The Zassenhaus decomposition for the orthogonal group: properties and applications (Q5949808)

Let \(V\) be a vector space over a field of characteristic distinct from \(2\) and let \(B( ,)\) be a symmetric bilinear form on \(V\). For any orthogonal transformation \(\sigma\in O(V,B)=O(V)\) define the Wall form \(( ,)_\sigma\) on \(S=(\sigma-1)V\) by \((\sigma x-x,\sigma y-y)_\sigma=B(\sigma x-x,y)\). The author uses the Wall form to develop the fundamental properties of the Zassenhaus decomposition. He applies these to the length problem for the commutator group \(\Omega(V)\) and its set of generators \(\{\tau_v\tau_w\tau_v\tau_w\}\), where \(\tau_v\) and \(\tau_w\) are noncommuting hyperplane reflections in \(O(V)\). The author obtains a number of results which hold for orthogonal groups over any field. It turns out that the commutator length depends on the arithmetic of the field. The author considers in particular the length problem under the assumption that the field \(F\) is one of the following: the complex numbers, the real numbers, a finite field, a local field, a global field.