Question about properites of tensor product

In summary, the conversation discusses the validity of an equation involving matrices and tensors. The first question is answered affirmatively, while the second and third questions are deemed incorrect due to mismatched tensor orders.
  • #1
td21
Gold Member
177
8
They are being 2 by 2 matrices and I being the identity. Physically they are Pauli matrices.

1. Is $$((A\otimes I\otimes I) + (I\otimes A\otimes I) + (I\otimes I\otimes A))\otimes B$$

= $$(A\otimes I\otimes I)\otimes B + (I\otimes A\otimes I)\otimes B + (I\otimes I\otimes A)\otimes B$$? I think so.

2. Is $$(A\otimes I\otimes I)\otimes B + (I\otimes A\otimes I)\otimes B + (I\otimes I\otimes A)\otimes B$$=

$$(A\otimes B)\otimes (I\otimes I)\otimes (I\otimes I) + (I\otimes I)\otimes (A\otimes B)\otimes (I\otimes I) + (I\otimes I)\otimes(I\otimes I)\otimes(A\otimes B)$$? I am not sure.

Note that they are no scalar product here. I ask 2 because I stumbled upon the RHS of 2 and hope to know if it can be factored out as the LHS of 1. So basically I reverse the line of reason to ask these two questions. Looking at the LHS of 1., I also want to know:

3. Is $$((A\otimes I\otimes I) + (I\otimes A\otimes I) + (I\otimes I\otimes A))\otimes B$$
= $$((A\otimes I\otimes I) + (I\otimes A\otimes I) + (I\otimes I\otimes A))\otimes (B\otimes I\otimes I)$$
= $$((A\otimes I\otimes I) + (I\otimes A\otimes I) + (I\otimes I\otimes A))\otimes (I\otimes B\otimes I)$$
=$$((A\otimes I\otimes I) + (I\otimes A\otimes I) + (I\otimes I\otimes A))\otimes (I\otimes I\otimes B)$$? I do not think so as I do not think I can enlarge the dimension of B here?
This is not homework.
 
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  • #2
1 is correct.
2 is not, because the terms on the LHS are order-4 tensors and those on the RHS are order-6 tensors. If the atomic elements all have the same order then each term has to have the same number of ##\otimes## symbols in it.
3 is not correct, for the same reason.
 

1. What is a tensor product?

A tensor product is a mathematical operation that combines two or more vectors or matrices to create a new object with certain properties. It is often used in linear algebra and multilinear algebra to represent and manipulate higher-dimensional data.

2. What are the properties of a tensor product?

The properties of a tensor product include linearity, associativity, and distributivity. It also obeys the rules of commutativity and the tensor product of two invertible matrices is also invertible.

3. How is a tensor product different from a regular product?

A regular product, such as matrix multiplication, combines two matrices to create a new matrix. In contrast, a tensor product combines two or more matrices to create a new object with a larger dimensional space.

4. What are some real-world applications of tensor products?

Tensor products have various applications in physics, engineering, and computer science. They are used to represent and manipulate physical quantities, such as force and motion, in three-dimensional space. They are also used in image processing and machine learning algorithms.

5. How do you calculate a tensor product?

The calculation of a tensor product involves taking the outer product of the individual elements of the two matrices or vectors being multiplied. This can be done using the Kronecker product or the Einstein summation convention. Special attention must also be given to the order of the elements in the resulting tensor product.

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