Clifford algebra

Meaning

Noun

• A unital associative algebra which generalizes the algebra of quaternions but which is not necessarily a division algebra; it is generated by a set of $\backslash gamma\_i$ (with i ranging from, say, 1 to n) such that the square of each $\backslash gamma\_i$ is fixed to be either +1 or −1, depending on each i, and such that any product $\backslash gamma\_i\; \backslash gamma\_j$ anticommutes when its factors are distinct (i.e., when $i\; \backslash ne\; j$).

Related

Broader meaning words

• filtered algebra

Origin

• Named after William Kingdon Clifford (1845–1879), an English mathematician and philosopher.