

�
∗
=
−
1
2
(
�
+
�
�
�
+
�
�
�
+
�
�
�
)
.
{\displaystyle q^{*}=-{\frac {1}{2}}(q+\,\mathbf {i} \,q\,\mathbf {i} +\,\mathbf
{j} \,q\,\mathbf {j} +\,\mathbf {k} \,q\,\mathbf {k} ).}
Conjugation can be used to extract the scalar and vector parts of a quaternion. The
scalar part of p is
1
/
2
(p + p∗), and the vector part of p is
1
/
2
(p − p∗).

The square root of the product of a quaternion with its conjugate is called its
norm and is denoted ‖q‖ (Hamilton called this quantity the tensor of q, but this
conflicts with the modern meaning of "tensor"). In formulas, this is expressed as
follows:

‖
�
‖
=
�
�
∗

=
�
∗
�

=
�
2
+
�
2
+
�
2
+
�
2

{\displaystyle \lVert q\rVert ={\sqrt {\,qq^{*}~}}={\sqrt {\,q^{*}q~}}={\sqrt

{\,a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2}~}}}
This is always a non-negative real number, and it is the same as the Euclidean norm
on
�
\mathbb {H} considered as the vector space
�
4
{\mathbb R}^{4}. Multiplying a quaternion by a real number scales its norm by the
absolute value of the number. That is, if α is real, then

‖
�
�
‖
=
|
�
|
‖
�
‖

.
{\displaystyle \lVert \alpha q\rVert =\left|\alpha \right|\,\lVert q\rVert ~.}
This is a special case of the fact that the norm is multiplicative, meaning that

‖
�
�
‖
=
‖
�
‖
‖
�
‖{\displaystyle \lVert pq\rVert =\lVert p\rVert \,\lVert q\rVert }
for any two quaternions p and q. Multiplicativity is a consequence of the formula
for the conjugate of a product. Alternatively it follows from the identity

det
(
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+
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+
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−
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−
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)
=
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2
+
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2
+
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+
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2
,
{\displaystyle \det {\begin{pmatrix}a+ib&id+c\\id-c&a-ib\
end{pmatrix}}=a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2},}
(where i denotes the usual imaginary unit) and hence from the multiplicative
property of determinants of square matrices.

This norm makes it possible to define the distance d(p, q) between p and q as the
norm of their difference:

�
(
�
,
�
)
=
‖
�
−
�
‖

.
{\displaystyle d(p,q)=\lVert p-q\rVert ~.}
This makes
�
\mathbb {H} a metric space. Addition and multiplication are continuous in regard
to the associated metric topology. This follows with exactly the same proof as for
the real numbers
�
\mathbb {R} from the fact that
�
\mathbb {H} is a normed algebra.

Unit quaternion
Main article: Versor
A unit quaternion is a quaternion of norm one. Dividing a nonzero quaternion q by
its norm produces a unit quaternion Uq called the versor of q:

�
�
=
�
‖
�
‖
.
{\displaystyle \mathbf {U} q={\frac {q}{\lVert q\rVert }}.}
Every nonzero quaternion has a unique polar decomposition
�
=
‖
�
‖
⋅
�
�
{\displaystyle q=\lVert q\rVert \cdot \mathbf {U} q}, while the zero quarternion
can be formed from any unit quarternion.

Using conjugation and the norm makes it possible to define the reciprocal of a
nonzero quaternion. The product of a quaternion with its reciprocal should equal 1,
and the considerations above imply that the product of
�
q and
�
∗
/
‖
�
‖
2
{\displaystyle q^{*}/\left\Vert q\right\|^{2}} is 1 (for either order of
multiplication). So the reciprocal of q is defined to be

�
−
1
=
�
∗
‖
�
‖
2
.
{\displaystyle q^{-1}={\frac {q^{*}}{\lVert q\rVert ^{2}}}.}
This makes it possible to divide two quaternions p and q in two different ways
(when q is nonzero). That is, their quotient can be either p q−1 or q−1p ; in
general, those products are different, depending on the order of multiplication,
except for the special case that p and q are scalar multiples of each other (which
includes the case where p = 0). Hence, the notation
p
/
q
is ambiguous because it does not specify whether q divides on the left or the
right (whether  q−1 multiplies p on its left or its right).

Algebraic properties

Cayley graph of Q8. The red arrows represent multiplication on the right by i, and
the green arrows represent multiplication on the right by j.
The set
�
\mathbb {H} of all quaternions is a vector space over the real numbers with
dimension 4.[c] Multiplication of quaternions is associative and distributes over
vector addition, but with the exception of the scalar subset, it is not
commutative. Therefore, the quaternions
�
\mathbb {H} are a non-commutative, associative algebra over the real numbers. Even
though
�
\mathbb {H} contains copies of the complex numbers, it is not an associative
algebra over the complex numbers.
Because it is possible to divide quaternions, they form a division algebra. This is
a structure similar to a field except for the non-commutativity of multiplication.
Finite-dimensional associative division algebras over the real numbers are very
rare. The Frobenius theorem states that there are exactly three:
�
\mathbb {R} ,
�
\mathbb {C} , and
�
\mathbb {H} . The norm makes the quaternions into a normed algebra, and normed
division algebras over the real numbers are also very rare: Hurwitz's theorem says
that there are only four:
�
\mathbb {R} ,
�
\mathbb {C} ,
�
\mathbb {H} , and
�
\mathbb {O} (the octonions). The quaternions are also an example of a composition
algebra and of a unital Banach algebra.

Three-dimensional graph of Q8. Red, green and blue arrows represent multiplication
by i, j, and k, respectively. Multiplication by negative numbers are omitted for
clarity.
Because the product of any two basis vectors is plus or minus another basis vector,
the set {±1, ±i, ±j, ±k} forms a group under multiplication. This non-abelian group
is called the quaternion group and is denoted Q8.[28] The real group ring of Q8 is
a ring
�
[
Q
8
]
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} [\mathrm {Q} _{8}]} which is also an eight-dimensional
vector space over
�
.
{\mathbb R}. It has one basis vector for each element of
Q
8
.
{\displaystyle \mathrm {Q} _{8}.} The quaternions are isomorphic to the quotient
ring of
�
[
Q
8
]
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} [\mathrm {Q} _{8}]} by the ideal generated by the
elements 1 + (−1), i + (−i), j + (−j), and k + (−k). Here the first term in each of
the differences is one of the basis elements 1, i, j, and k, and the second term is
one of basis elements −1, −i, −j, and −k, not the additive inverses of 1, i, j, and
k.

