Skew-symmetric matrixIn mathematics, particularly in linear algebra, a skew-symmetric (or antisymmetric or antimetric) matrix is a square matrix whose transpose equals its negative. That is, it satisfies the condition In terms of the entries of the matrix, if denotes the entry in the -th row and -th column, then the skew-symmetric condition is equivalent to The matrix is skew-symmetric because Throughout, we assume that all matrix entries belong to a field whose characteristic is not equal to 2.
Eigenvalues and eigenvectorsIn linear algebra, an eigenvector (ˈaɪgənˌvɛktər) or characteristic vector of a linear transformation is a nonzero vector that changes at most by a constant factor when that linear transformation is applied to it. The corresponding eigenvalue, often represented by , is the multiplying factor. Geometrically, a transformation matrix rotates, stretches, or shears the vectors it acts upon. The eigenvectors for a linear transformation matrix are the set of vectors that are only stretched, with no rotation or shear.
Definite matrixIn mathematics, a symmetric matrix with real entries is positive-definite if the real number is positive for every nonzero real column vector where is the transpose of . More generally, a Hermitian matrix (that is, a complex matrix equal to its conjugate transpose) is positive-definite if the real number is positive for every nonzero complex column vector where denotes the conjugate transpose of Positive semi-definite matrices are defined similarly, except that the scalars and are required to be positive or zero (that is, nonnegative).
Toeplitz matrixIn linear algebra, a Toeplitz matrix or diagonal-constant matrix, named after Otto Toeplitz, is a matrix in which each descending diagonal from left to right is constant. For instance, the following matrix is a Toeplitz matrix: Any matrix of the form is a Toeplitz matrix. If the element of is denoted then we have A Toeplitz matrix is not necessarily square. A matrix equation of the form is called a Toeplitz system if is a Toeplitz matrix. If is an Toeplitz matrix, then the system has at-most only unique values, rather than .
Diagonalizable matrixIn linear algebra, a square matrix is called diagonalizable or non-defective if it is similar to a diagonal matrix, i.e., if there exists an invertible matrix and a diagonal matrix such that , or equivalently . (Such , are not unique.) For a finite-dimensional vector space , a linear map is called diagonalizable if there exists an ordered basis of consisting of eigenvectors of .
Proof theoryProof theory is a major branch of mathematical logic and theoretical computer science within which proofs are treated as formal mathematical objects, facilitating their analysis by mathematical techniques. Proofs are typically presented as inductively-defined data structures such as lists, boxed lists, or trees, which are constructed according to the axioms and rules of inference of a given logical system. Consequently, proof theory is syntactic in nature, in contrast to model theory, which is semantic in nature.
OrthonormalityIn linear algebra, two vectors in an inner product space are orthonormal if they are orthogonal (or perpendicular along a line) unit vectors. A set of vectors form an orthonormal set if all vectors in the set are mutually orthogonal and all of unit length. An orthonormal set which forms a basis is called an orthonormal basis. The construction of orthogonality of vectors is motivated by a desire to extend the intuitive notion of perpendicular vectors to higher-dimensional spaces.
Orthonormal basisIn mathematics, particularly linear algebra, an orthonormal basis for an inner product space V with finite dimension is a basis for whose vectors are orthonormal, that is, they are all unit vectors and orthogonal to each other. For example, the standard basis for a Euclidean space is an orthonormal basis, where the relevant inner product is the dot product of vectors. The of the standard basis under a rotation or reflection (or any orthogonal transformation) is also orthonormal, and every orthonormal basis for arises in this fashion.
Symmetric matrixIn linear algebra, a symmetric matrix is a square matrix that is equal to its transpose. Formally, Because equal matrices have equal dimensions, only square matrices can be symmetric. The entries of a symmetric matrix are symmetric with respect to the main diagonal. So if denotes the entry in the th row and th column then for all indices and Every square diagonal matrix is symmetric, since all off-diagonal elements are zero. Similarly in characteristic different from 2, each diagonal element of a skew-symmetric matrix must be zero, since each is its own negative.
Eigendecomposition of a matrixIn linear algebra, eigendecomposition is the factorization of a matrix into a canonical form, whereby the matrix is represented in terms of its eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Only diagonalizable matrices can be factorized in this way. When the matrix being factorized is a normal or real symmetric matrix, the decomposition is called "spectral decomposition", derived from the spectral theorem. Eigenvalue, eigenvector and eigenspace A (nonzero) vector v of dimension N is an eigenvector of a square N × N matrix A if it satisfies a linear equation of the form for some scalar λ.
