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If A is a $k \times k$ positive definite matrix and b is $k \times 1$ vector, are all elements in A b always positive?

mjw
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Art1
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2 Answers2

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The answer is no.

Here is an example:

$$A =\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix}$$

$$\mathbf{b} =\begin{pmatrix} \phantom{-}0 \\ -1 \end{pmatrix}$$

$$A\mathbf{b} =\begin{pmatrix} \phantom{-}0 \\ -1 \end{pmatrix}$$

mjw
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No. Take $A=\left(\begin{matrix}1&1\\-1&1\end{matrix}\right)$ and $v=\left(\begin{matrix}1\\0\end{matrix}\right)$. I will leave it to you to prove that above the reals $A$ is positive definite.

eranreches
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