Quaternions and the space geometry

The vector part of a quaternion can be interpreted as a coordinate vector in
�
3
;
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3};} therefore, the algebraic operations of the
quaternions reflect the geometry of
�
3
.
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3}.} Operations such as the vector dot and cross
products can be defined in terms of quaternions, and this makes it possible to
apply quaternion techniques wherever spatial vectors arise. A useful application of
quaternions has been to interpolate the orientations of key-frames in computer
graphics.[15]

For the remainder of this section, i, j, and k will denote both the three
imaginary[29] basis vectors of
�
\mathbb {H} and a basis for
�
3
.
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3}.} Replacing i by −i, j by −j, and k by −k sends a
vector to its additive inverse, so the additive inverse of a vector is the same as
its conjugate as a quaternion. For this reason, conjugation is sometimes called the
spatial inverse.

For two vector quaternions p = b1i + c1j + d1k and q = b2i + c2j + d2k their dot
product, by analogy to vectors in
�
3
,
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3},} is

�
⋅
�
=
�
1
�
2
+
�
1
�
2
+
�
1
�
2

.
{\displaystyle p\cdot q=b_{1}b_{2}+c_{1}c_{2}+d_{1}d_{2}~.}
It can also be expressed in a component-free manner as

�
⋅
�
=
1
2
(
�
∗
�
+
�
∗
�
)
=
1
2
(
�
�
∗
+
�
�
∗
)
.
{\displaystyle p\cdot q=\textstyle {\frac {1}{2}}(p^{*}q+q^{*}p)=\textstyle {\frac
{1}{2}}(pq^{*}+qp^{*}).}
This is equal to the scalar parts of the products pq∗, qp∗, p∗q, and q∗p. Note that
their vector parts are different.

The cross product of p and q relative to the orientation determined by the ordered
basis i, j, and k is

�
×
�
=
(
�
1
�
2
−
�
1
�
2
)
�
+
(
�
1
�
2
−
�
1
�
2
)
�
+
(
�
1
�
2
−
�
1
�
2
)
�
.
{\displaystyle p\times q=(c_{1}d_{2}-d_{1}c_{2})\mathbf {i} +(d_{1}b_{2}-
b_{1}d_{2})\mathbf {j} +(b_{1}c_{2}-c_{1}b_{2})\mathbf {k} \,.}
(Recall that the orientation is necessary to determine the sign.) This is equal to
the vector part of the product pq (as quaternions), as well as the vector part of
−q∗p∗. It also has the formula

�
×
�
=
1
2
(
�
�
−
�
�
)
.
{\displaystyle p\times q=\textstyle {\tfrac {1}{2}}(pq-qp).}
For the commutator, [p, q] = pq − qp, of two vector quaternions one obtains

[
�
,
�
]
=
2
�
×
�
.
{\displaystyle [p,q]=2p\times q.}
In general, let p and q be quaternions and write

�
=
�
s
+
�
v
,
�
=
�
s
+
�
v
,
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}p&=p_{\text{s}}+p_{\text{v}},\\[5mu]q&=q_{\text{s}}
+q_{\text{v}},\end{aligned}}}
where ps and qs are the scalar parts, and pv and qv are the vector parts of p and
q. Then we have the formula

�
�
=
(
�
�
)
s
+
(
�
�
)
v
=
(
�
s
�
s
−
�
v
⋅
�
v
)
+
(
�
s
�
v
+
�
s
�
v
+
�
v
×
�
v
)
.
{\displaystyle pq=(pq)_{\text{s}}+(pq)_{\text{v}}=(p_{\text{s}}q_{\text{s}}-p_{\
text{v}}\cdot q_{\text{v}})+(p_{\text{s}}q_{\text{v}}+q_{\text{s}}p_{\text{v}}+p_{\
text{v}}\times q_{\text{v}}).}
This shows that the noncommutativity of quaternion multiplication comes from the
multiplication of vector quaternions. It also shows that two quaternions commute if
and only if their vector parts are collinear. Hamilton[30] showed that this product
computes the third vertex of a spherical triangle from two given vertices and their
associated arc-lengths, which is also an algebra of points in Elliptic geometry.

Unit quaternions can be identified with rotations in

�
3
\mathbb {R} ^{3} and were called versors by Hamilton.[30] Also see Quaternions and
spatial rotation for more information about modeling three-dimensional rotations
using quaternions.

See Hanson (2005)[31] for visualization of quaternions.

Matrix representations
Just as complex numbers can be represented as matrices, so can quaternions. There
are at least two ways of representing quaternions as matrices in such a way that
quaternion addition and multiplication correspond to matrix addition and matrix
multiplication. One is to use 2 × 2 complex matrices, and the other is to use 4 × 4
real matrices. In each case, the representation given is one of a family of
linearly related representations. In the terminology of abstract algebra, these are
injective homomorphisms from
�
\mathbb {H} to the matrix rings M(2,C) and M(4,R), respectively.

Using 2 × 2 complex matrices, the quaternion a + bi + cj + dk can be represented as

[
�
+
�
�
�
+
�
�
−
�
+
�
�
�
−
�
�
]
.
{\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}a+bi&c+di\\-c+di&a-bi\end{bmatrix}}.}
Note that the "i" of the complex numbers is distinct from the "i" of the
quaternions.

This representation has the following properties:

Constraining any two of b, c and d to zero produces a representation of complex
numbers. For example, setting c = d = 0 produces a diagonal complex matrix
representation of complex numbers, and setting b = d = 0 produces a real matrix
representation.
The norm of a quaternion (the square root of the product with its conjugate, as
with complex numbers) is the square root of the determinant of the corresponding
matrix.[32]
The conjugate of a quaternion corresponds to the conjugate transpose of the matrix.
By restriction this representation yields an isomorphism between the subgroup of
unit quaternions and their image SU(2). Topologically, the unit quaternions are the
3-sphere, so the underlying space of SU(2) is also a 3-sphere. The group SU(2) is
important for describing spin in quantum mechanics; see Pauli matrices.
There is a strong relation between quaternion units and Pauli matrices. Obtain the
eight quaternion unit matrices by taking a, b, c and d, set three of them at zero
and the fourth at 1 or −1. Multiplying any two Pauli matrices always yields a
quaternion unit matrix, all of them except for −1. One obtains −1 via i2 = j2 = k2
= i j k = −1; e.g. the last equality is
�
�
�
=
�
1
�
2
�
3
�
1
�
2
�
3
=
−
1.
{\displaystyle ijk=\sigma _{1}\sigma _{2}\sigma _{3}\sigma _{1}\sigma _{2}\sigma
_{3}=-1.}
Using 4 × 4 real matrices, that same quaternion can be written as