Inner product spaceIn mathematics, an inner product space (or, rarely, a Hausdorff pre-Hilbert space) is a real vector space or a complex vector space with an operation called an inner product. The inner product of two vectors in the space is a scalar, often denoted with angle brackets such as in . Inner products allow formal definitions of intuitive geometric notions, such as lengths, angles, and orthogonality (zero inner product) of vectors. Inner product spaces generalize Euclidean vector spaces, in which the inner product is the dot product or scalar product of Cartesian coordinates.
Constructive proofIn mathematics, a constructive proof is a method of proof that demonstrates the existence of a mathematical object by creating or providing a method for creating the object. This is in contrast to a non-constructive proof (also known as an existence proof or pure existence theorem), which proves the existence of a particular kind of object without providing an example. For avoiding confusion with the stronger concept that follows, such a constructive proof is sometimes called an effective proof.
Laplacian matrixIn the mathematical field of graph theory, the Laplacian matrix, also called the graph Laplacian, admittance matrix, Kirchhoff matrix or discrete Laplacian, is a matrix representation of a graph. Named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, the graph Laplacian matrix can be viewed as a matrix form of the negative discrete Laplace operator on a graph approximating the negative continuous Laplacian obtained by the finite difference method. The Laplacian matrix relates to many useful properties of a graph.
Mathematical proofA mathematical proof is a deductive argument for a mathematical statement, showing that the stated assumptions logically guarantee the conclusion. The argument may use other previously established statements, such as theorems; but every proof can, in principle, be constructed using only certain basic or original assumptions known as axioms, along with the accepted rules of inference. Proofs are examples of exhaustive deductive reasoning which establish logical certainty, to be distinguished from empirical arguments or non-exhaustive inductive reasoning which establish "reasonable expectation".
Hermitian matrixIn mathematics, a Hermitian matrix (or self-adjoint matrix) is a complex square matrix that is equal to its own conjugate transpose—that is, the element in the i-th row and j-th column is equal to the complex conjugate of the element in the j-th row and i-th column, for all indices i and j: or in matrix form: Hermitian matrices can be understood as the complex extension of real symmetric matrices.
Elementary symmetric polynomialIn mathematics, specifically in commutative algebra, the elementary symmetric polynomials are one type of basic building block for symmetric polynomials, in the sense that any symmetric polynomial can be expressed as a polynomial in elementary symmetric polynomials. That is, any symmetric polynomial P is given by an expression involving only additions and multiplication of constants and elementary symmetric polynomials.
Matrix decompositionIn the mathematical discipline of linear algebra, a matrix decomposition or matrix factorization is a factorization of a matrix into a product of matrices. There are many different matrix decompositions; each finds use among a particular class of problems. In numerical analysis, different decompositions are used to implement efficient matrix algorithms. For instance, when solving a system of linear equations , the matrix A can be decomposed via the LU decomposition.
Mathematical inductionMathematical induction is a method for proving that a statement is true for every natural number , that is, that the infinitely many cases all hold. Informal metaphors help to explain this technique, such as falling dominoes or climbing a ladder: Mathematical induction proves that we can climb as high as we like on a ladder, by proving that we can climb onto the bottom rung (the basis) and that from each rung we can climb up to the next one (the step). A proof by induction consists of two cases.
Euclidean vectorIn mathematics, physics, and engineering, a Euclidean vector or simply a vector (sometimes called a geometric vector or spatial vector) is a geometric object that has magnitude (or length) and direction. Vectors can be added to other vectors according to vector algebra. A Euclidean vector is frequently represented by a directed line segment, or graphically as an arrow connecting an initial point A with a terminal point B, and denoted by . A vector is what is needed to "carry" the point A to the point B; the Latin word vector means "carrier".
Vector-valued functionA vector-valued function, also referred to as a vector function, is a mathematical function of one or more variables whose range is a set of multidimensional vectors or infinite-dimensional vectors. The input of a vector-valued function could be a scalar or a vector (that is, the dimension of the domain could be 1 or greater than 1); the dimension of the function's domain has no relation to the dimension of its range. A common example of a vector-valued function is one that depends on a single real parameter t, often representing time, producing a vector v(t) as the result.
