Questions tagged [linear-algebra]
Questions about the properties of vector spaces and linear transformations, including linear systems in general.
5,873 questions
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a Vandermonde-type of determinants summed over permutations
Let $S_n$ be the symmetric group. Consider
$$D:=\sum_{\sigma\in S_n} \text{sgn}(\sigma)\cdot \det\begin{pmatrix}1 & a_{\sigma(1)}-0 & (a_{\sigma(1)}-0)^2 & \cdots & (a_{\sigma(1)}-0)^{...
14
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Eigenvalues of a sum of Hermitian positive definite circulant matrix and a positive diagonal matrix
Suppose I have a real $n\times n$ matrix $\mathbf{C}$ that is Hermitian, positive-definite, and circulant. We know that its eigenvalues $\{\lambda_0,\ldots,\lambda_{n-1}\}$ are extraordinarily nice ...
14
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Is this "semi-tensor product" something recently invented? Are there other usages of it?
The context: I was reading a paper in which they used the following definition called "Semi-Tensor Product" (STP) or "Cheng" product (In honor to its "inventor" D. Cheng):...
14
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2
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Condition number of matrix after partial orthogonalization
I'm wondering about which bounds one can put on the condition number of
a $n\times n$ square matrix which is obtained from another $n\times n$
square matrix by orthogonalizing the first $m < n$ ...
14
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0
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Is the Zariski density proof of Cayley-Hamilton circular?
This old MO thread and its comments contains a discussion of the Zariski density proof of Cayley-Hamilton (I have also asked a separate question about the proof Victor gives in the comments here). ...
14
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Cardinality vs. isomorphism type of vector spaces without choice
One of the classical uses of the existence of bases of vector spaces (which is equivalent to the axiom of choice) is the following theorem:
If $V$ is an infinite vector space over a field $F$, and $...
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0
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Who stated and proved the "Hopf lemma" on bilinear maps?
If $A\otimes B\rightarrow C$ is a nondegenerate linear map, where $A, B, C$ are vector spaces over an algebraically closed field, then $\dim C\ge \dim A + \dim B -1$.
Nondegenerate here means that ...
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What is the difference between matrix theory and linear algebra? [closed]
Hi,
Currently, I'm taking matrix theory, and our textbook is Strang's Linear Algebra. Besides matrix theory, which all engineers must take, there exists linear algebra I and II for math majors. What ...
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7
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Status of the Hadamard Circulant conjecture
The following feels like a community wiki question, so I do it here:
Recently we have heard of a new proof of the Circulant Hadamard conjecture of Ryser
(a long standing difficult conjecture):
...
13
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3
answers
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Relationship between determinants.
Given an orthogonal matrix $O$ with dimensions $4n \times 4n$ and $\det O = -1$, how to prove that
$\det[O_{11} - O_{22} + i (O_{12} + O_{21})] = 0$?
Here $O$ is a block matrix $[[O_{11}, O_{12}], [...
13
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3
answers
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Eigenvalue pattern
We consider a matrix
$$M_{\mu} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 & \mu & 1 & 0 \\ -\mu & 1 & 0 & 1 \\ -1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 &-1 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}$$
One easily ...
13
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4
answers
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Determining if a matrix is orthogonal
Let g be an element of $GL_n(\mathbb C)$. We know that there are orthogonal groups $O(\beta)=\{X\in GL_n(\mathbb C) \mid X^t\beta X=\beta\}$ for any $\beta$, invertible symmetric matrix. Though these ...
13
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2
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Is the Characteristic of a Field Detectable from the Topology of a Topological Vector Space?
Motivation
A topological vector space is a vector space over a (topological) field, K, that carries a topology such that addition and scalar multiplication are continuous maps, e.g., all normed vector ...
13
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Topological vector spaces (reference request)
In his book Topological Function Spaces Arhangel'skii says that "it is well known that every nontrivial locally convex linear topological space $X$ is homeomorphic to a space of the form $Y \...
13
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3
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Finite sets of vectors closed under an orthogonality property
Say that a set $X \subset \mathbf{S}^{d-1}$ is ortho-closed if for any set $\{x_1,\dots,x_{d-1}\} \subset X$ there exists $x \in X$ such that $\langle x,x_i \rangle = 0$ for $i=1,\dots,d-1$. (...
13
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Writing a matrix as a sum of two invertible matrices
Let $n\geq 2$. Is it true that any $n\times n$ matrix with entries from a given ring (with identity) can be written as a sum of two invertible matrices with entries from the same ring ?
13
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Irreducible representation of $S_n$: contained in tensor powers of the standard representation?
Let $S_n$ be the permutation group and $V = \operatorname{Fun}(X,\mathbb{k})$ functions from $X=\{1,\dotsc,n\}$ to some field $\mathbb{k}$. How can I prove that every irreducible representation of $...
