All Questions
5,883 questions
15
votes
4
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4k
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Kernel of skew-symmetric matrix of rank $n-1$ with $n$ odd: is this a known result?
When $n$ is odd, the kernel of a skew-symmetric matrix $M$ of size $n\times n$ and rank $n-1$ is the span of $v$, where $v$ is a vector whose $i$-th component is the Pfaffian of the matrix obtained by ...
- 403
15
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Linearly constrained eigenvalue problem
Suppose I'd like to:
\begin{align}
\mathop{\text{min}}_\mathbf{x} && \mathbf{x}^T\mathbf{A}\mathbf{x} \\
\text{subject to:} && \mathbf{x}^T \mathbf{M} \mathbf{x} = 1\\
&& \...
- 723
15
votes
1
answer
8k
views
On the determinant of a class symmetric matrices
Consider the matrix $2\times2$ symmetric matrix:
$$
A_2=\begin{pmatrix} 1 & a_1 \\ a_1 & 1\end{pmatrix}.
$$
It's clear that the restriction $|a_1|<1$ implies that $\det(A_2)>0$. Moreover,...
- 563
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Free subgroups of $\mathrm{GL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$
Is there a bound $B$ such that every 2-generator subgroup
$G = \langle a, b \rangle \le {\rm GL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$
whose generators do not satisfy a relation of length $\leq B$ is free?
If it exists, ...
- 19.6k
15
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Representation of vectors in $\mathbb{R}^2$ via differences of small vectors.
Is the following fact true?
Let $v_1,\ldots, v_k \in \mathbb{R}^2$, $\|v_i\|\leq 1$, be vectors that add up to zero. Does there exist a permutation $\sigma\in S_k$ and vectors $w_1,\ldots, w_k \...
- 1,284
15
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How to show a certain determinant is non-zero
For any $n$ distinct points $x_1,x_2 , \ldots , x_n$ on the real line show that
the matrix $M$ where $M(i,j) = e^{\lambda_j x_i} $ has non-zero determinant
where $\lambda_1 \lt \lambda_2 \lt \ldots \...
- 251
15
votes
2
answers
620
views
Maximum dimension of space of matrices with a real eigenvalue
Let $M_n(\mathbb{R})$ denote the space of all $n\times n$ real
matrices. What is the maximum dimension $f(n)$ of a subspace $V$ of
$M_n(\mathbb{R})$ such that every matrix in $V$ has at least one real
...
- 50.8k
15
votes
1
answer
518
views
Pairs of matrices for which traces of powers are independent of the order
Let $A,B$ be $n\times n$ matrices over ${\mathbb C}$ such that, for all $m,k$ and all partitions $(i_1,\ldots ,i_r)$ of $m$ and $(j_1,\ldots ,j_r)$ of $k$ (perhaps with some zero parts),
$${\rm tr}\, (...
- 1,336
15
votes
3
answers
675
views
The geometry of the solution set of a symmetric equation in four symmetric matrices
Let $n$ be a natural number. We can view the space of invertible symmetric matrices over a field as an open subset of$\mathbb A^{(n^2+n)/2}$. Inside the fourth power of this space, we have the closed ...
- 148k
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Necessary and sufficient conditions for a sum of idempotents to be idempotent
Given: a finite list of $n$-by-$n$ idempotent complex matrices $E_1, E_2, \ldots, E_k$.
If all pairwise products $E_i E_j$ (with $i \neq j$) are zero, it is trivial to show the sum $E_1 + E_2 + \cdots ...
- 151
15
votes
2
answers
794
views
Invariants and orbits of $n$-tensors
My question may be absolutely elementary and is probably answered in 19th century. A reference or a short clear argument would be highly appreciated.
Let $V_1, \ldots V_n$ be finite dimensional ...
- 12.3k
15
votes
1
answer
858
views
Symbols of elliptic operators
First let me state the problem, then I'll explain its origin and finally, I'll ask the main question..
Problem S. Fix a positive integer $n$. Find all the pairs $(V, S)$, whith the following ...
