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I know that the converse is true; that is, if A and B are similar matrices, then $A^2$ and $B^2$ are similar . However, I'm not sure about the reverse.

2 Answers2

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No: consider $$ A=\begin{bmatrix}1&0\\0&1\end{bmatrix},\qquad B=\begin{bmatrix}1&0\\0&-1\end{bmatrix} $$

egreg
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A little more dramatic, should you want another example:

$A=\begin{bmatrix}0&1\\0&0\end{bmatrix},\qquad B=\begin{bmatrix}0&0\\0&0\end{bmatrix}$

Ethan Bolker
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