[
�
−
�
−
�
−
�
�
�
−
�
�
�
�
�
−
�
�
−
�
�
�
]
=
�
[
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
]
+
�
[
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
]
+
�
[
0
0
−
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
−
1
0
0
]
+
�
[
0
0
0
−
1
0
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
]
.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\begin{bmatrix}a&-b&-c&-d\\b&a&-d&c\\c&d&a&-b\\d&-
c&b&a\end{bmatrix}}&=a{\begin{bmatrix}1&0&0&0\\0&1&0&0\\0&0&1&0\\0&0&0&1\
end{bmatrix}}+b{\begin{bmatrix}0&-1&0&0\\1&0&0&0\\0&0&0&-1\\0&0&1&0\end{bmatrix}}\\
[10mu]&\qquad +c{\begin{bmatrix}0&0&-1&0\\0&0&0&1\\1&0&0&0\\0&-1&0&0\end{bmatrix}}
+d{\begin{bmatrix}0&0&0&-1\\0&0&-1&0\\0&1&0&0\\1&0&0&0\end{bmatrix}}.\
end{aligned}}}
However, the representation of quaternions in M(4,R) is not unique. For example,
the same quaternion can also be represented as

[
�
�
−
�
−
�
−
�
�
�
−
�
�
−
�
�
−
�
�
�
�
�
]
=
�
[
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
]
+
�
[
0
0
−
1
0
0
0
0
−
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
]
+
�
[
0
0
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
]
+
�
[
0
1
0
0
−
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
−
1
0
0
1
0
]
.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\begin{bmatrix}a&d&-b&-c\\-d&a&c&-b\\b&-c&a&-d\\
c&b&d&a\end{bmatrix}}&=a{\begin{bmatrix}1&0&0&0\\0&1&0&0\\0&0&1&0\\0&0&0&1\
end{bmatrix}}+b{\begin{bmatrix}0&0&-1&0\\0&0&0&-1\\1&0&0&0\\0&1&0&0\end{bmatrix}}\\
[10mu]&\qquad +c{\begin{bmatrix}0&0&0&-1\\0&0&1&0\\0&-1&0&0\\1&0&0&0\end{bmatrix}}
+d{\begin{bmatrix}0&1&0&0\\-1&0&0&0\\0&0&0&-1\\0&0&1&0\end{bmatrix}}.\
end{aligned}}}
There exist 48 distinct matrix representations of this form in which one of the
matrices represents the scalar part and the other three are all skew-symmetric.
More precisely, there are 48 sets of quadruples of matrices with these symmetry
constraints such that a function sending 1, i, j, and k to the matrices in the
quadruple is a homomorphism, that is, it sends sums and products of quaternions to
sums and products of matrices.[33] In this representation, the conjugate of a
quaternion corresponds to the transpose of the matrix. The fourth power of the norm
of a quaternion is the determinant of the corresponding matrix. As with the 2 × 2
complex representation above, complex numbers can again be produced by constraining
the coefficients suitably; for example, as block diagonal matrices with two 2 × 2
blocks by setting c = d = 0.

Each 4×4 matrix representation of quaternions corresponds to a multiplication table

of unit quaternions. For example, the last matrix representation given above
corresponds to the multiplication table

× a d −b −c
a a d −b −c
−d −d a c −b
b b −c a −d
c c b d a
which is isomorphic — through
{
�
↦
1
,
�
↦
�
,
�
↦
�
,
�
↦
�
}
{\displaystyle \{a\mapsto 1,b\mapsto i,c\mapsto j,d\mapsto k\}} — to

× 1 k −i −j
1 1 k −i −j
−k −k 1 j −i
i i −j 1 −k
j j i k 1
Constraining any such multiplication table to have the identity in the first row
and column and for the signs of the row headers to be opposite to those of the
column headers, then there are 3 possible choices for the second column (ignoring
sign), 2 possible choices for the third column (ignoring sign), and 1 possible
choice for the fourth column (ignoring sign); that makes 6 possibilities. Then, the
second column can be chosen to be either positive or negative, the third column can
be chosen to be positive or negative, and the fourth column can be chosen to be
positive or negative, giving 8 possibilities for the sign. Multiplying the
possibilities for the letter positions and for their signs yields 48. Then
replacing 1 with a, i with b, j with c, and k with d and removing the row and
column headers yields a matrix representation of a + b i + c j + d k .

Lagrange’s four-square theorem

Main article: Lagrange's four-square theorem
Quaternions are also used in one of the proofs of Lagrange's four-square theorem in
number theory, which states that every nonnegative integer is the sum of four
integer squares. As well as being an elegant theorem in its own right, Lagrange's
four square theorem has useful applications in areas of mathematics outside number
theory, such as combinatorial design theory. The quaternion-based proof uses
Hurwitz quaternions, a subring of the ring of all quaternions for which there is an
analog of the Euclidean algorithm.

Quaternions as pairs of complex numbers

Main article: Cayley–Dickson construction
Quaternions can be represented as pairs of complex numbers. From this perspective,
quaternions are the result of applying the Cayley–Dickson construction to the
complex numbers. This is a generalization of the construction of the complex
numbers as pairs of real numbers.

Let
�
2
{\mathbb C}^{2} be a two-dimensional vector space over the complex numbers. Choose
a basis consisting of two elements 1 and j. A vector in
�
2
{\mathbb C}^{2} can be written in terms of the basis elements 1 and j as

(
�
+
�
�
)
1
+
(
�
+
�
�
)
�
.
{\displaystyle (a+bi)1+(c+di)\mathbf {j} \,.}
If we define j2 = −1 and i j = −j i, then we can multiply two vectors using the
distributive law. Using k as an abbreviated notation for the product i j leads to
the same rules for multiplication as the usual quaternions. Therefore, the above
vector of complex numbers corresponds to the quaternion a + b i + c j + d k. If we
write the elements of
�
2
{\mathbb C}^{2} as ordered pairs and quaternions as quadruples, then the
correspondence is

(
�
+
�
�
,

�
+
�
�
)
↔
(
�
,
�
,
�
,
�
)
.
{\displaystyle (a+bi,\ c+di)\leftrightarrow (a,b,c,d).}
Square roots
Square roots of −1
In the complex numbers,
�
,
{\displaystyle \mathbb {C} ,} there are just two numbers, i and −i, whose square is
−1 . In
�
\mathbb {H} there are infinitely many square roots of minus one: the quaternion
solution for the square root of −1 is the unit sphere in
�
3
.
{\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3}.} To see this, let q = a + b i + c j + d k be a
quaternion, and assume that its square is −1. In terms of a, b, c, and d, this
means

�
2
−
�
2
−
�
2
−
�
2
=
−
1
,
2
�
�
=
0
,
2
�
�
=
0
,
2
�
�
=
0.
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}a^{2}-b^{2}-c^{2}-d^{2}&=-1,{\vphantom {x^{|}}}\\
[3mu]2ab&=0,\\[3mu]2ac&=0,\\[3mu]2ad&=0.\end{aligned}}}
To satisfy the last three equations, either a = 0 or b, c, and d are all 0. The
latter is impossible because a is a real number and the first equation would imply
that a2 = −1. Therefore, a = 0 and b2 + c2 + d2 = 1. In other words: A quaternion
squares to −1 if and only if it is a vector quaternion with norm 1. By definition,
the set of all such vectors forms the unit sphere.

