Determinants: definition, properties.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev

Ac. year 2023-2024

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Definition

Definition
A n × n determinant is a function det : Mn×n → R such that
1 det(R1 , . . . , Rj + k · Ri , . . . Rn ) = det(R1 , . . . Rj , . . . , Rn );
2 det(R1 , . . . , Ri , . . . , Rj . . . , Rn ) =
−det(R1 , . . . , Rj , . . . , Ri , . . . , Rn ) for i ̸= j;
3 det(R1 , . . . , k · Rj , . . . , Rn ) = k · det(R1 , . . . , Rj , . . . , Rn ) for
any scalar k;
4 det(In ) = 1, where In is identity matrix.
(the R’s are the rows of the matrix). We often write |T | for det(t).

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Properties

Lemma
1 A matrix with two identical rows has a determinant of zero.
2 A matrix with a zero row has a determinant of zero.
3 A matrix is non-singular if and only if its determinant is
nonzero.
4 The determinant of an echelon form matrix is the product
down its diagonal.
5 For each n, if there is an n × n determinant function then it is
unique.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Determinant is Multilinear

Definition
Let V be a vector space. A map f : V n → R is multilinear if
1 f (R1 , . . . , u + v , . . . Rn ) =
f (R1 , . . . , u, . . . Rn ) + f (R1 , . . . , v , . . . , Rn );
2 f (R1 , . . . , r · Ri , . . . , Rn ) = r · f (R1 , . . . , Ri , . . . , Rn )
for u, v ∈ V and r ∈ R.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Determinant is Multilinear

Definition
Let V be a vector space. A map f : V n → R is multilinear if
1 f (R1 , . . . , u + v , . . . Rn ) =
f (R1 , . . . , u, . . . Rn ) + f (R1 , . . . , v , . . . , Rn );
2 f (R1 , . . . , r · Ri , . . . , Rn ) = r · f (R1 , . . . , Ri , . . . , Rn )
for u, v ∈ V and r ∈ R.

Lemma
Determinants are multilinear.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Determinants of Orders 1 and 2

Order 1: |a11 | = a11 ;

Order 2:
a11 a12
= a11 a22 − a12 a21
a21 a22

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Determinants of Orders 1 and 2

Order 1: |a11 | = a11 ;

Order 2:
a11 a12
= a11 a22 − a12 a21
a21 a22
Examples: Find the determinant for following matrices:

5 3 3 2
,
4 6 −5 7

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Determinants of Order 3

The determinant of 3 × 3 matrix A is defined as follows:

a11 a12 a13

a21 a22 a23 = a11 a22 a33 + a12 a23 a31 + a13 a21 a32 −
a31 a32 a33 −a13 a22 a31 − a11 a23 a32 − a12 a21 a33

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
 The diagrams below may help us to remember the above six
products in det(A)

We emphasize that there are no such diagrammatic devices with

which to remember determinants of higher order.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Examples:

Find determinants for the following matrices:

2 1 1 3 2 1
0 5 −2 =? −4 5 −1 =?
1 −3 4 2 −3 4

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Alternative Form for a Determinant of Order 3

det(A) = a11 a22 a33 + a12 a23 a31 + a13 a21 a32 −
−a13 a22 a31 − a11 a23 a32 − a12 a21 a33 =
= a11 (a22 a23 −a23 a32 )−a12 (a21 a33 −a23 a31 )+a13 (a21 a32 −a22 a31 ) =
a22 a23 a a a a
= a11 − a12 21 23 + a13 21 22
a32 a33 a31 a33 a31 a32

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Minors and Cofactors

Consider an n-square matrix A with i, j-th entries are aij . Let Mij
denote the (n − 1)-square submatrix of A obtained by deleting its
i-th row and j-th column. The determinant |Mij | is called the
minor of the element aij of A, and we define the cofactor of aij ,
denoted by Aij ; to be the “signed” minor:

Aij = (−1)i+j |Mij |

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Minors and Cofactors

Consider an n-square matrix A with i, j-th entries are aij . Let Mij
denote the (n − 1)-square submatrix of A obtained by deleting its
i-th row and j-th column. The determinant |Mij | is called the
minor of the element aij of A, and we define the cofactor of aij ,
denoted by Aij ; to be the “signed” minor:

