Help finding eigenvectors to simple 2x2 matrix

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Homework Statement


Find a fundamental set of real solutions of the system.
x'=[-0.5 1 ]x
[-1 -0.5]

The Attempt at a Solution


I calculated the eigenvalues to be r1 = -0.5+i and r2 = -0.5-i
Then, attempting to calculate the eigenvectors,
I plugged the numbers into the system
[-0.5+0.5-i 1][v1] = [0]
[-1 -0.5+0.5-i ][v2] [0]
which simplifies to be
[-i 1] [v1] = [0]
[-1 -i ][v2] [0]
afer matrix multiplication, I get two formulas
-1(v1)i+(v2)=0
-1(v1)-(v2)i=0
However, I am at a loss for the next step. Usually when I am finding the eigenvector those two equations will have the same ratio. Please advise.
 
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Your two formulas do have the same ratio:wink:...Just multiply the second equation by i.
 
thanks guy! I can't believe i didn't see that!
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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