How to Show that L is a Diagonal Matrix for Invertible Triangular Matrices LU=A?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties of invertible triangular matrices, specifically focusing on the relationship between lower triangular matrix L and upper triangular matrix U in the context of their product forming an upper triangular matrix A. The original poster seeks to demonstrate that L must be a diagonal matrix under these conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Exploratory

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to reason through the implications of LU being upper triangular and considers the absence of row operations in the context of elimination matrices. Other participants suggest writing a formula for the components of A in terms of L and U, and mention the significance of the invertibility of L and U.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes various lines of reasoning and attempts to clarify the relationship between the matrices. Some participants provide guidance on expressing matrix components and emphasize the importance of invertibility, while the original poster expresses a desire to strengthen their reasoning. The original poster later indicates they found a solution, but the specifics of that solution are not detailed.

Contextual Notes

The original poster notes that the class is not focused on rigorous proofs, which may influence the depth of the discussion and reasoning presented. There is an acknowledgment of the constraints posed by the requirement for invertibility and the implications for diagonal entries.

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Homework Statement



Let L and U be invertible 3x3 matrices, L is lower triangular and U is upper triangular. Assume LU is upper triangular, show that L is a diagonal matrix.

Homework Equations



None? Maybe A=LU or A=LDU

The Attempt at a Solution



Basically, I can reason out the beginnings of a solution but I can't get it to be concrete enough. I am thinking that if we let LU=A, A is upper triangular, then U and A are of the same form. Thus we could think of A=LU as the standard factorization of A using Elimination (Elementary Row Matrices) Matrices to get A into upper triangular to presumably solve a system of three equations. But since A is already in the desired form, there are no row operations of eliminations to be made, this all the multipliers are exactly zero this every term of the lower triangular inverse elimination matrix below the main diagonal (where one would place the multipliers) is zero, this L is a diagonal matrix.

This isn't necessarily a proof based class, and this question isn't asking for a rigorous proof, but I still feel like the answer above is weak and would like to strengthen it. Or, if it is completely wrong in reasoning, then obviously I would like to arrive at the correct method of reasoning. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 
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Can you write down a formula for the i,j component of A in terms of the components for U and L?
 
You can use the splitting of a matrix in the basis Ei,j(=1 if i=j, 0 otherwise).
L and U are inversible implies their diagonal components are different from 0.
And use the formula that expresses LxU.
 
Thanks guys, I solved this shortly after posting. To anyone else who might come across this, the above posts are what to do, also remember the matrices are invertible and no diagonal entries can be zero...
 

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