Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics

Editors
s. Axler
F. w. Gehring
K.A. Ribet

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics
Abbott: Understanding Analysis.
Anglin: Mathematics: A Concise History
and Philosophy.
Readings in Mathematics.
Anglin/Lambek: The Heritage of
Thales.
Readings in Mathematics.
Apostol: Introduction to Analytic
Number Theory. Second edition.
Armstrong: Basic Topology.
Armstrong: Groups and Symmetry.
Axler: Linear Algebra Done Right.
Second edition.
Beardon: Limits: A New Approach to
Real Analysis.
BaklNewman: Complex Analysis.
Second edition.
BanchofflWermer: Linear Algebra
Through Geometry. Second edition.
Berberian: A First Course in Real
Analysis.
Bix: Conics and Cubics: A
Concrete Introduction to Algebraic
Curves.
Bremaud: An Introduction to
Probabilistic Modeling.
Bressoud: Factorization and Primality
Testing.
Bressoud: Second Year Calculus.
Readings in Mathematics.
Brickman: Mathematical Introduction
to Linear Programming and Game
Theory.
Browder: Mathematical Analysis:
An Introduction.
Buchmann: Introduction to
Cryptography.
Buskes/van Rooij: Topological Spaces:
From Distance to Neighborhood.
Callahan: The Geometry of Spacetime:
An Introduction to Special and General
Relavitity.
Carter/van Brunt: The Lebesgue-
Stieltjes Integral: A Practical
Introduction.
Childs: A Concrete Introduction to
Higher Algebra. Second edition.
Chung/AitSahlia: Elementary Probability
Theory: With Stochastic Processes and
an Introduction to Mathematical
Finance. Fourth edition.
CoxlLittle/O'Shea: Ideals, Varieties,
and Algorithms. Second edition.
Croom: Basic Concepts of Algebraic
Topology.
Curtis: Linear Algebra: An Introductory
Approach. Fourth edition.
Devlin: The Joy of Sets: Fundamentals
of Contemporary Set Theory.
Second edition.
Dixmier: General Topology.
Driver: Why Math?
Ebbinghaus/FlumIThomas:
Mathematical Logic. Second edition.
Edgar: Measure, Topology, and Fractal
Geometry.
Elaydi: An Introduction to Difference
Equations. Second edition.
Erdos/Suninyi: Topics in the Theory of
Numbers.
Estep: Practical Analysis in One Variable.
Exner: An Accompaniment to Higher
Mathematics.
Exner: Inside Calculus.
FinelRosenberger: The Fundamental
Theory of Algebra.
Fischer: Intermediate Real Analysis.
Flanigan/Kazdan: Calculus Two: Linear
and Nonlinear Functions. Second
edition.
Fleming: Functions of Several Variables.
Second edition.
Foulds: Combinatorial Optimization for
Undergraduates.
Foulds: Optimization Techniques: An
Introduction.
Franklin: Methods of Mathematical
Economics.
Frazier: An Introduction to Wavelets
Through Linear Algebra.
Charles W. Curtis

Linear Algebra
An Introductory Approach

With 37 Illustrations

, Springer
Charles W. Curtis
Department of Mathematics
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
USA

Editorial Board
S. Axler EW. Gehring K.A. Ribet
Department of Department of Department of
Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics
San Francisco State East Hali University of California
University University of Michigan at Berkeley
San Francisco, CA 94132 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Berkeley, CA 94720-3840
USA USA USA

Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 15-01

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Curtis, Charles W.
Linear algebra.
(Undergraduate texts in mathematics)
Bibliography: p.
lncludes index.
1. Algebras, Linear. 1. Title. II. Series.
QA184.C87 1984 515'.55 84-1408

Printed on acid-free paper.

Previous editions of this book were published by Allyn and Bacon, Inc. : Boston.

© 1974, 1984 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Originally published by Springer-Verlag New York.lnc. in 1984
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 4th edition 1984
AII rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in pan without the
written permission of the publisher Springer Science+Business Media. LLC
except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly
analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and relrieval, electronic
adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or here-
after developed is forbidden.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, Irademarks. etc., in this publication, even
if the former are not especially identified, is not 10 be taken as a sign that such names, as
understood by thc Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely
by anyone.