- 34.7k
15
votes
1
answer
679
views
Submodules of $({\mathbb Z}/6{\mathbb Z})^n$ intersecting $\{0,1\}^n$ trivially
$\newcommand{\F}{{\mathbb F}}$
$\newcommand{\Z}{{\mathbb Z}}$
Suppose that $\F$ is a finite field of prime order $p:=|\F|$, and let $n$ be a positive integer. I consider the regime where $\F$ is ...
- 23k
15
votes
1
answer
649
views
On minimal eigenvalue
Is it true that $\min\left(\lambda_{\min}(M_{12}),\lambda_{\min}(M_{13}),\lambda_{\min}(M_{23})\right) \le \frac{7}{20}$ where $M_{ij}$ is the matrix obtained by selecting the entries at the ...
- 178
15
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Questions on Toeplitz matrices: invertibility, determinant, positive-definiteness
These questions are probably very basic but I'll dare to ask them anyway since I didn't have much luck in Math Stack Exchange.
Let $A$ be an $n \times n$ Hermitian Toeplitz matrix:
$$A = \begin{...
- 3,626
15
votes
2
answers
559
views
Which quadratic forms on $\Lambda^2 V$ come from quadratic forms on $V$?
Let $V$ be a finite dimensional vector space, say over $\mathbf R$. Let $g \in S^2 V^*$ be a quadratic form on $V$. Then $g$ induces a quadratic form $\Lambda^2 g \in S^2 \Lambda^2 V^*$ on $\Lambda^...
- 151
15
votes
2
answers
863
views
What are the periodic Dyck paths?
I changed the thread completely so that everything is now elementary linear algebra.
A Dyck path of length $n$ is a list of positive integers $[c_1,c_2,...,c_n]$ with $c_i -1 \leq c_{i+1}$ for all $i$...
- 26.5k
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to compute the rank of a matrix?
Okay, that's a misleading title. This is a somewhat subtler problem than undergraduate linear algebra, although I suspect there's still an easy answer. But I couldn't resist :D.
Here's the actual ...
- 12.6k
15
votes
1
answer
418
views
Conceptual explanation for curious linear-algebra fact in characteristic $2$
All matrices and vectors in this post have entries in the field $\mathbb{F}_2$.
Fix some $n \geq 1$. For an $n \times n$ matrix $X$, write $X_0$ for the column vector whose entries are the diagonal ...
- 255
15
votes
1
answer
777
views
Reconstructing a word
Let $w(a,b)$ be a word in two letter alphabet. Let $$A=\left(\begin{array}{lll}x_1 & x_2 & x_3\\\ x_4 &x_5 & x_6\\\ x_7 & x_8 & x_9\end{array}\right), B=\left(\begin{array}{lll}...
user6976
15
votes
1
answer
578
views
Matrix with small elements and prescribed determinant
Let $p$ be a large prime number. I want a $k\times k$ matrix with determinant $p$ and bounded integer elements (say, from -100 to 100). For which minimal $k$ such a matrix does always exist? We can ...
- 109k
15
votes
0
answers
446
views
The rank of a "triangle-free" matrix
This is a version of the question I asked recently, but the assumptions got now strengthened substantially.
Suppose that $A=(a_{ij})_{1\le i,j\le n}$ is a square matrix with all elements in $\{0,\...
- 23k
14
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Matrix trace & norm [closed]
For any nonnegative semidefinite matrix $A$ and any matrix $B$, we have
$$\mbox{tr} (AB) \le \mbox{tr} (A) \, \|B\|$$
where $\mbox{tr}(\cdot)$ is the trace and $\|\cdot\|$ is the operator norm. How ...
- 157
14
votes
4
answers
6k
views
When is an algebra of commuting matrices (contained in one) generated by a single matrix?
Let C be an nxn matrix, then the polynomials in C (with appropriate coefficients) form an algebra of commuting matrices. I feel that I should know if the converse is true but I do not. So my first ...
- 30.1k
14
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Vandermonde matrix is totally positive
A totally positive matrix $M\in \mathcal{M}_{n\times m}(\mathbb R)$ is such that all of its minors of all sizes are positive. It is true that any Vandermonde matrix (with well-ordered positive entries)...
