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Every nonzero Hamilton quaternion has a multiplicative inverse. If
and
is its conjugate, then
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(1) |
Because
equation (1) satisfies both
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(2) |
and
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(3) |
This two sided inverse is what makes the nonzero quaternions a division algebra.
Quaternion multiplication is not commutative, however, so division cannot be written as a single ambiguous quotient. Solving
requires
while solving
requires
These two expressions are generally different. The distinction becomes important in rigid body mechanics, navigation, robotics, and any quaternion calculation in which multiplication order carries physical meaning.
For unit quaternions, the inverse simplifies to
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(4) |
This is the form used throughout the later PhysicsLibrary attitude articles. Under the PhysicsLibrary passive convention, inverting a unit frame quaternion reverses the direction of the coordinate map.
Let be a nonzero quaternion. A quaternion is called the inverse of if
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(5) |
When such an exists, it is unique and is written .
For Hamilton quaternions, every nonzero element has an inverse. The zero quaternion does not, because
for every quaternion , so no product involving zero can equal the multiplicative identity .
The preceding PhysicsLibrary articles established
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(6) |
and
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(7) |
If , then
so division by this real scalar is allowed. Starting from
divide by
:
Similarly,
Therefore
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(8) |
The denominator is an ordinary positive real number, so its position in the product does not matter.
Let
Then
and
Therefore
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(9) |
In scalar first component form,
![$\displaystyle [q^{-1}]_{\mathrm{PL}} = \frac{1}{ q_w^2+q_x^2+q_y^2+q_z^2 } \begin{bmatrix} q_w\ -q_x\ -q_y\ -q_z \end{bmatrix}.$ $\displaystyle [q^{-1}]_{\mathrm{PL}} = \frac{1}{ q_w^2+q_x^2+q_y^2+q_z^2 } \begin{bmatrix} q_w\ -q_x\ -q_y\ -q_z \end{bmatrix}.$](https://images.physicslibrary.org/cache/objects/1094/l2h/img34.png) |
(10) |
The formula requires only conjugation, four squares, their sum, and a real scalar division.
Suppose both and are inverses of . Then
and
Using associativity,
Therefore the inverse is unique.
The proof uses associativity but does not require commutativity.
For nonzero quaternions and ,
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(11) |
The factor order reverses.
To verify this, multiply on the right:
Multiplying in the opposite order gives
Thus
is the two sided inverse of .
For a longer product,
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(12) |
This reversal is the inverse analogue of the conjugation rule
Starting from
conjugate both sides:
But
Since
and
we obtain
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(13) |
Also,
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(14) |
Using multiplicativity of the norm,
Therefore
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(15) |
This also follows directly from equation (8).
If is unit,
Then equation (8) reduces to
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(16) |
Thus inversion of a unit quaternion requires only reversing the sign of its vector part.
If
then
This simple inverse is one of the main computational advantages of using unit quaternions for orientation.
Let
be a nonzero pure quaternion. Its conjugate is
Its squared norm is
Therefore
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(17) |
If is a unit pure quaternion,
then
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(18) |
Because a unit pure quaternion also satisfies
the result follows immediately.
If is a nonzero real quaternion, then
and
Hence
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(19) |
Quaternion inversion therefore reduces to ordinary reciprocal division on the real subalgebra.
Because quaternion multiplication is noncommutative, an expression resembling
is ambiguous unless multiplication order is stated.
There are two distinct equations to consider.
Suppose
with .
Multiply on the left by :
Associativity gives
so
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(20) |
Now suppose
Multiply on the right by :
Associativity gives
so
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(21) |
In general,
Therefore one must never cancel a quaternion factor without preserving the side on which the inverse acts.
Let
Its conjugate is
Its squared norm is
Therefore
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(22) |
A direct multiplication gives
Let
First compute
and
Thus
Consider first
The solution is
Hence
Now consider instead
The solution is
Thus
Therefore
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(23) |
while
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(24) |
The two division problems have different answers because the inverse acts on different sides.
Let
Their inverses are
and
The inverse of the product is
Therefore
Since
its conjugate is
and its squared norm is
The direct inverse formula gives the same result.
The algebraic inverse formula is independent of active or passive interpretation. Its frame meaning depends on the convention used for orientation.
PhysicsLibrary uses a unit quaternion
to map coordinates from frame into frame :
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(25) |
Since a frame quaternion is unit,
The inverse quaternion therefore represents the reverse coordinate map:
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(26) |
Consequently,
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(27) |
The frame labels make the direction of the inverse explicit. Inverting a frame quaternion does not merely change a sign; it reverses which coordinate system is mapped into which.
Suppose
maps coordinates from into , and
maps coordinates from into .
