Tagged: cofactor

Find Inverse Matrices Using Adjoint Matrices

Problem 546

Let $A$ be an $n\times n$ matrix.

The $(i, j)$ cofactor $C_{ij}$ of $A$ is defined to be
\[C_{ij}=(-1)^{ij}\det(M_{ij}),\] where $M_{ij}$ is the $(i,j)$ minor matrix obtained from $A$ removing the $i$-th row and $j$-th column.

Then consider the $n\times n$ matrix $C=(C_{ij})$, and define the $n\times n$ matrix $\Adj(A)=C^{\trans}$.
The matrix $\Adj(A)$ is called the adjoint matrix of $A$.

When $A$ is invertible, then its inverse can be obtained by the formula

\[A^{-1}=\frac{1}{\det(A)}\Adj(A).\]

For each of the following matrices, determine whether it is invertible, and if so, then find the invertible matrix using the above formula.

(a) $A=\begin{bmatrix}
1 & 5 & 2 \\
0 &-1 &2 \\
0 & 0 & 1
\end{bmatrix}$.

 
(b) $B=\begin{bmatrix}
1 & 0 & 2 \\
0 &1 &4 \\
3 & 0 & 1
\end{bmatrix}$.

 
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