- 5,428
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Are all vector-space valued functors on sets free?
Let $\mathbf{Set}$ be the category of finite sets and functions between them, and let $\mathbf{Vect}$ be the category of finite-dimensional complex vector spaces and linear transformations between ...
- 3,937
14
votes
1
answer
2k
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Necessary conditions for the existence of solution of Sylvester equation AX=XB
Let's consider square matrices $A_{n \times n}$, $B_{n \times n}$ and $X_{n \times n}$ with elements from $\mathbb{R}$. Could you tell me please, what would be the necessary conditions for the ...
- 335
14
votes
2
answers
852
views
Examples of finitely presented subgroups of $\operatorname{GL}(n,\mathbb{Z})$ with unsolvable decision problems
$\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}\DeclareMathOperator\Aut{Aut}$Does there exist a finitely presented subgroup of $\GL(n,\mathbb{Z})$ for which it is known that the conjugacy problem is unsolvable (if yes, ...
- 143
14
votes
2
answers
873
views
"sinc'n determinant"
The function $\text{sinc}(x)=\frac{\sin x}x$ permeates mathematics and physics in several aspects, and it carries multiple presentations/formulations. My interest is to inject yet another one of such.
...
- 43.2k
14
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Eigenvectors of a particular transition matrix
I am considering a Markov chain with $n$ states with a particularly nice structure. The transition matrix is as follows:
\begin{equation}\mathbf{P}=\begin{pmatrix}
0 & 0& \dots&0 & 0 &...
- 41
14
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Diagonalizing a Certain Real and Symmetric Toeplitz Matrix
Consider $0\leq \alpha\leq 1$, and let $A_{\alpha}$ be the Toeplitz $n\times n$ matrix given by
$$
A_\alpha := \begin{bmatrix}
1 & \alpha & \alpha^2 & \ldots &\alpha^{n-1} \\\
\alpha ...
- 3,626
14
votes
1
answer
445
views
Similar matrices over $\mathbb Z_p$
Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n \times n$ matrices with entries in $\mathbb Z_p$, the $p$-adic integers. Is it true that $A$ and $B$ are conjugate iff they're conjugate over $\mathbb Q_p$ and over $\mathbb ...
- 683
14
votes
3
answers
880
views
How few $k$-dimensional subspaces of $V$ are enough to have a complement to each $n-k$-dimensional subspace?
Let $n$ and $k$ be nonnegative integers such that $k\leq n$. Let $F$ be a field, and let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional $F$-vector space. A set $\mathcal{S}$ of $k$-dimensional subspaces of $V$ is said to ...
- 33.8k
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why does this matrix have zero determinant?
This curious identity arose from studying reductions of the maximal ideal in certain monomial algebra. It can be proved "by hand", (i.e, using Macaulay 2), but I am seeking a more conceptual ...
- 30.5k
14
votes
2
answers
937
views
Involutions in GL_n(Z)
Is there a classification of involutions in $\text{GL}_n(\mathbb{Z})$?
Here's some more details about what I mean. Consider $f \in \text{GL}_n(\mathbb{Z})$ such that $f^2=1$. Regard $f$ as an ...
- 245
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5
answers
2k
views
How far is a set of vectors from being orthogonal?
Given some vectors, how many dimensions do you need to add (to their span) before you can find some mutually orthogonal vectors that project down to the original ones?
Or, more formally...
Suppose $...
- 1,513
14
votes
3
answers
872
views
How can we realize different combinatorial objects as the dimension of a construction on vector spaces? Are the resulting algebras useful?
Fix a vector space $V$ of dimension $n$ over some field $F$. Here are three commonly seen constructions:
its $k$th tensor power, $T^kV$, which has dimension $n^k$
its $k$th exterior power, $\Lambda^k(...
- 6,792
14
votes
2
answers
2k
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Semi-linear operators
If $V_1$ and $V_2$ are finite-dimensional vector spaces over a field $E$, each equipped with an $E$-linear operator $\phi$, we can tell if $V_1$ and $V_2$ are isomorphic as $\phi$-modules by comparing ...
