Find an isometric matrix whose first row is a multiple of (1,1,1)

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By definition, an isometric matrix has the property $A^*A = AA^* = 1$, with $A^*$ as the hermitian transpose of $A$. So we construct the matrix $$A = \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 1 & 1 \\ a & b & c\\ d & e & f\end{bmatrix}$$ and have $A^*A = 1$, which gives us $$\begin{bmatrix}3&a + b + c&d + e + f\\ a + b + c&a^2 + b^2 + c^2&ad + be + cf \\ d + e + f&ad + be + cf&d^2 + e^2 + f^2 \end{bmatrix} = 1 \tag{1}$$.

So first of all I have no idea how to solve this...

Second of all, as a technicality, I assume $1$ in the equation $A^*A = AA^* = 1$ is the identity matrix, so how can the matrix in $(1)$ be the identity matrix if its first entry is $3$? If all of the elements in the diagonal are 3, then this would be $3I$. Which is still not $1$.

Thanks a bunch.

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As a row (or a column) of any isometry matrix (aka "unitary" or orthogonal) has to be unit norm, $(1,1,1)$ cannot work.

We have to find a first row with the form $(k,k,k)$ such that its (squared) norm is $1$, giving condition $3k^2=1$, thus $k=\pm 1/\sqrt{3}$.

Let us take $k=1/\sqrt{3}$ and look for matrices with this fixed first row:

$$A = \begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} \\ a & b & c\\ d & e & f\end{bmatrix}$$

There is a large choice of a second row giving a zero dot product with the first, moreover with unit norm, for example by taking :

$$A = \begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} \\ 1/\sqrt{2} & -1/\sqrt{2} & 0\\ d & e& f\end{bmatrix}$$

Now, the third row. It must

  • (a) be orthogonal to the first and the second row, and moreover

  • (b) be unit norm.

Condition (b) is not difficult to fulfill (one divides by the norm : in fact, this will not be necessary).

Concerning condition (a), it suffices to take the cross product of the 2 first rows...

$$\begin{bmatrix} d\\e\\f\end{bmatrix} \ = \ \begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{3}\\1/\sqrt{3}\\1/\sqrt{3}\end{bmatrix} \ \times \ \begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{2}\\-1/\sqrt{2}\\0\end{bmatrix}=\begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{6}\\1/\sqrt{6}\\- 2/\sqrt{6}\end{bmatrix}$$

Thus an answer is :

$$A = \begin{bmatrix} 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} & 1/\sqrt{3} \\ 1/\sqrt{2} & -1/\sqrt{2} & 0\\ 1/\sqrt{6} & 1/\sqrt{6} & -2/\sqrt{6}\end{bmatrix}$$