Proving Invertibility of At: Multiplying A^t to Both Sides

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving the invertibility of the transpose of a matrix, specifically showing that if matrix A is invertible, then its transpose At is also invertible, and that the inverse of At is equal to the transpose of the inverse of A. Participants explore the properties of determinants and the implications of matrix multiplication.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between the invertibility of A and At, referencing properties of determinants and matrix multiplication. There are attempts to manipulate equations involving the identity matrix and transpose operations. Questions arise about the validity of certain algebraic manipulations, particularly concerning the transpose of products.

Discussion Status

Several participants have provided insights and suggestions for approaching the proof, including the idea of transposing both sides of equations involving the identity matrix. There is an ongoing exploration of the implications of these manipulations, but no consensus has been reached on the complete proof.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about specific algebraic steps and the definitions of inverses, indicating a need for clarification on these concepts. The discussion reflects a collaborative effort to understand the properties of matrix transposition and inversion without providing a definitive solution.

pyroknife
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Show that if A is invertible, then At is invertible
and (At )-1
= (A-1)t .If A is invertible, then det(A)≠0
det(A)=det(A^t)
thus det(A^t)≠0
I'm not really sure how to prove the second part. It's an identity that I remembered, but don't know how to prove.

I'll take a crack at it though:

Multiply A^t to both sides
gives I=A^t (A^-1)^t
For the RHS, can i multiply A^t to A^-1 or does the ^t prevent me from doing that?
 
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If A is invertible, then there exists a matrix B such that AB = I and BA = I. What is the natural thing to do here, to both sides of each equation?
 
jbunniii said:
If A is invertible, then there exists a matrix B such that AB = I and BA = I. What is the natural thing to do here, to both sides of each equation?

I'm not sure what you are asking.

(At )-1 = (A-1)t .

If AB=I, then obviously, A is the inverse of B or vise versa.

So In this case I let A=(A^t)^-1
Thus A^=((A^t)^-1)^-1 ? <<<<multiply this to both sides? If so, the left said reduces to the I matrix, but the right side still looks complicated.
 
Last edited:
pyroknife said:
I'm not sure what you are asking.

(At )-1 = (A-1)t .

If AB=I, then obviously, A is the inverse of B or vise versa.

So In this case I let A=(A^t)^-1
Thus A^=((A^t)^-1)^-1 ? <<<<multiply this to both sides? If so, the left said reduces to the I matrix, but the right side still looks complicated.

If A is invertible, then there exists a matrix B such that AB = I and BA = I. Try transposing both sides of each of these equations.
 
This can be a little hard to see. You already have I=A^t (A^-1)^t. This tells you that A^t has an inverse. What is it? Now take a deep breath. The inverse of A^t is called (A^t)^(-1).

Now that I look back I'm not sure you even got that far. Take junniii's advice. Find the transpose of A^(-1)A=I.
 
Last edited:
Dick said:
This can be a little hard to see. You already have I=A^t (A^-1)^t. This tells you that A^t has an inverse. What is it? Now take a deep breath. The inverse of A^t is called (A^t)^(-1).

OH!

So in this form

I=A^t [(A^-1)^t]

To get to the identity matrix A^T has to be multiplied by its inverse (A^T)^-1. The quantity [(A^-1)^t] must equal (A^T)^-1.


So simple, yet hard.
 
pyroknife said:
OH!

So in this form

I=A^t [(A^-1)^t]

To get to the identity matrix A^T has to be multiplied by its inverse (A^T)^-1. The quantity [(A^-1)^t] must equal (A^T)^-1.


So simple, yet hard.

Yes, really simple. But it can be completely opaque if you don't remember what inverse means and that inverses are unique.
 

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