Chapter 20: Problem 15
(Definiteness) Let A and B be positive definite \(n \times n\) matrices. Are \(-A, A^{\top}, A+B, A-B\) positive definite?
Short Answer
Expert verified
\(-A\) is not positive definite; \(A^{\top}\) and \(A+B\) are positive definite; \(A-B\) is not guaranteed to be positive definite.
Step by step solution
01
Understand Positive Definiteness
A matrix \(A\) is positive definite if for all vectors \(x\) (excluding zero vector), the expression \(x^{\top}Ax > 0\) holds. This implies that the eigenvalues of a positive definite matrix are all positive.
02
Determine if \(-A\) is Positive Definite
If \(A\) is positive definite, then for all \(x\), \(x^{\top}Ax > 0\). Therefore, \(-A\) results in \(x^{\top}(-A)x = -x^{\top}Ax < 0\). Thus, \(-A\) cannot be positive definite because this inequality shows that all eigenvalues are negative.
03
Determine if \(A^{\top}\) is Positive Definite
For a matrix \(A\), if \(A\) is positive definite, then so is \(A^{\top}\). This is because the eigenvalues of \(A\) and \(A^{\top}\) are the same, and therefore, \(A^{\top}\) must also have all positive eigenvalues.
04
Determine if \(A+B\) is Positive Definite
Both \(A\) and \(B\) are positive definite, meaning all their eigenvalues are positive. The sum \(A+B\) also results in a positive definite matrix, since adding two matrices with positive eigenvalues results in a matrix with positive eigenvalues.
05
Determine if \(A-B\) is Positive Definite
To determine the definiteness of \(A-B\), consider that if \(A\) and \(B\) are positive definite, this does not inherently guarantee \(A-B\) is positive definite, since the eigenvalues of \(A\) minus those of \(B\) could yield non-positive values. Without additional information about the relative magnitudes, \(A-B\) is not guaranteed to be positive definite.
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Eigenvalues
Eigenvalues are fundamental in understanding the properties of matrices, particularly in determining whether a matrix is positive definite. In simple terms, eigenvalues are scalars associated with a matrix that give insight into the matrix's intrinsic characteristics. Here's how they work:
- An eigenvalue corresponds to an eigenvector such that when the matrix is applied to the eigenvector, the output is simply a scaled version of the eigenvector itself.
- If a matrix is known to be positive definite, all its eigenvalues are strictly greater than zero. This is because the positive definiteness of a matrix implies that it "stretches out" space, giving values greater than zero when applied.
- The eigenvalues not only help in defining definiteness but also play a crucial role in applications such as stability analysis and optimization problems.
Matrix Definiteness
Matrix definiteness is a concept that describes how matrices transform vectors in terms of size and direction. There are different types of matrix definiteness based on the values they return when interacting with vectors:
- Positive Definite: A matrix is positive definite if, for any non-zero vector \(x\), the quadratic form \(x^{\top} Ax > 0\). This implies that the matrix essentially transforms all vectors to have a positive magnitude.
- Negative Definite: Conversely, a matrix is negative definite if \(x^{\top} Ax < 0\) for all non-zero \(x\). All eigenvalues of this matrix are negative.
- Positive Semi-Definite: Here, \(x^{\top} Ax \geq 0\) for all \(x\). While all eigenvalues must be non-negative, some can be zero.
- Indefinite: If a matrix returns both positive and negative values, it is termed indefinite. This occurs when there are both positive and negative eigenvalues.
Matrix Transpose
The transpose of a matrix is an operation that flips the matrix over its diagonal. Denoted as \(A^{\top}\), the transpose of a matrix \(A\) converts its rows into columns and its columns into rows:
- The element at row \(i\) and column \(j\) of matrix \(A\) becomes the element at row \(j\) and column \(i\) in \(A^{\top}\).
- For instance, the transpose of \ \[ \begin{bmatrix} a & b \ c & d \end{bmatrix} \] is: \ \[ \begin{bmatrix} a & c \ b & d \end{bmatrix} \]