13
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3
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Is $-\det\big[\big(\frac{i^2+j^2}p\big)\big]_{1\le i,j\le (p-1)/2}$ always a square for each prime $p\equiv 3\pmod 4$?
Let $p$ be an odd prime and let $S_p$ denote the determinant
$$\det\left[\left(\frac{i^2+j^2}p\right)\right]_{1\le i,j\le (p-1)/2}$$
with $(\frac{\cdot}p)$ the Legendre symbol. By Theorem 1.2 of my ...
13
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3
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Signature of a quadratic form
This may be a really dumb question, but here goes: is there any algorithm to compute the signature of a quadratic form (or a symmetric matrix, if you prefer) more efficient (asymptotically or ...
13
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2
answers
730
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Concrete representation of coend in linear algebra
$\require{AMScd}$Teaching coend calculus to a PhD student led me to this "elementary" computation that I would like to perform explicitly.
Consider the functor $F : (\mathbb N,\le)^\text{op}\...
13
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2
answers
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Parametrization of positive semidefinite matrices
We know that a real, symmetric, positive definite matrix $A$ of size $n\times n$ can be parametrized by a vector $\theta$ of $\frac{n(n+1)}{2}$ parameters thanks to the Cholesky decomposition:
$$
A = ...
13
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3
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Linear algebra underlying quantum entanglement?
Hope this question is appropriate. I think I saw certain claims that quantum entanglement is a certain phenomena that can be explained (or modelled) in terms of tensor products in linear algebra. I ...
13
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2
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Action of SL(2,Z) on upper triangular primitive integer matrices of determinant N, from the right. Is it transitive?
I am porting this question across from StackExchange, since it has received no answers and perhaps is sufficiently deep to fit here.
I am considering the set of upper triangular matrices
$$D_N=\left\...
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4
answers
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Rational congruence of binomial coefficient matrices
Skip Garibaldi asks if there is an elementary proof of the following fact that "accidentally" fell out of some high-powered machinery he was working on.
Say that two matrices $A$ and $B$ over the ...
13
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4
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Groups of matrices in which all elements have all eigenvalues equal in modulus
I am writing a research article in which I need to use the following fact: if $G$ is a subgroup of $GL_3(\mathbb{R})$ which is irreducible in the sense that no proper nontrivial subspace of $\mathbb{R}...
13
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4
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Multivariate analogue of Vandermonde determinant
Dear all,
Consider the $(n+1)\times (n+1)$ matrix $A$ with indeterminates $X_i, Y_i$, $0\leq i\leq n$ such that the $(i,j)$-th entry is given by $X_i^jY_i^{n-j}$. The $i$-th row is $(X_i^n,X_i^{n-1}...
13
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3
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Which polynomials are determinants of a symmetric matrix with linear entries?
Let $k$ be a field. Can each degree $n$ polynomial $P(t) \in k[t]$ be written as the determinant of the matrix $A + tB$, where $A$ and $B$ are two symmetric $(n \times n)$-matrices with entries in $k$?...
13
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in search of a transformation between determinants
Motivated by this MO question. Consider the two matrices $A_n$ and $B_n$ with entries $\binom{2j}i$ and $\binom{n+1}{2j-i}$, respectively; for $1\leq i, \,j\leq n$.
I can show $\det A_n=\det B_n=2^{\...
13
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3
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How do we show this matrix has full rank?
I met with the following difficulty reading the paper Li, Rong Xiu "The properties of a matrix order column" (1988):
Define the matrix $A=(a_{jk})_{n\times n}$, where
$$a_{jk}=\begin{cases}
j+...
13
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1
answer
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Number of idempotent $n\times n$ matrices over $\mathbb{Z}/m\mathbb{Z}$?
Is there any known formula for the number of idempotent $n\times n$ matrices over $\mathbb{Z}_m:=\mathbb{Z}/m\mathbb{Z}$ ?
The number of idempotent matrices over a finite field is well-known and ...
13
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2
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AC in group isomorphism between R and R^2
Using the axiom of choice, one can show that $\mathbb{R}$ and $\mathbb{R}^2$ are isomorphic as additive groups. In particular, they are both vector spaces over $\mathbb{Q}$ and AC gives bases of ...
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3
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Is there a row vector $x$ with integer entries such that no entry of $xM$ is $0 \text{ (mod }p\text{)}$?
Let $p$ be a prime and let $M$ be an $n \times m$ matrix with integer entries such that $M\vec{v} \not\equiv \vec{0} \text{ (mod }p\text{)}$ for any column vector $\vec{v} \neq \vec{0}$ whose entries ...