Only negative real quaternions have infinitely many square roots. All others have
just two (or one in the case of 0).[citation needed][d]
As a union of complex planes
Each antipodal pair of square roots of −1 creates a distinct copy of the complex
numbers inside the quaternions. If q2 = −1, then the copy is determined by the
function

�
+
�
−
1
↦
�
+
�
�
.
{\displaystyle a+b{\sqrt {-1\,}}\mapsto a+bq\,.}
This is an injective ring homomorphism from
�
\mathbb {C} to
�
,
{\displaystyle \mathbb {H} ,} which defines a field isomorphism from
�
\mathbb{C} onto its image. The images of the embeddings corresponding to q and −q
are identical.

Every non-real quaternion generates a subalgebra of the quaternions that is

isomorphic to
�
,
{\displaystyle \mathbb {C} ,} and is thus a planar subspace of
�
:{\displaystyle \mathbb {H} \colon } write q as the sum of its scalar part and its
vector part:

�
=
�
�
+
�
→
�
.
{\displaystyle q=q_{s}+{\vec {q}}_{v}.}
Decompose the vector part further as the product of its norm and its versor:

�
=
�
�
+
‖
�
→
�
‖
⋅
�
�
→
�
=
�
�
+
�
�
‖
�
�
‖
.
{\displaystyle q=q_{s}+\lVert {\vec {q}}_{v}\rVert \cdot \mathbf {U} {\vec
{q}}_{v}=q_{s}+{\frac {q_{v}}{\|q_{v}\|}}.}
(Note that this is not the same as
�
�
+
‖
�
‖
⋅
�
�
q_{s}+\lVert q\rVert \cdot \mathbf {U} q.) The versor of the vector part of q,
�
�
→
�
\mathbf {U} {\vec {q}}_{v}, is a right versor with –1 as its square. A
straightforward verification shows that

�
+
�
−
1
↦
�
+
�
�
�
→
�
{\displaystyle a+b{\sqrt {-1\,}}\mapsto a+b\mathbf {U} {\vec {q}}_{v}}
defines an injective homomorphism of normed algebras from
�
\mathbb {C} into the quaternions. Under this homomorphism, q is the image of the
complex number
�
�
+
‖
�
→
�
‖
�
q_{s}+\lVert {\vec {q}}_{v}\rVert i.

As
�
\mathbb {H} is the union of the images of all these homomorphisms, this allows
viewing the quaternions as a union of complex planes intersecting on the real line.
Each of these complex planes contains exactly one pair of antipodal points of the
sphere of square roots of minus one.

Commutative subrings
The relationship of quaternions to each other within the complex subplanes of
�
\mathbb {H} can also be identified and expressed in terms of commutative subrings.
Specifically, since two quaternions p and q commute (i.e., p q = q p) only if they
lie in the same complex subplane of
�
\mathbb {H} , the profile of
�
\mathbb {H} as a union of complex planes arises when one seeks to find all
commutative subrings of the quaternion ring.

Square roots of arbitrary quaternions

Any quaternion
�
=
(
�
,
�
→
)
{\displaystyle \mathbf {q} =(r,\,{\vec {v}})} (represented here in scalar–vector
representation) has at least one square root
�
=
(
�
,
�
→
)
{\displaystyle {\sqrt {\mathbf {q} }}=(x,\,{\vec {y}})} which solves the equation
�
2
=
(
�
,
�
→
)
2
=
�
{\displaystyle {\sqrt {\mathbf {q} }}^{2}=(x,\,{\vec {y}})^{2}=\mathbf {q} }.
Looking at the scalar and vector parts in this equation separately yields two
equations, which when solved gives the solutions

�
=
(
�
,
�
→
)
=
±
(
‖
�
‖
+
�
2
,

�
→
‖
�
→
‖
‖
�
‖
−
�
2
)
,
{\displaystyle {\sqrt {\mathbf {q} }}={\sqrt {(r,\,{\vec {v}}\,)}}=\pm \left({\sqrt
{\frac {\|\mathbf {q} \|+r}{2}}},\ {\frac {\vec {v}}{\|{\vec {v}}\|}}{\sqrt {\frac
{\|\mathbf {q} \|-r}{2}}}\right),}
where
‖
�
→
‖
=
�
→
⋅
�
→
=
−
�
→
2
{\textstyle \|{\vec {v}}\|={\sqrt {{\vec {v}}\cdot {\vec {v}}}}={\sqrt {-{\vec
{v}}^{2}}}} is the norm of
�
→{\vec {v}} and
‖
�
‖
=
�
∗
�
=
�
2
+
‖
�
→
‖
2
{\textstyle \|\mathbf {q} \|={\sqrt {\mathbf {q} ^{*}\mathbf {q} }}=r^{2}+\|{\vec
{v}}\|^{2}} is the norm of
�
\mathbf q. For any scalar quaternion
�
\mathbf q, this equation provides the correct square roots if
�
→
‖
�
→
‖{\textstyle {\frac {\vec {v}}{\|{\vec {v}}\|}}} is interpreted as an arbitrary
unit vector.

Therefore, nonzero, non-scalar quaternions, or positive scalar quaternions, have

exactly two roots, while 0 has exactly one root (0), and negative scalar
quaternions have infinitely many roots, which are the vector quaternions located on
{
0
}
×
�
2
(
−
�
)
{\displaystyle \{0\}\times S^{2}({\sqrt {-r}})}, i.e., where the scalar part is
zero and the vector part is located on the 2-sphere with radius
−
�
{\displaystyle {\sqrt {-r}}}.

Functions of a quaternion variable

Main article: Quaternionic analysis

The Julia sets and Mandelbrot sets can be extended to the Quaternions, but they
must use cross sections to be rendered visually in 3 dimensions. This Julia set is
cross sectioned at the x y plane.
Like functions of a complex variable, functions of a quaternion variable suggest
useful physical models. For example, the original electric and magnetic fields
described by Maxwell were functions of a quaternion variable. Examples of other
functions include the extension of the Mandelbrot set and Julia sets into 4-
dimensional space.[35]

Exponential, logarithm, and power functions

Given a quaternion,

�
=
�
+
�
�
+
�
�
+
�
�
=
�
+
�
,
{\displaystyle q=a+b\mathbf {i} +c\mathbf {j} +d\mathbf {k} =a+\mathbf {v} ,}
the exponential is computed as[36]

exp
⁡
(
�
)
=
∑
�
=
0
∞
�
�
�
!
=
�
�
(
cos
⁡
‖
�
‖
+
�
‖
�
‖
sin
⁡
‖
�
‖
)
,
{\displaystyle \exp(q)=\sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {q^{n}}{n!}}=e^{a}\left(\cos \|\
mathbf {v} \|+{\frac {\mathbf {v} }{\|\mathbf {v} \|}}\sin \|\mathbf {v} \|\
right),}
and the logarithm is[36]

ln
⁡
(
�
)
=
ln
⁡
‖
�
‖
+
�
‖
�
‖
arccos
⁡
�
‖
�
‖
.
{\displaystyle \ln(q)=\ln \|q\|+{\frac {\mathbf {v} }{\|\mathbf {v} \|}}\arccos {\
frac {a}{\|q\|}}.}
It follows that the polar decomposition of a quaternion may be written