- 1,680
14
votes
1
answer
351
views
Generalizing the Pfaffian: families of matrices whose determinants are perfect powers of polynomials in the entries
Let $n$ be a positive integer, and let $M = (m_{ij})$ be a skew $2n \times 2n$ matrix. That is, we have $m_{ij} = -m_{ji}$ for $1 \leq i, j \leq 2n$. Then it is well-known that
$$\det M = p(M)^2,$$
...
- 26.9k
14
votes
1
answer
1k
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A Question on Random Matrices
Consider the following $n\times n$ random matrix $V_{n}$ where the $(p,q)$ entry is given by
$$
V_{n}(p,q):= \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}}\exp(2\pi i(p-1) x_{q})
$$
where $x_{1},x_{2},\ldots,x_{n}$ are iid ...
- 3,626
14
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What is the dual concept to "annihilator" called, and do any linear algebra textbooks discuss this concept first?
When introducing dual spaces for the first time, most linear algebra textbooks proceed in what seems to me a rather backwards fashion: the annihilator $\{f\in V^*: f(u)=0\quad \forall u\in U\}$ of a ...
14
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do these matrix rings have non-zero elements that are neither units nor zero divisors?
First, a disclaimer: This is a repost of a question I asked on stackexchange (no answer there).
Let $R$ be a commutative ring (with $1$) and $R^{n \times n}$ be the ring of $n \times n$ matrices with ...
- 1,197
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
"Conjugacy rank" of two matrices over field extension
I have posted this elsewhere and got only a partial reply. I don't know whether this qualifies the question for an open-problem tag; if it does, please anyone insert it.
Let $L$ be a field, and $K$ a ...
- 33.8k
14
votes
1
answer
738
views
For a stable matrix $B$ and anti-symmetric $T$, such that $B(I+T)$ is symmetric, show that $\mbox{tr}(TB)\leq0$
Let stable matrix (i.e., its eigenvalues have negative real parts) $B \in \mathbb R^{n \times n}$ and anti-symmetric matrix $T \in \mathbb R^{n \times n}$ satisfy
$$B^\top - T B^\top = B + B T$$
...
- 371
14
votes
1
answer
417
views
Lipschitz property of the determinant
$\newcommand{\A}{\mathcal A}\newcommand{\Tr}{\operatorname{tr}}$For $c$ and $C$ such that $0<c<C<\infty$, let $\A_{d;c,C}$ denote the set of all symmetric positive-definite real $d\times d$ ...
- 128k
14
votes
2
answers
574
views
A simple but curious determinantal inequality
Let $A$ and $B$ be $n\times n$ Hermitian positive definite matrices and $k>0$ real. Then $A^k$ is well-defined and experimentally, we have $$\det(A^k+BABA^{-1})\geqslant \det(A^k+BA^{-1}BA),$$or ...
- 13.4k
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Finding minimum (or maximum) element of a low rank matrix.
Let $A\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ and suppose that $A$ is of rank $m\leq n$. Moreover suppose we know $u_1,\ldots, u_m \in\mathbb{R}^{n\times 1}$ and $v_1,\ldots, v_m \in\mathbb{R}^{n\times 1}$ such ...
- 3,217
14
votes
1
answer
545
views
Is the discriminant of a free (as a module) $R$-algebra always congruent to a square modulo 4?
Let $R$ be a commutative ring. Let $A$ be an $R$-algebra (i.e., an $R$-module
equipped with an $R$-bilinear multiplication map that turns $A$ into a unital
ring). We do not require $A$ to be ...
- 33.8k
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Perron-Frobenius theory for reducible matrices
Can someone suggest some sources/references dealing with the Perron-Frobenius theory for nonnegative matrices that are reducible?
Specifically, if $A\ge 0$ is a $d\times d$ matrix with no assumptions ...
- 421
14
votes
2
answers
655
views
Number triangle
This question arose just out of curiosity. Note the triangle of 0-1's below, whose construction is as follows. Choose any number, say 53 as done here. The first line of the triangle is the binary ...
- 1,216