Let M 2 </msub> ( <mi mathvariant="double-struck">R ) the vector space generate

Monfredo0n

Monfredo0n

Answered question

2022-05-20

Let M 2 ( R ) the vector space generated by all the square matrices of 2 × 2. Consider the linear transformation T : M 2 ( R ) M 2 ( R ) given by T ( A ) = A T (where A T is the transpose of A). Calculate a basis for M 2 ( R ) such that the transformation T is represented by a diagonal matrix. Which are the possible values for the diagonal?

Answer & Explanation

Danube2w

Danube2w

Beginner2022-05-21Added 7 answers

The key idea is that a matrix can be used to describe any linear transformation. So you want to find a matrix A such that T ( v ) = A v. Now, this is not difficult; all you have to do is figure out what T does to basis elements of M 2 ( R ). Now you need to actually pick a basis such that A is a diagonal matrix.
Let's just try. Let 
A = ( 1 0 0 0 ) , B = ( 0 1 0 0 ) , C = ( 0 0 1 0 ) , D = ( 0 0 0 1 ) .
A foundation for the four-dimensional vector space is then established. So a matrix for T will be a 4 × 4 matrix.
Now
T ( A ) = 1 A + 0 B + 0 C + 0 D  T ( B ) = 0 A + 0 B + 1 C + 0 D  
and so on. So a matrix for T relative to this basis would look something like this
( 1 0 ? ? 0 0 ? ? 0 1 ? ? 0 0 ? ? ) 
That is the point, then. Now look for a different foundation to generate a diagonal matrix in this situation.

Richardtb

Richardtb

Beginner2022-05-22Added 3 answers

Thanks! Just exactly what I needed.

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