Questions tagged [matrices]

For any topic related to matrices. This includes: systems of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors (diagonalization, triangularization), determinant, trace, characteristic polynomial, adjugate and adjoint, transpose, Jordan normal form, matrix algorithms (e.g. LU, Gauss elimination, SVD, QR), invariant factors, quadratic forms, etc. For questions specifically concerning matrix equations, use the (matrix-equations) tag.

A matrix is a rectangular array of elements, usually numbers or variables, arranged in rows and columns. A matrix with $m$ rows and $n$ columns has $m \times n$ elements and is called an $m$ by $n$ matrix. Matrices are a part of .

Matrices can be added and subtracted. Furthermore, if they have compatible shapes, they can be multiplied. More precisely, given two matrices $A$ and $B$, the matrix $AB$ is defined when the number of columns of $A$ is equal to the number of rows of $B$. In particular, given a natural number $n$, any two matrices $A$ and $B$ with $n$ columns and $n$ rows can be multiplied in both ways (that is, both $AB$ and $BA$ exist).


For questions specifically concerning matrix equations, use the tag.

55954 questions
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Why is the determinant of a rotation matrix equal to 1?

Why is the determinant of a rotation matrix equal to 1? I would like a geometric interpretation of this. Just curious.
user85362
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3 answers

How to show determinant of a specific matrix is nonnegative

How to show that $$\det A= \det…
Sunni
  • 4,536
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Every invertible matrix can be written as the exponential of one other matrix

I'm looking for a proof of this claim: "every invertible matrix can be written as the exponential of another matrix". I'm not familiar yet with logarithms of matrices, so I wonder if a proof exists, without them. I'll be happy with any proof…
yarnamc
  • 709
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Is the square root of a triangular matrix necessarily triangular?

$X^2 = L$, with $L$ lower triangular, but $X$ is not lower triangular. Is it possible? I know that a lower triangular matrix $L$ (not a diagonal matrix for this question), $$L_{nm} \cases{=0 & for all $m > n$ \\ \ne 0 & for some $ m
adam W
  • 5,565
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what is the advantage of LU factorization

In this question Necessity/Advantage of LU Decomposition over Gaussian Elimination it is asked why LU factorization is useful. I understand how this reduces time complexity of solving a number equations of the form Ax=b for matrix A and column…
Mathew
  • 1,894
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2 answers

When is inverting a matrix numerically unstable?

What does numerically unstable mean when inverting a matrix and what are the mathematical conditions that cause this problem to arise?
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What are advantages of quaternion over $3\times3$ rotator matrix for representing arbitrary rotation?

I have lots of experience computationally representing generalized 3D coordinate rotations using $3\times3$ matrix rotators, R = [ newXaxis, newYaxis, newZaxis ]. These are very well behaved and easy-intutive to think and program with. They seem…
pbierre
  • 379
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Calculating RGB plus Amber

I'm currently working on a wide gamut light source using red, green and blue LED emitters. From an internal xyY (or CIE XYZ) representation, I can reach any color or color temperature via a 3x3 transformation matrix. The matrix is calculated from…
morten
  • 227
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Representation for Vandermonde's permanent

Permanent of a matrix A = $\|a_{i,j}\|_{i,j=1}^{n}$ is defined as $$ \mathrm{Perm}(A) = \sum\limits_{\sigma \in S_{n}} a_{1,\sigma_{1}},\ldots,a_{n,\sigma_{n}} $$ Is there some representation for permanent of Vandermonde's matrix similar to its…
Appliqué
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3 answers

Kronecker product and the commutation matrix

Prove that for every $m \times n$ matrix $A$ and $r \times q$ matrix $B$ it holds that $$K(r,m)(A \otimes B)K(n,q) = B \otimes A.$$ I looked up the definition of the commutation matrix which is the following: Commutation matrix. However, I still do…
dreamer
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How to check if a matrix is positive definite

I want to know how to check if a matrix M is positive definite ,assume that M is 3x3 real numbers matrix I think one way is to put the matrix in a quadratic form $X^TMX$ , where X is a vector $X^T=[x_1 x_2 x_3]$ , my question is if I found…
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4 answers

Determinant of symmetric matrix with the main diagonal elements zero

How to prove that the determinant of a symmetric matrix with the main diagonal elements zero and all other elements positive is not zero (i.e., that the matrix is invertible)? EDIT: OP indicates in a comment that the entries above the diagonal are…
tes
  • 395
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5 answers

Matrix raised to 14th power

Calculate $\left(\begin{matrix} 6&1&0\\0&6&1\\0&0&6\end{matrix}\right)^{14}$ Whould I do it one by one, and then find a pattern? I sense $6^{14}$ on the diagonal, and zeroes in the "lower triangle", but the "upper triangle" I'm not sure. Was…
jacob
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$A$ is invertible if and only if $A^t$ is invertible

I hate these "easy" proofs. They always slip under my radar. How do I show that a square matrix $A$ is invertible if and only if $A^t$ is invertible?
user85362
11
votes
4 answers

Relationship between eigenvalues of a matrix and its square

Are there any general relations between the eigenvalues of a matrix $M$ and those of $M^2$?
Jon
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