Matrices
Matrices
Matrices
Matrices
ab e f
matrix A matrix B
cd gh
k op
matrix C matrix D m n matrix E
l qr
In order to find the matrix F which is the product of any two of the above
matrices, one multiplies the elements in each row of the first matrix by the
corresponding elements in each column of the second matrix. The sum of
the products at the end of each row is an element of F. For example,
ae + bg af + bh (1)
F = A B = ce + dg .
cf + dh
Formally stated,
(2)
fij = ∑ aik bkj ,
k
where i = row number, j = column number, the a's are the elements of A, b' s
the elements of B and f's the elements of F. k would run from 1 to the
number of columns. For multiplication, the number of elements in each row
of A must be equal to the number of elements in the columns of B. The
numbers of rows in A and B needn't be the same, nor the columns. For
example:
8 Matrices
ab k ak + bl
AC = =
cd l ck + dl
e f
DB = m n = me + ng mf + nh
gh
ab
AD = m n doesn't work!
cd
Example:
The Pauli spin matrices, which describe a spin-1/2 particle, are:
01 0 -i 1 0
σ1 = , σ2 = , σ3 = .
10 i 0 0 -1 (3)
10
We can show that σi 2 = 1. ( 1 is commonly used for the matrix 0 1 .)
2
2 0 -i 0 -i -i 0 10
σ2 = = 2 =
i 0 i 0 0 -i 01
2 1 0 1 0 1 0 10
σ3 = = 2 =
0 -1 0 -1 0 (-1) 01
Diagonalized Matrix:
A diagonalized matrix is one in which all elements not on the main
diagonal are zero. Matrices can be diagonalized using row reduction (see
appropriate section).
Inverse Matrices:
A matrix A is invertible if there exists a matrix A -1
such that AA -1 = A -1 A = I (the identity matrix). The only matrices which are
invertible are those nx n matrices with nonzero determinant.
Transpose of a Matrix:
The transpose of a matrix is the matrix you get by switching the rows and
columns of a matrix, i. e. if aij is the (i,j)th entry of A, aji is the (i,j)th entry of
a b c a d g
A T, or if A = d e f then A T = b e h .
g h i c f i
Hermitian conjugate of a matrix:
The Hermitian conjugate of a matrix is the transpose of its complex
conjugate, or in other symbols, Ht = (H*)T .
Unitary Matrices:
A unitary matrix is one whose Hermitian conjugate equals its inverse,
notated as U t = U -1 .