Aij = (−1)i+j |Mij |

Example: Find all minors and cofactors of the matrix

 
1 2 3
4 5 6 
7 8 9

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Laplace Expansion

Theorem (Laplace)
The determinant of a square matrix A with i, j-th entry aij is equal
to the sum of the products obtained by multiplying the elements of
any row (column) by their respective cofactors:

|A| = ai1 Ai1 + ai2 Ai2 + · · · + ain Ain

|A| = a1j A1j + a2j A2j + · · · + anj Anj

The above formulas for |A| are called the Laplace expansions of the
determinant of A by the i-th row and the j-th column.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Evaluation of Determinants

ALGORITHM: (Reduction of the order of a determinant) The

input is a nonzero n-square matrix A with n > 1 and with i, j-th
entry aij .
Step 1: Choose an element aij = 1 or, if lacking, aij ̸= 0;
Step 2: Using aij as a pivot, apply elementary row (column)
operations to put 0’s in all the other positions in the column
(row) containing aij .
Step 3: Expand the determinant by the column (row) containing aij .

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
 Remark 1: Algorithm above is usually used for determinants of
order 4 or more. With determinants of order less than 4, one uses
the specific formulas for the determinant.

Remark 2: Gaussian elimination or, equivalently, repeated use of

the Algorithm together with row interchanges can be used to
transform a matrix A into an upper triangular matrix whose
determinant is the product of its diagonal entries. However, one
must keep track of the number of row interchanges, because each
row interchange changes the sign of the determinant.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Example:

Find the determinant of the matrix

 
5 4 2 1
2
 3 1 −2

−5 −7 −3 9 
1 −2 −1 4

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Classical Adjoint
Let A be an n × n matrix over a field K with i, j-th entry aij and let
Aij denote the cofactor of aij . The classical adjoint of A, denoted
by adj(A), is the transpose of the matrix of cofactors of A. Namely,
 
A11 A21 · · · An1
A12 A22 · · · An2 
adj(A) =  .
 
.. .. .. 
 .. . . . 
A1n A2n · · · Ann

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Classical Adjoint
Let A be an n × n matrix over a field K with i, j-th entry aij and let
Aij denote the cofactor of aij . The classical adjoint of A, denoted
by adj(A), is the transpose of the matrix of cofactors of A. Namely,
 
A11 A21 · · · An1
A12 A22 · · · An2 
adj(A) =  .
 
.. .. .. 
 .. . . . 
A1n A2n · · · Ann

Example: Find the adjoint of the matrix (and inverse)

 
1 2 3
A = 1 −2 1
2 −3 1

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
 Theorem
Let A be any square matrix. Then

A · adj(A) = adj(A) · A = det(A) · I

where I is the identity matrix. Thus, if det(A) ̸= 0,

1
A−1 = adj(A)
det(A)

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
More Properties of Determinants

Theorem
The determinant of a matrix A and its transpose AT are equal;
If A has a row (column) of zeros, then |A| = 0;
If A has two identical rows (columns), then |A| = 0;
If A is triangular (i.e., A has zeros above or below the
diagonal), then |A| = product of diagonal elements. Thus, in
particular, I = 1, where I is the identity matrix.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
More Properties of Determinants

Theorem
The determinant of a product of two matrices A and B is the
product of their determinants; that is,

det(A · B) = det(A) · det(B)

Theorem
Let A be a square matrix. Then the following are equivalent:
1 A is invertible; that is, A has an inverse A−1 .
2 AX = 0 has only the zero solution;
3 The determinant of A is not zero; that is, det(A) ̸= 0.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Orthogonal Matrices

Definition
A real matrix P is orthogonal if P is non-singular and P −1 = P T ,
or, in other words, if P · P T = P T · P = I .

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Orthogonal Matrices

Definition
A real matrix P is orthogonal if P is non-singular and P −1 = P T ,
or, in other words, if P · P T = P T · P = I .

Theorem
Let P be a real matrix. Then the following are equivalent:
1 P is orthogonal;
2 the rows of P form an orthonormal set;
3 the columns of P form an orthonormal set

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Properties

Theorem
Suppose E and E ′ are orthonormal bases of V . Let P be the
change of basis matrix from the basis E to the basis E ′ . Then P is
orthogonal.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.
Properties

Theorem
Suppose E and E ′ are orthonormal bases of V . Let P be the
change of basis matrix from the basis E to the basis E ′ . Then P is
orthogonal.

Theorem
Let {e1 ; . . . ; en } be an orthonormal basis of a dot product space
V . Let P be an orthogonal matrix with entries aij . Then the
following n vectors form an orthonormal basis for V :

ei′ = a1i e1 + a2i e2 + · · · + ani en , i = 1, 2, . . . , n.

Birzhan Kalmurzayev
Determinants: definition, properties.