More from my site

• Pullback Group of Two Group Homomorphisms into a Group Let $G_1, G_1$, and $H$ be groups. Let $f_1: G_1 \to H$ and $f_2: G_2 \to H$ be group homomorphisms. Define the subset $M$ of $G_1 \times G_2$ to be \[M=\{(a_1, a_2) \in G_1\times G_2 \mid f_1(a_1)=f_2(a_2)\}.\] Prove that $M$ is a subgroup of $G_1 \times G_2$.   […]
• Is the Derivative Linear Transformation Diagonalizable? Let $\mathrm{P}_2$ denote the vector space of polynomials of degree $2$ or less, and let $T : \mathrm{P}_2 \rightarrow \mathrm{P}_2$ be the derivative linear transformation, defined by \[ T( ax^2 + bx + c ) = 2ax + b . \] Is $T$ diagonalizable? If so, find a diagonal matrix which […]
• Algebraic Number is an Eigenvalue of Matrix with Rational Entries A complex number $z$ is called algebraic number (respectively, algebraic integer) if $z$ is a root of a monic polynomial with rational (respectively, integer) coefficients. Prove that $z \in \C$ is an algebraic number (resp. algebraic integer) if and only if $z$ is an eigenvalue of […]
• Prove that the Dot Product is Commutative: $\mathbf{v}\cdot \mathbf{w}= \mathbf{w} \cdot \mathbf{v}$ Let $\mathbf{v}$ and $\mathbf{w}$ be two $n \times 1$ column vectors. (a) Prove that $\mathbf{v}^\trans \mathbf{w} = \mathbf{w}^\trans \mathbf{v}$. (b) Provide an example to show that $\mathbf{v} \mathbf{w}^\trans$ is not always equal to $\mathbf{w} […]
• A Symmetric Positive Definite Matrix and An Inner Product on a Vector Space (a) Suppose that $A$ is an $n\times n$ real symmetric positive definite matrix. Prove that \[\langle \mathbf{x}, \mathbf{y}\rangle:=\mathbf{x}^{\trans}A\mathbf{y}\] defines an inner product on the vector space $\R^n$. (b) Let $A$ be an $n\times n$ real matrix. Suppose […]
• A One-Line Proof that there are Infinitely Many Prime Numbers Prove that there are infinitely many prime numbers in ONE-LINE.   Background There are several proofs of the fact that there are infinitely many prime numbers. Proofs by Euclid and Euler are very popular. In this post, I would like to introduce an elegant one-line […]
• Use the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem to Compute the Power $A^{100}$ Let $A$ be a $3\times 3$ real orthogonal matrix with $\det(A)=1$. (a) If $\frac{-1+\sqrt{3}i}{2}$ is one of the eigenvalues of $A$, then find the all the eigenvalues of $A$. (b) Let \[A^{100}=aA^2+bA+cI,\] where $I$ is the $3\times 3$ identity matrix. Using the […]
• Elements of Finite Order of an Abelian Group form a Subgroup Let $G$ be an abelian group and let $H$ be the subset of $G$ consisting of all elements of $G$ of finite order. That is, \[H=\{ a\in G \mid \text{the order of $a$ is finite}\}.\] Prove that $H$ is a subgroup of $G$.   Proof. Note that the identity element $e$ of […]