�
=
‖
�
‖
�
�
^
�
=
‖
�
‖
(
cos
⁡
(
�
)
+
�
^
sin
⁡
(
�
)
)
,
{\displaystyle q=\|q\|e^{{\hat {n}}\varphi }=\|q\|\left(\cos(\varphi )+{\hat {n}}\
sin(\varphi )\right),}
where the angle
�\varphi [e]

�
=
‖
�
‖
cos
⁡
(
�
)
{\displaystyle a=\|q\|\cos(\varphi )}
and the unit vector
�
^{\hat {n}} is defined by:

�
=
�
^
‖
�
‖
=
�
^
‖
�
‖
sin
⁡
(
�
)
.
{\displaystyle \mathbf {v} ={\hat {n}}\|\mathbf {v} \|={\hat {n}}\|q\|\sin(\
varphi )\,.}
Any unit quaternion may be expressed in polar form as:

�
=
exp
⁡
(
�
^
�
)
.
{\displaystyle q=\exp {({\hat {n}}\varphi )}.}
The power of a quaternion raised to an arbitrary (real) exponent x is given by:
�
�
=
‖
�
‖
�
�
�
^
�
�
=
‖
�
‖
�
(
cos
⁡
(
�
�
)
+
�
^
sin
⁡
(
�
�
)
)

.
{\displaystyle q^{x}=\|q\|^{x}e^{{\hat {n}}x\varphi }=\|q\|^{x}\left(\cos(x\
varphi )+{\hat {n}}\,\sin(x\varphi )\right)~.}
Geodesic norm
The geodesic distance dg(p, q) between unit quaternions p and q is defined as:[38]

�
g
(
�
,
�
)
=
‖
ln
⁡
(
�
−
1
�
)
‖
.
{\displaystyle d_{\text{g}}(p,q)=\lVert \ln(p^{-1}q)\rVert .}
and amounts to the absolute value of half the angle subtended by p and q along a
great arc of the S3 sphere. This angle can also be computed from the quaternion dot
product without the logarithm as:

arccos
⁡
(
2
(
�
⋅
�
)
2
−
1
)
.
{\displaystyle \arccos(2(p\cdot q)^{2}-1).}
Three-dimensional and four-dimensional rotation groups

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Main articles: Quaternions and spatial rotation and Rotation operator (vector
space)
The word "conjugation", besides the meaning given above, can also mean taking an
element a to r a r−1 where r is some nonzero quaternion. All elements that are
conjugate to a given element (in this sense of the word conjugate) have the same
real part and the same norm of the vector part. (Thus the conjugate in the other
sense is one of the conjugates in this sense.) [39]

Thus the multiplicative group of nonzero quaternions acts by conjugation on the

copy of
�
3
\mathbb {R} ^{3} consisting of quaternions with real part equal to zero.
Conjugation by a unit quaternion (a quaternion of absolute value 1) with real part
cos(φ) is a rotation by an angle 2φ, the axis of the rotation being the direction
of the vector part. The advantages of quaternions are:[40]

Avoiding gimbal lock, a problem with systems such as Euler angles.

Faster and more compact than matrices.
Nonsingular representation (compared with Euler angles for example).
Pairs of unit quaternions represent a rotation in 4D space (see Rotations in 4-
dimensional Euclidean space: Algebra of 4D rotations).
The set of all unit quaternions (versors) forms a 3-sphere S3 and a group (a Lie
group) under multiplication, double covering the group SO(3,ℝ) of real orthogonal
3×3 matrices of determinant 1 since two unit quaternions correspond to every
rotation under the above correspondence. See plate trick.

Further information: Point groups in three dimensions

The image of a subgroup of versors is a point group, and conversely, the preimage
of a point group is a subgroup of versors. The preimage of a finite point group is
called by the same name, with the prefix binary. For instance, the preimage of the
icosahedral group is the binary icosahedral group.
The versors' group is isomorphic to SU(2), the group of complex unitary 2×2
matrices of determinant 1.

Let A be the set of quaternions of the form a + b i + c j + d k where a, b, c, and

d are either all integers or all half-integers. The set A is a ring (in fact a
domain) and a lattice and is called the ring of Hurwitz quaternions. There are 24
unit quaternions in this ring, and they are the vertices of a regular 24 cell with
Schläfli symbol {3,4,3}. They correspond to the double cover of the rotational
symmetry group of the regular tetrahedron. Similarly, the vertices of a regular 600
cell with Schläfli symbol {3,3,5} can be taken as the unit icosians, corresponding
to the double cover of the rotational symmetry group of the regular icosahedron.
The double cover of the rotational symmetry group of the regular octahedron
corresponds to the quaternions that represent the vertices of the disphenoidal 288-
cell.[41]

Quaternion algebras
Main article: Quaternion algebra
The Quaternions can be generalized into further algebras called quaternion
algebras. Take F to be any field with characteristic different from 2, and a and b
to be elements of F; a four-dimensional unitary associative algebra can be defined
over F with basis 1, i, j, and i j, where i2 = a, j2 = b and i j = −j i (so (i j)2
= −a b).

Quaternion algebras are isomorphic to the algebra of 2×2 matrices over F or form
division algebras over F, depending on the choice of a and b.

Quaternions as the even part of Cl3,0(R)

Main article: Spinor § Three dimensions
The usefulness of quaternions for geometrical computations can be generalised to
other dimensions by identifying the quaternions as the even part
Cl
3
,
0
+
⁡
(
�
)
{\displaystyle \operatorname {Cl} _{3,0}^{+}(\mathbb {R} )} of the Clifford algebra
Cl
3
,
0
⁡
(
�
)
.
{\displaystyle \operatorname {Cl} _{3,0}(\mathbb {R} ).} This is an associative
multivector algebra built up from fundamental basis elements σ1, σ2, σ3 using the
product rules

�
1
2
=
�
2
2
=
�
3
2
=
1
,
{\displaystyle \sigma _{1}^{2}=\sigma _{2}^{2}=\sigma _{3}^{2}=1,}
�
�
�
�
=
−
�
�
�
�
(
�
≠
�
)
.
{\displaystyle \sigma _{i}\sigma _{j}=-\sigma _{j}\sigma _{i}\qquad (j\neq i).}
If these fundamental basis elements are taken to represent vectors in 3D space,
then it turns out that the reflection of a vector r in a plane perpendicular to a
unit vector w can be written:

�
′
=
−
�
�
�
.
{\displaystyle r^{\prime }=-w\,r\,w.}
Two reflections make a rotation by an angle twice the angle between the two
reflection planes, so

