A problem in multilinear algebra

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on proving that the map ##g:W \rightarrow V^*##, defined by ##g(w)(v)=L(w,v)## for a non-degenerate bilinear map ##L:W \times V \rightarrow \mathbb{R}##, is an isomorphism. The proof establishes that ##g## is linear and injective, leading to the conclusion that if the dimensions of vector spaces ##W## and ##V## are equal, then ##g## is also surjective. The discussion concludes that under the conditions of equal dimensions, both ##g## and its counterpart ##h:V \rightarrow W^*## are isomorphisms, confirming the statement as true.

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steenis
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A one-to-one correspondence between bilinear non-degenerate maps and invertible linear maps
I have the following problem in multilinear algebra:
Let ##W## and ##V## be real finite-dimensional vector spaces, ##V^*## is the dual space of ##V##
Let ##L:W \times V \rightarrow \mathbb{R}## be a non-degenerate bilinear map
Define ##g:W \rightarrow V^*## by ##g(w)(v)=L(w,v)##
To prove: ##g## is an isomorphism

The map ##g## is obviously linear
##g## is injective, because if ##g(w)=0## for ##w \in W##, then for all ##v \in V## we have that ##g(w)(v)=L(w,v)=0##, so, because ##L## is non-degenerate, we have ##w=0##
Remains to prove that ##g## is surjective

If ##dim W=dim V=n##, then we are ready, because in that case ##dim W=dim V^*=n## and ##g## is surjective if and only if ##g## is injective. On the other hand, if ##g## is bijective, then ##g## is an isomorphism and ##dim W=dimV=dim V^*##. However, it is not a-priori given that ##W## and ##V## have the same dimension

Can anybody help me with this problem, can the statement be proven or is the statement not true?
 
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You are correct. The difficulty is that we only can conclude ##\dim W \leq \dim V##.
What happens if you consider ##h\, : \,V\longrightarrow W^*## with ##h(v)(w):=L(w,v)##?
 
In the same way, ##h## is injective and therefore ##dim V \leq dim W##. Now we have ##dim W=dim V=dim V^*##, thus the map ##g## is surjective and therefore an isomorphism (##h## is also an isomorphism)
 
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