13
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1
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Identifying two definitions of orientation on a vector space
Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional real vector space. Here are two definitions of an orientation on $V$:
A generator of the $1$-dimensional vector space $\wedge^n V$, up to multiplication by positive ...
13
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1
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Does almost every point in Euclidean space have unique projection on any given set?
I am stuck at one point in my research, where I need to prove something which appears trivial to me, but cannot find a rigorous proof. I describe it below. Whenever I will say projection, I will mean ...
13
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1
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Functorial multiplication on commutative rings
Let $C$ be the category of associative commutative rings with 1 and let $F:C\to C$ be a functor which commutes with the forgetful functor to abelian groups (i.e. $F$ is a functorial way to define ...
13
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2
answers
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Almost Hadamard matrices
As well-known, a Hadamard matrix is a square matrix with all coefficients $\pm 1$
and pairwise orthogonal rows or columns. Such matrices exist conjecturally
in every dimension divisible by $4$. Call ...
13
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4
answers
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subspaces of singular matrices
Let $A$, $B$ be square matrices over infinite field (we identify them with linear operators on the vector space of columns). It is given that for all scalars $a,b$ the matrix $aA+bB$ is singular. Does ...
13
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The geometry of $\mathbb{R}^n$
Let $X,Y$ be finite-dimensional real normed spaces. Consider the set of linear operators $L(X,Y)$ between the two spaces.
Then we define the set of equivalence classes
$$G(X,Y):=\left\{[T]; T,S \in ...
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An inequality for the spectral radius of matrices used by J. Bochi
I am interested in the history of an inequality for the spectral radius of a $d\times d$ real or complex matrix, which occurs in Jairo Bochi's 2002 article Inequalities for numerical invariants of ...
13
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1
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Surprising connection between linear algebra and graph theory
What is the intuition for linear algebra being such an effective tool to resolve questions regarding graphs?
For example, one can determine if a given graph is connected by computing its Laplacian ...
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702
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Integer matrices with a strange divisibility property
Fix an integer $n$. What can you say about a (not necessarily square) matrix $A$ with integer entries that has the property that for any $k$, every $k\times k$ minor of $A$ is divisible by $n^{k-1}$? ...
13
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1
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Axiom(s) of choice and bases of vector spaces
I'm not sure this question is more suitable for MO or for MSE, so feel free to move it to MSE if necessary.
I work here in ZF theory. Consider the following statements:
$(C)$ Axiom of choice: for ...
13
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1
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Banach-Mazur distance between $\ell^p$-norms
Let $E^n$ be the real or complex space of dimension $n$. If $N$ and $M$ are two norms over $E^n$, and if $A$ is an endomorphism, then
$$\|A\|^M_N:=\sup_{x\ne0}\frac{M(Ax)}{N(x)}$$
is an operator norm ...
13
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1
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What is the "positive part" of the unit ball in $M_n(R)$ ?
In ${\bf M}_n(\mathbb R)$, let us consider the usual operator norm
$$\|A\|=\sup\frac{\|Ax\|}{\|x\|},$$
where $\|x\|$ is the Euclidian norm.
The closed unit ball $B$ is the set of contractions (in the ...
13
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2
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A matrix norm inequality
Suppose that $A, B$ are Hermitian positive definite matrices of the same order and $0\le p\le 1$. Using a standard approach in matrix analysis, one can show that
$\|A^{1-p}B^p\|\ge \|A\sharp_p B\|$, ...
13
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1
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Permanent of a matrix of odd integers
It is clear that the permanent of an $n\times n$ matrix which entries are odd integers, is an even number, as it is the sum of $n!$ odd numbers. I am interested in finding the highest power of $2$ ...
13
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2
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Combinatorial proof of (a special case of) the spectral theorem?
The spectral theorem for a real $n \times n$ symmetric matrix $A$ says that $A$ is diagonalizable with all eigenvalues real. If $A$ happens to have non-negative integer entries, it can be interpreted ...
13
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2
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Computing a large permanent
Is there a practical way to compute the permanent of a large ($91 \times 91$) $(0,1)$ matrix?
I have tried to use the matlab function written by Luke Winslow which works great for smaller matrices ...
13
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1
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Is there a straightforward generalization of min(x,y) to positive-semidefinite Hermitian matrices?
This is an open-ended question I have. Is there a function of two positive-semidefinite hermitian operators $\min(A,B)$ returning another positive-semidefinite Hermitian operator such that:
If A and ...
13
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1
answer
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Permanent of the Coxeter matrix of a distributive lattice
Let $L$ be a finite distributive lattice with $n$ elements. Let $C=(c_{x,y})$ be the $n \times n$ matrix with entry 1 in case $x \leq y$ and 0 else.
The Coxeter matrix of $L$ is defined as the matrix $...