�
′
′
=
�
2
�
1
�
�
1
�
2
{\displaystyle r^{\prime \prime }=\sigma _{2}\sigma _{1}\,r\,\sigma _{1}\sigma
_{2}}
corresponds to a rotation of 180° in the plane containing σ1 and σ2. This is very
similar to the corresponding quaternion formula,

�
′
′
=
−
�
�
�
.
{\displaystyle r^{\prime \prime }=-\mathbf {k} \,r\,\mathbf {k} .}
Indeed, the two structures
Cl
3
,
0
+
⁡
(
�
)
{\displaystyle \operatorname {Cl} _{3,0}^{+}(\mathbb {R} )} and
�
\mathbb {H} are isomorphic. One natural identification is

1
↦
1
,
�
↦
�
2
�
1
,
�
↦
�
3
�
2
,
�
↦
�
1
�
3
,
{\displaystyle 1\mapsto 1\,,\quad \mathbf {k} \mapsto \sigma _{2}\sigma _{1}\,,\
quad \mathbf {i} \mapsto \sigma _{3}\sigma _{2}\,,\quad \mathbf {j} \mapsto \sigma
_{1}\sigma _{3}\,,}
and it is straightforward to confirm that this preserves the Hamilton relations

�
2
=
�
2
=
�
2
=
�
�
�
=
−
1

.
{\displaystyle \mathbf {i} ^{2}=\mathbf {j} ^{2}=\mathbf {k} ^{2}=\mathbf {i\,j\,k}
=-1~.}
In this picture, so-called "vector quaternions" (that is, pure imaginary
quaternions) correspond not to vectors but to bivectors – quantities with magnitude
and orientations associated with particular 2D planes rather than 1D directions.
The relation to complex numbers becomes clearer, too: in 2D, with two vector
directions σ1 and σ2, there is only one bivector basis element σ1σ2, so only one
imaginary. But in 3D, with three vector directions, there are three bivector basis
elements σ1σ2, σ2σ3, σ3σ1, so three imaginaries.

This reasoning extends further. In the Clifford algebra

Cl
4
,
0
⁡
(
�
)
,
{\displaystyle \operatorname {Cl} _{4,0}(\mathbb {R} ),} there are six bivector
basis elements, since with four different basic vector directions, six different
pairs and therefore six different linearly independent planes can be defined.
Rotations in such spaces using these generalisations of quaternions, called rotors,
can be very useful for applications involving homogeneous coordinates. But it is
only in 3D that the number of basis bivectors equals the number of basis vectors,
and each bivector can be identified as a pseudovector.

There are several advantages for placing quaternions in this wider setting:[42]

Rotors are a natural part of geometric algebra and easily understood as the
encoding of a double reflection.
In geometric algebra, a rotor and the objects it acts on live in the same space.
This eliminates the need to change representations and to encode new data
structures and methods, which is traditionally required when augmenting linear
algebra with quaternions.
Rotors are universally applicable to any element of the algebra, not just vectors
and other quaternions, but also lines, planes, circles, spheres, rays, and so on.
In the conformal model of Euclidean geometry, rotors allow the encoding of
rotation, translation and scaling in a single element of the algebra, universally
acting on any element. In particular, this means that rotors can represent
rotations around an arbitrary axis, whereas quaternions are limited to an axis
through the origin.
Rotor-encoded transformations make interpolation particularly straightforward.
Rotors carry over naturally to pseudo-Euclidean spaces, for example, the Minkowski
space of special relativity. In such spaces rotors can be used to efficiently
represent Lorentz boosts, and to interpret formulas involving the gamma matrices.
For further detail about the geometrical uses of Clifford algebras, see Geometric
algebra.

Brauer group
Further information: Brauer group
The quaternions are "essentially" the only (non-trivial) central simple algebra
(CSA) over the real numbers, in the sense that every CSA over the real numbers is
Brauer equivalent to either the real numbers or the quaternions. Explicitly, the
Brauer group of the real numbers consists of two classes, represented by the real
numbers and the quaternions, where the Brauer group is the set of all CSAs, up to
equivalence relation of one CSA being a matrix ring over another. By the Artin–
Wedderburn theorem (specifically, Wedderburn's part), CSAs are all matrix algebras
over a division algebra, and thus the quaternions are the only non-trivial division
algebra over the real numbers.

CSAs – finite dimensional rings over a field, which are simple algebras (have no
non-trivial 2-sided ideals, just as with fields) whose center is exactly the field
– are a noncommutative analog of extension fields, and are more restrictive than
general ring extensions. The fact that the quaternions are the only non-trivial CSA
over the real numbers (up to equivalence) may be compared with the fact that the
complex numbers are the only non-trivial finite field extension of the real
numbers.

Quotations
I regard it as an inelegance, or imperfection, in quaternions, or rather in the
state to which it has been hitherto unfolded, whenever it becomes or seems to
become necessary to have recourse to x, y, z, etc.

— 
William Rowan Hamilton (circa 1848)[43]
Time is said to have only one dimension, and space to have three dimensions. ...
The mathematical quaternion partakes of both these elements; in technical language
it may be said to be "time plus space", or "space plus time": and in this sense it
has, or at least involves a reference to, four dimensions. ... And how the One of
Time, of Space the Three, Might in the Chain of Symbols girdled be.

— 
William Rowan Hamilton (circa 1853)[44]
Quaternions came from Hamilton after his really good work had been done; and,
though beautifully ingenious, have been an unmixed evil to those who have touched
them in any way, including Clerk Maxwell.

— 
W. Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1892)[45]
There was a time, indeed, when I, although recognizing the appropriateness of
vector analysis in electromagnetic theory (and in mathematical physics generally),
did think it was harder to understand and to work than the Cartesian analysis. but
that was before I had thrown off the quaternionic old-man-of-the-sea who fastened
himself about my shoulders when reading the only accessible treatise on the subject
– Prof. Tait's Quaternions. But I came later to see that, so far as the vector
analysis I required was concerned, the quaternion was not only not required, but
was a positive evil of no inconsiderable magnitude; and that by its avoidance the
establishment of vector analysis was made quite simple and its working also
simplified, and that it could be conveniently harmonised with ordinary Cartesian
work. There is not a ghost of a quaternion in any of my papers (except in one, for
a special purpose). The vector analysis I use may be described either as a
convenient and systematic abbreviation of Cartesian analysis; or else, as
Quaternions without the quaternions, .... "Quaternion" was, I think, defined by an
American schoolgirl to be "an ancient religious ceremony." This was, however, a
complete mistake. The ancients – unlike Prof. Tait – knew not, and did not worship
Quaternions.

— 
Oliver Heaviside (1893)[46]
Neither matrices nor quaternions and ordinary vectors were banished from these ten
[additional] chapters. For, in spite of the uncontested power of the modern Tensor
Calculus, those older mathematical languages continue, in my opinion, to offer
conspicuous advantages in the restricted field of special relativity. Moreover, in
science as well as in everyday life, the mastery of more than one language is also
precious, as it broadens our views, is conducive to criticism with regard to, and
guards against hypostasy [weak-foundation] of, the matter expressed by words or
mathematical symbols.

