Prove A Invertible, Idempotent Matrix A = In Sub n

In summary: The equation above is a matrix equation, so it can be multiplied like any other two matrices.The second obvious thing you can say is that the equation above is always true, or at least always holds for every given matrix A. This is because the equation above is a property of the matrix A, not of the individual elements within the matrix.One not-so-obvious thing you can say is that the equation above is always true, but it's not always invertible. This is because A is invertible if and only if there exists a matrix B such that AB=I sub n.
  • #1
ephemeral1
28
0

Homework Statement



Prove that if A is an n x n matrix that is idempotent and invertible, then A=I sub n

Homework Equations



none

The Attempt at a Solution



I don't know how to prove this. Can anyone help me with this? Thank you
 
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  • #2
What does it mean that A is idempotent? Invertible? Start with those.
 
  • #3
A is idempotent if A=A^2 and invertible if there exists an n x n matrix B such that AB=AB=I sub n.
 
  • #4
OK, then what does A2 - A equal?

Also, AB is always equal to itself, so that doesn't do you any good.
 
  • #5
I meant to write AB=BA=I sub n.
A^2 - A= 0
 
  • #6
ephemeral1 said:
I meant to write AB=BA=I sub n.
Yeah, that's more like it.
ephemeral1 said:
A^2 - A= 0
OK, now what can you do with that?
 
  • #7
(a^2)- (a^-1) i=0
 
  • #8
ephemeral1 said:
(a^2)- (a^-1) i=0
What do you mean by that?
 
  • #9
Since B is the inverse of A, I can write AB=I as I=AA^-1. So A^2 - AA^-1 = I
 
  • #10
No, A2 - AA-1 = A - I
But so what?

What I asked was whether you could do anything with A2 - A = 0?

You said
ephemeral1 said:
(a^2)- (a^-1) i=0
I still don't know how you got that or how it relates to A2 - A = 0.
 
  • #11
I could factor out A^2 - A=0, which will become A(A-1)=0
 
  • #12
OK, now you're on the right track, with a correction.

A2 - A = 0
<==> A(A - I) = 0

Everything in the equation above is a matrix. You can't subtract a scalar (1) from a matrix (A), so that's the reason I wrote it this way. I has the same role in matrix multiplication that 1 has in scalar multiplication.

There are two obvious things you can say about the equation above, and one not-so-obvious thing. For starters, what are the obvious things you can say?
 

1. How do you prove that a matrix A is invertible?

To prove that a matrix A is invertible, you can use the determinant method or the row reduction method. The determinant method involves calculating the determinant of the matrix, while the row reduction method involves performing elementary row operations on the matrix until it is in reduced row echelon form. If the resulting matrix is the identity matrix, then A is invertible.

2. What does it mean for a matrix to be idempotent?

A matrix is idempotent if it is equal to its own square. In other words, when a matrix A is multiplied by itself, the resulting matrix is A again. This means that A has a special property where repeated multiplication does not change its value.

3. How can you prove that a matrix A is idempotent?

To prove that a matrix A is idempotent, you can simply multiply A by itself and see if the resulting matrix is equal to A. If it is, then A is idempotent. Alternatively, you can use the definition of idempotency and show that A squared is equal to A.

4. What is the significance of an idempotent matrix in linear algebra?

An idempotent matrix has several important properties that make it useful in linear algebra. For example, it can be used to project vectors onto a subspace, and it is also useful in solving systems of linear equations. Additionally, idempotent matrices have applications in statistics and machine learning.

5. How can you prove that an invertible matrix A is also idempotent?

To prove that an invertible matrix A is idempotent, you can use the fact that A is idempotent if and only if A squared is equal to A. Since A is invertible, you can multiply both sides of the equation A squared = A by A inverse, giving you A = A inverse A. This shows that A is equal to its own inverse, making it idempotent.

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