1999/10/31 by Tevian Dray, Corinne A. Manogue
Physics and Astronomy · Mathematics · #math-ph #math.MP #math.RA #msc:17C90 #msc:15A33 #msc:17C27
published as IJTP 38, 2901-2916 (1999) · LaTeX2e, 15 pages, no figures; to appear in IJTP; (references updated; minor typos fixed)
arxiv created 1999/11/02 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
We discuss the eigenvalue problem for 3x3 octonionic Hermitian matrices which is relevant to the Jordan formulation of quantum mechanics. In contrast to the eigenvalue problems considered in our previous work, all eigenvalues are real and solve the usual characteristic equation. We give an elementary construction of the corresponding eigenmatrices, and we further speculate on a possible application to particle physics.