— 
Ludwik Silberstein (1924)[47]
... quaternions appear to exude an air of nineteenth century decay, as a rather
unsuccessful species in the struggle-for-life of mathematical ideas.
Mathematicians, admittedly, still keep a warm place in their hearts for the
remarkable algebraic properties of quaternions but, alas, such enthusiasm means
little to the harder-headed physical scientist.

— Simon L. Altmann (1986)[48]

See also
Conversion between quaternions and Euler angles – Mathematical strategy
Dual quaternion – eight-dimensional algebra over the real numbers
Dual-complex number – Four-dimensional algebra over the real numbers
Exterior algebra – Algebra of exterior/ wedge products
Hurwitz quaternion order
Hyperbolic quaternion – Mutation of quaternions where unit vectors square to +1
Lénárt sphere – educational model for spherical geometry
Pauli matrices – Matrices important in quantum mechanics and the study of spin
Quaternionic manifold
Quaternionic matrix – matrix whose entries are quaternions
Quaternionic polytope
Quaternionic projective space – Concept in mathematics
Rotations in 4-dimensional Euclidean space – Special orthogonal group
Slerp – Spherical linear interpolation in computer graphics
Split-quaternion – Four-dimensional associative algebra over the reals
Tesseract – Four-dimensional analogue of the cube
Notes
A more personal view of quaternions was written by Joachim Lambek in 1995. He
wrote in his essay If Hamilton had prevailed: quaternions in physics: "My own
interest as a graduate student was raised by the inspiring book by Silberstein". He
concluded by stating "I firmly believe that quaternions can supply a shortcut for
pure mathematicians who wish to familiarize themselves with certain aspects of
theoretical physics." Lambek, J. (1995). "If Hamilton had prevailed: Quaternions in
physics". Math. Intelligencer. Vol. 17, no. 4. pp. 7–15. doi:10.1007/BF03024783.
It is important to note that the vector part of a quaternion is, in truth, an
"axial" vector or "pseudovector", not an ordinary or "polar" vector, as was
formally proven by Altmann (1986).[25] A polar vector can be represented in
calculations (for example, for rotation by a quaternion "similarity transform") by
a pure imaginary quaternion, with no loss of information, but the two should not be
confused. The axis of a "binary" (180°) rotation quaternion corresponds to the
direction of the represented polar vector in such a case.
In comparison, the real numbers
�
\mathbb {R} have dimension 1, the complex numbers
�
\mathbb {C} have dimension 2, and the octonions
�
\mathbb {O} have dimension 8.
 The identification of the square roots of minus one in
�
\mathbb {H} was given by Hamilton[34] but was frequently omitted in other texts.
By 1971 the sphere was included by Sam Perlis in his three-page exposition included
in Historical Topics in Algebra (page 39) published by the National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics. More recently, the sphere of square roots of minus one is
described in Ian R. Porteous's book Clifford Algebras and the Classical Groups
(Cambridge, 1995) in proposition 8.13 on page 60.
Books on applied mathematics, such as Corke (2017)[37] often use different
notation with φ :=
1
/
2
θ — that is, another variable θ = 2φ.
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Goldbach written on 4 May 1748," and they comment that "it makes no sense
whatsoever to say that Euler "identified" the quaternions in this letter ... this
claim is absurd."
Pujol, J., "Hamilton, Rodrigues, Gauss, Quaternions, and Rotations: A Historical
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Hamilton, Sir W.R. (1866). Hamilton, W.E. (ed.). Elements of Quaternions. London:
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used quaternions to achieve smooth three-dimensional rotations. See, for example
Nick Bobick (July 1998). "Rotating objects using quaternions". Game Developer.
McCarthy, J.M. (1990). An Introduction to Theoretical Kinematics. MIT Press. ISBN
978-0-262-13252-7.
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Eves (1976, p. 391)
"Maths – Transformations using Quaternions". EuclideanSpace. A rotation of q1
followed by a rotation of q2 is equivalent to a single rotation of q2 q1. Note the
reversal of order, that is, we put the first rotation on the right hand side of the
multiplication.
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00171-8.
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MATLAB®. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-54413-7.
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Computer Science. Morgan Kaufmann. ISBN 978-0-12-369465-2.
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p. 522.
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636.
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Altmann, Simon L. (1986). Rotations, quaternions, and double groups. Clarendon
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Further reading
Books and publications
Hamilton, William Rowan (1844). "On quaternions, or on a new system of imaginaries
in algebra". Philosophical Magazine. 25 (3): 489–495.
doi:10.1080/14786444408645047.
Hamilton, William Rowan (1853), "Lectures on Quaternions". Royal Irish Academy.
Hamilton (1866) Elements of Quaternions University of Dublin Press. Edited by
William Edwin Hamilton, son of the deceased author.
Hamilton (1899) Elements of Quaternions volume I, (1901) volume II. Edited by
Charles Jasper Joly; published by Longmans, Green & Co.
Tait, Peter Guthrie (1873), "An elementary treatise on quaternions". 2d ed.,
Cambridge, [Eng.] : The University Press.
Maxwell, James Clerk (1873), "A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism". Clarendon
Press, Oxford.
Tait, Peter Guthrie (1886), ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on August
8, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2005.". M.A. Sec. R.S.E. Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth
Edition, 1886, Vol. XX, pp. 160–164. (bzipped PostScript file)
Joly, Charles Jasper (1905). A manual of quaternions. Macmillan. LCCN 05036137.
Macfarlane, Alexander (1906). Vector analysis and quaternions (4th ed.). Wiley.
LCCN 16000048.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Algebra" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
Cambridge University Press. (See section on quaternions.)
Finkelstein, David; Jauch, Josef M.; Schiminovich, Samuel; Speiser, David (1962).
"Foundations of quaternion quantum mechanics". J. Math. Phys. 3 (2): 207–220.
Bibcode:1962JMP.....3..207F. doi:10.1063/1.1703794. S2CID 121453456.
Du Val, Patrick (1964). Homographies, quaternions, and rotations. Oxford
mathematical monographs. Clarendon Press. LCCN 64056979.
Michael J. Crowe (1967), A History of Vector Analysis: The Evolution of the Idea of
