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Eigenvectors Eigenvalues Characteristic Polynomials

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10 views

Eigenvectors Eigenvalues Characteristic Polynomials

Uploaded by

amboytread3
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Eigenvalues,

Eigenvectors, and
Characteristic
Polynomials
Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
The German prefix “eigen” roughly An eigenvector of A is a nonzero vector v in Rn such
translates to “self” or “own” that for some scalar λ.
An eigenvalue of A is a scalar λ such that the equation
has a nontrivial solution.
An eigenvector of A is a vector that is
taken to a multiple of itself by the
matrix transformation , which perhaps
explains the terminology.
Verifying eigenvectors
Example
An Eigenvector with eigenvalue of 0
Eigenspaces
Let A be an n×n matrix, and let λ
be a scalar. The eigenvectors
with eigenvalue λ, if any, are the
nonzero solutions of the
equation Av=λv. We can rewrite
this equation as follows:
Con’t
Computing Eigenspaces
Computing Eigenspaces
Characteristic Polynomials
Let A be an n×n matrix. The characteristic polynomial of
A is the function f(λ) given by
Example
Example
Finding Eigenvalues
Form of the Characteristic Polynomial
It is time that we justified the use of the term
“polynomial.” First we need a vocabulary word
Let A be an n×n matrix, and let f(λ)=det(A−λIn) be its characteristic polynomial. Then f(λ) is a
polynomial of degree n. Moreover, f(λ)

has the form

In other words, the coefficient of λn−1


is ±Tr(A), and the constant term is det(A) (the other coefficients are just numbers without
names).
The Characteristic Polynomial of a 2×2
Matrix
When n=2, the previous Theorem tells us all of the
coefficients of the characteristic polynomial:
Example

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