ISBN 978-1-4612-7019-5 ISBN 978-1-4612-1136-5 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-1-4612-1136-5
To AMY, SAM, AND SPENCER
 Preface

Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics that has grown from a care-
ful study of the problem of solving systems of linear equations. The
ideas that developed in this way have become part of the language of
much of higher mathematics. They also provide a framework for appli-
cations of linear algebra to many problems in mathematics, the natural
sciences, economics, and computer science.
This book is the revised fourth edition of a textbook designed for
upper division courses in linear algebra. While it does not presuppose
an earlier course, many connections between linear algebra and under-
graduate analysis are worked into the discussion, making it best suited
for students who have completed the calculus sequence.
For many students, this may be the first course in which proofs of
the main results are presented on an equal footing with methods for
solving numerical problems. The concepts needed to understand the
proofs are shown to emerge naturally from attempts to solve concrete
problems. This connection is illustrated by worked examples in almost
every section. Many numerical exercises are included, which use all the
ideas, and develop important techniques for problem-solving. There
are also theoretical exercises, which provide opportunities for students to
discover interesting things for themselves, and to write mathematical
explanations in a convincing way. Answers and hints for many of the
problems are given in the back. Not all answers are given, however, to
encourage students to learn how to check their work.
A special feature of the book is the inclusion of sections devoted to
applications of linear algebra. These are: §IO on the geometric inter-
pretation of systems of linear equations, §§14 and 33 on finite symmetry
groups in two and three dimensions, §34 on systems of first-order differen-
tial equations and the exponential of a matrix, and §36 on the composi-
tion of quadratic forms. This edition contains a new section (§35) on
analytic methods in matrix theory, with applications to Markov chains

vii
viii PREFACE

in probability theory. These sections are not required in the main-

stream of the discussion, and can either be put in a course, or used for
independent study.
Another feature of the book is that it contains an introduction to
the axiomatic methods of modem algebra. The basic systems of algebra-
groups, rings, and fields-all occur naturally in linear algebra. Their
definitions and elementary properties are discussed as they come up in
the text.
This book can be used as a text for either an elementary or an
advanced course. An elementary course of one semester or two quarters
can be based on Chapters 2-6, §§22-24 from Chapter 7, and §§30, 31
from Chapter 9. In a first course, it would be reasonable to take a less
abstract approach, considering only vector spaces over the field of real
numbers, and pointing out that the main theorems also hold for vector
spaces over the field of complex numbers, before starting Chapter 7.
Some introductory remarks about the field of real numbers and mathe-
matical induction, from §2, would be needed at the beginning.
An advanced undergraduate course, for students who have had an
elementary course, can be based on Chapters 6-9, along with as much
of Chapter 10 as time permits.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the encouragement I have received
for this project from students in my classes at Wisconsin-Madison and
Oregon. Their comments, and suggestions from instructors who taught
from previous editions, have led to improvements from one edition to
the next. I am also grateful for the interest and support from my
family.

Eugene, Oregon Charles W. Curtis

April 16, 1996
Contents

1. Introduction to Linear Algebra 1

1. Some problems which lead to linear algebra 1
2. Number systems and mathematical induction 6

2. Vector Spaces and Systems of Linear Equations 16

3. Vector spaces 16
4. Subspaces and linear dependence 26
5. The concepts of basis and dimension 34
6. Row equivalence of matrices 38
7. Some general theorems about finitely generated vector
spaces 48
8. Systems of linear equations 53
9. Systems of homogeneous equations 62
10. Linear manifolds 69

3. Linear Transformations and Matrices 75

II. Linear transformations 75
12. Addition and multiplication of matrices 88
13. Linear transformations and matrices 99

4. Vector Spaces with an Inner Product 109

14. The concept of symmetry 109
15. Inner products 119

ix
x CONTENTS

s. Determinants 132
16. Definition of determinants 132
17. Existence and uniqueness of determinants 140
18. The multiplication theorem for determinants 146
19. Further properties of determinants 150

6. Polynomials and Complex Numbers 163

20. Polynomials 163
21. Complex numbers 176

7. The Theory of a Single Linear Transformation 184

22. Basic concepts 184
23. Invariant subspaces 193
24. The triangular form theorem 201
25. The rational and Jordan canonical forms 216

8. Dual Vector Spaces and Multilinear Algebra 228

26. Quotient spaces and dual vector spaces 228
27. Bilinear forms and duality 236
28. Direct sums and tensor products 243
29. A proof of the elementary divisor theorem 260

9. Orthogonal and Unitary Transformations 266

30. The structure of orthogonal transformations 266
31. The principal axis theorem 271
32. Unitary transformations and the spectral theorem 278

10. Some Applications of Linear Algebra 289

33. Finite symmetry groups in three dimensions 289
34. Application to differential equations 298
35. Analytic methods in matrix theory 306
36. Sums of squares and Hurwitz's theorem 315

Bibliography (with Notes) 325

Solutions of Selected Exercises 327

Symbols (Including Greek Letters) 342

Index 344