a Vectorial System, University of Notre Dame Press. Surveys the major and minor
vector systems of the 19th century (Hamilton, Möbius, Bellavitis, Clifford,
Grassmann, Tait, Peirce, Maxwell, Macfarlane, MacAuley, Gibbs, Heaviside).
Altmann, Simon L. (1989). "Hamilton, Rodrigues, and the Quaternion Scandal".
Mathematics Magazine. 62 (5): 291–308. doi:10.1080/0025570X.1989.11977459.
Pujol, Jose (2014). "On Hamilton's Nearly-Forgotten Early Work on the Relation
between Rotations and Quaternions and on the Composition of Rotations". The
American Mathematical Monthly. 121 (6): 515–522.
doi:10.4169/amer.math.monthly.121.06.515.
Adler, Stephen L. (1995). Quaternionic quantum mechanics and quantum fields.
International series of monographs on physics. Vol. 88. Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-506643-X. LCCN 94006306.
Ward, J.P. (1997). Quaternions and Cayley Numbers: Algebra and Applications. Kluwer
Academic. ISBN 0-7923-4513-4.
Kantor, I.L.; Solodnikov, A.S. (1989). Hypercomplex numbers, an elementary
introduction to algebras. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-96980-2.
Gürlebeck, Klaus; Sprössig, Wolfgang (1997). Quaternionic and Clifford calculus for
physicists and engineers. Mathematical methods in practice. Vol. 1. Wiley. ISBN 0-
471-96200-7. LCCN 98169958.
Kuipers, Jack (2002). Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer With
Applications to Orbits, Aerospace, and Virtual Reality. Princeton University Press.
ISBN 0-691-10298-8.
Conway, John Horton; Smith, Derek A. (2003). On Quaternions and Octonions: Their
Geometry, Arithmetic, and Symmetry. A.K. Peters. ISBN 1-56881-134-9. (review).
Jack, P.M. (2003). "Physical space as a quaternion structure, I: Maxwell equations.
A brief Note". arXiv:math-ph/0307038.
Kravchenko, Vladislav (2003). Applied Quaternionic Analysis. Heldermann Verlag.
ISBN 3-88538-228-8.
Hazewinkel, Michiel; Gubareni, Nadiya; Kirichenko, Vladimir V. (2004). Algebras,
rings and modules. Vol. 1. Springer. ISBN 1-4020-2690-0.
Hanson, Andrew J. (2006). Visualizing Quaternions. Elsevier. ISBN 0-12-088400-3.
Binz, Ernst; Pods, Sonja (2008). "1. The Skew Field of Quaternions". Geometry of
Heisenberg Groups. American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-4495-3.
Doran, Chris J.L.; Lasenby, Anthony N. (2003). Geometric Algebra for Physicists.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-48022-2.
Vince, John A. (2008). Geometric Algebra for Computer Graphics. Springer. ISBN 978-
1-84628-996-5.
For molecules that can be regarded as classical rigid bodies molecular dynamics
computer simulation employs quaternions. They were first introduced for this
purpose by Evans, D.J. (1977). "On the Representation of Orientation Space". Mol.
Phys. 34 (2): 317–325. Bibcode:1977MolPh..34..317E. doi:10.1080/00268977700101751.
Zhang, Fuzhen (1997). "Quaternions and Matrices of Quaternions". Linear Algebra and
Its Applications. 251: 21–57. doi:10.1016/0024-3795(95)00543-9.
Ron Goldman (2010). Rethinking Quaternions: Theory and Computation. Morgan &
Claypool. ISBN 978-1-60845-420-4.
Eves, Howard (1976), An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (4th ed.), New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, ISBN 0-03-089539-1
Voight, John (2021). Quaternion Algebras. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-56694-4.
ISBN 978-3-030-57467-3.
Links and monographs
"Quaternion Notices". Notices and materials related to Quaternion conference
presentations
"Quaternion", Encyclopedia of Mathematics, EMS Press, 2001 [1994]
"Frequently Asked Questions". Matrix and Quaternion. 1.21.
Sweetser, Doug. "Doing Physics with Quaternions".
Quaternions for Computer Graphics and Mechanics (Gernot Hoffman)
Gsponer, Andre; Hurni, Jean-Pierre (2002). "The Physical Heritage of Sir W. R.
Hamilton". arXiv:math-ph/0201058.
Wilkins, D.R. "Hamilton's Research on Quaternions".
Grossman, David J. "Quaternion Julia Fractals". 3D Raytraced Quaternion Julia
Fractals
"Quaternion Math and Conversions". Great page explaining basic math with links to
straight forward rotation conversion formulae.
Mathews, John H. "Bibliography for Quaternions". Archived from the original on
2006-09-02.
"Quaternion powers". GameDev.net.
Hanson, Andrew. "Visualizing Quaternions home page". Archived from the original on
2006-11-05.
Karney, Charles F.F. (January 2007). "Quaternions in molecular modeling". J. Mol.
Graph. Mod. 25 (5): 595–604. arXiv:physics/0506177. doi:10.1016/j.jmgm.2006.04.002.
PMID 16777449. S2CID 6690718.
Mebius, Johan E. (2005). "A matrix-based proof of the quaternion representation
theorem for four-dimensional rotations". arXiv:math/0501249.
Mebius, Johan E. (2007). "Derivation of the Euler–Rodrigues formula for three-
dimensional rotations from the general formula for four-dimensional rotations".
arXiv:math/0701759.
"Hamilton Walk". Department of Mathematics, NUI Maynooth.
"Using Quaternions to represent rotation". OpenGL:Tutorials. Archived from the
original on 2007-12-15.
David Erickson, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Complete derivation
of rotation matrix from unitary quaternion representation in DRDC TR 2005-228
paper.
Martinez, Alberto. "Negative Math, How Mathematical Rules Can Be Positively Bent".
Department of History, University of Texas. Archived from the original on 2011-09-
24.
Stahlke, D. "Quaternions in Classical Mechanics" (PDF).
Morier-Genoud, Sophie; Ovsienko, Valentin (2008). "Well, Papa, can you multiply
triplets?". arXiv:0810.5562 [math.AC]. describes how the quaternions can be made
into a skew-commutative algebra graded by Z/2 × Z/2 × Z/2.
Joyce, Helen (November 2004). "Curious Quaternions". hosted by John Baez.
Ibanez, Luis. "Tutorial on Quaternions. Part I" (PDF). Archived from the original
(PDF) on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2011-12-05. Part II (PDF; using Hamilton's
terminology, which differs from the modern usage)
Ghiloni, R.; Moretti, V.; Perotti, A. (2013). "Continuous slice functional calculus
in quaternionic Hilbert spaces". Rev. Math. Phys. 25 (4): 1350006–126.
arXiv:1207.0666. Bibcode:2013RvMaP..2550006G. doi:10.1142/S0129055X13500062. S2CID
119651315.
Ghiloni, R.; Moretti, V.; Perotti, A. (2017). "Spectral representations of normal
operators via Intertwining Quaternionic Projection Valued Measures". Rev. Math.
Phys. 29: 1750034. arXiv:1602.02661. doi:10.1142/S0129055X17500349. S2CID
124709652. two expository papers about continuous functional calculus and spectral
theory in quanternionic Hilbert spaces useful in rigorous quaternionic quantum
mechanics.
Quaternions the Android app shows the quaternion corresponding to the orientation
of the device.
Rotating Objects Using Quaternions article speaking to the use of Quaternions for
rotation in video games/computer graphics.