Real congruences of complex subspaces of \(2\times 2\) symmetric complex matrices (Q2369048)

The symmetric \(2\times2\) complex matrices form a \(3\)-dimensional vector space \(S\) over \(\mathbb{C}\). \textit{A. Coffman} [Linear Algebra Appl. 370, 41--83 (2003; Zbl 1049.14042)] gives canonical representatives for the orbits of the \(2\)-dimensional subspaces of \(S\) under the congruence action of \(\text{GL} _{2}(\mathbb{R})\). The author of the present paper establishes a duality between the sets of \(2\)-dimensional and \(1\)-dimensional subspaces of \(S\) and uses this to show that Coffman's classification also yields canonical representatives for the orbits of the \(1\)-dimensional subspaces. These new representatives are a little simpler than ones given earlier by the author in his classification of complex quadrics [\textit{W. C. Waterhouse}, Linear Algebra Appl. 48, 45--52 (1982; Zbl 0503.51018)].