Parallel transport on matrix manifolds and Exponential Action

Abstract

We express parallel transport for several common matrix Lie groups with a family of pseudo-Riemannian metrics in terms of matrix exponential and exponential actions. The metrics are constructed from a deformation of a bi-invariant metric and are naturally reductive. There is a similar picture for homogeneous spaces when taking quotients satisfying a general condition. In particular, for a Stiefel manifold of orthogonal matrices of size $n\times d$, we give an expression for parallel transport along a geodesic from time zero to $t$, that could be computed with time complexity of $O(n{d}^2)$ for small $t$, and of $O(t{d}^3)$ for large $t$, contributing a step in a long-standing open problem in matrix manifolds. A similar result holds for {\it flag manifolds} with the canonical metric. We also show the parallel transport formulas for the {\it general linear group} and the {\it special orthogonal group} under these metrics.