Commutators of Skew-Symmetric Matrices

In this paper we develop a theory for analysing the "radius" of the Lie algebra of a matrix Lie group, which is a measure of the size of its commutators. Complete details are given for the Lie algebra 𝔰𝔬(n) of skew symmetric matrices where we prove $\| [X,Y] \| \leq \sqrt{2} \|X\| \cdot \|Y\|$, X, Y ∈ 𝔰𝔬(n), for the Frobenius norm. We indicate how these ideas might be extended to other matrix Lie algebras. We discuss why these ideas are of interest in applications such as geometric integration and optimal control.