The direct passive chain is
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(28) |
Invert both sides:
Using the reversed frame labels gives
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(29) |
The order reversal in the algebra is exactly what is needed to traverse the frame chain in the opposite direction.
For a positive frame rotation through angle about unit axis
, PhysicsLibrary uses
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(30) |
Because this quaternion is unit,
Therefore
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(31) |
The inverse corresponds to traversing the same frame relation in the opposite direction.
Let
be the passive direction cosine matrix associated with a unit frame quaternion.
The inverse coordinate transformation is
Because the matrix is orthogonal,
The quaternion inverse produces the same map:
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(32) |
Thus quaternion inversion corresponds to matrix transposition for unit orientation transformations.
The inverse formula
is mathematically valid for every nonzero quaternion, but numerical implementations should consider several practical issues.
- If
is extremely small, division by
can amplify floating point error.
- If
is intended to be an orientation quaternion, it should normally be maintained close to unit norm. In that case the inverse should be close to the conjugate.
- Do not silently replace
with unless unit norm is known or enforced.
- In software, preserve multiplication order when solving quaternion equations. A left inverse operation and a right inverse operation are not interchangeable.
- Frame labels should be propagated with the inverse. If
maps into , its inverse is .
- Using the conjugate as the inverse for a nonunit quaternion.
In general,
Only a unit quaternion satisfies
.
- Trying to invert the zero quaternion.
The zero quaternion has no multiplicative inverse.
- Forgetting inverse order reversal.
The correct identity is
- Writing quaternion division as an ambiguous fraction.
The expressions and solve different equations and are generally unequal.
- Cancelling on the wrong side.
For , multiply by on the left. For , multiply by on the right.
- Changing Hamilton algebra because the attitude interpretation is passive.
The inverse formula is algebraic and does not change when passive frame maps are adopted.
- Inverting a frame quaternion without reversing its labels.
Under the PhysicsLibrary convention,
- Assuming inverse order reversal is merely notation.
It follows from noncommutative multiplication and is required for both algebraic cancellation and correct reversal of frame chains.
The exercises are stated first so the article can be used for self study. Complete solutions follow afterward.
- Direct inverse.
Find the inverse of
- Verify both sides.
For the quaternion in Exercise 1, verify explicitly that
and
- Unit quaternion.
Let
Show that is unit and find .
- Pure quaternion.
Find the inverse of
- Inverse of a product.
Let
Compute and , then verify
- Left division.
For
solve
- Right division.
Using the same and , solve
Compare your answer with Exercise 6.
- Norm of the inverse.
Prove that
for every nonzero quaternion.
- Passive frame inverse.
If maps coordinates from into , write the quaternion that maps coordinates from into .
- Frame chain reversal.
Starting from
derive the inverse chain from frame back to frame .
Let
The conjugate is
The squared norm is
Therefore
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(33) |
By construction,
Therefore
Similarly,
For
the squared norm is
Thus is unit and
Therefore
For
the squared norm is
Since ,
Hence
For
we have
For
we have
Therefore
Now
Its conjugate is
and
Hence
Given
we have
For
the solution is
Thus
Therefore
For
the solution is
Hence
Therefore
The solutions to Exercises 6 and 7 differ because quaternion multiplication is not commutative.
Because
norm multiplicativity gives
Since ,
Therefore
The reverse coordinate map is
Since frame quaternions are unit,
Start from
Invert:
Relabeling the reverse maps gives
The reversed multiplication order agrees with the reversed sequence of frames.
The first five algebra articles have now supplied the main operations needed for quaternion orientation:
For a unit quaternion these collapse to the particularly simple relation
The next PhysicsLibrary article develops the axis angle representation and shows how a physical frame rotation through angle about a unit axis
produces the passive quaternion
From Q06 onward, the quaternion series can build rotation geometry directly on the algebra developed in Q01 through Q05.
Hamilton's quaternions form a division algebra: every nonzero quaternion has a two sided multiplicative inverse. Classical quaternion texts often express division through reciprocal quaternions, conjugation, and the historical tensor or norm notation.
Modern notation makes the inverse especially compact:
The distinction between left and right division is a direct consequence of noncommutative multiplication and should be preserved explicitly in engineering applications.
- 1
- W. R. Hamilton, Elements of Quaternions, 2nd ed., edited by C. J. Joly, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899. Public domain historical source. Internet Archive scan
- 2
- C. J. Joly, A Manual of Quaternions, Macmillan and Co., London, 1905. Public domain historical source. Internet Archive scan
- 3
- A. S. Hathaway, A Primer of Quaternions, 1896. Public domain historical source. Project Gutenberg edition
- 4
- Wikibooks contributors, “Abstract Algebra/Quaternions.” Openly licensed instructional source. Wikibooks quaternion article
Unless otherwise noted, this PhysicsLibrary entry is intended for release under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
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