Burnside type theorems in real and quaternion settings

Abstract

In this note, we consider irreducible semigroups of real, complex, and quaternionic matrices with real spectra. We prove Burnside type theorems in the settings of reals and quaternions. First, we prove that an irreducible semigroup of triangularizable matrices in $M_n(\mathbb{R})$ contains a vector space basis for $M_n(\mathbb{R})$. In other words, $M_n(\mathbb{R})$ is the only irreducible subalgebra of itself that is spanned by an irreducible semigroup of triangularizable matrices in $M_n(\mathbb{R})$. Next, we use this result to show that, up to similarity, $M_n(\mathbb{R})$ is the only irreducible $\mathbb{R}$-algebra in $M_n(\mathbb{H})$ that is spanned by an irreducible semigroup of matrices in $M_n(\mathbb{H})$ with real spectra. Some consequences of our mains results are presented.