The computation of matrix functions has been one of the most challenging problems
in numerical linear algebra. Among the matrix functions one of the most
interesting is the exponential. In 1978 the famous paper by Moler and Van Loan
gave a review of methods, more or less useful, to approximate eA when A is a
generic order n matrix. In the last years the problem has been studied after the
introduction of Lie group methods to solve numerically systems of ordinary differential
equations. According to these methods the differential system is solved in
a Lie algebra (and not in a Lie group) using a coordinate map defined from the
algebra to its related group. Using the exponential map some numerical methods
have been derived, like Runge–Kutta Munthe-Kaas methods (see [5]). In these
methods at each step it is necessary to compute s+ 1 matrix exponentials where s
is the number of the stages of the underlying Runge–Kutta method. Some recent
papers (see [1, 2]) deal with the approximation of a matrix exponential in a Lie
group. Among the explicit formulas only the Rodrigues formula allows the computation
of eA when A is a skew-symmetric real matrix (i.e. AT = −A) of order 3.
If A is the matrix
A