Universal Covering Group of U(n) and Projective Representations

Using fiber bundle theory, we construct the universal covering group of U(n),U(n), and show that U(n) is isomorphic to the semidirect product SU(n) ∝.We give a bijection between the set of projective representations of U(n) and theset of equivalence classes of certain unitary representations of SU(n) ∝.Applying Bargmann's theorem, we give explicit expressions for the liftings ofprojective representations of U(n) to unitary representations of SU(n) ∝. Forcompleteness, we discuss the topological and group theoretic relations betweenU(n), SU(n), U(t), and Zn.