Find $min(operatorname{trace}(AA^T))$ for invertible $A_{ntimes n}$












3












$begingroup$


For invertible $A_{ntimes n}$ find $min(operatorname{trace}(AA^T))$



(a) $0$

(b) $1$

(c) $n$

(d) $n^2$



Clearly for $A=I$, it is $n$, and I am unable to get any lower values, but how do I prove it.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
    $endgroup$
    – Ian Coley
    May 12 '14 at 2:32








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 12 '14 at 2:33










  • $begingroup$
    If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
    $endgroup$
    – Siddharth Venkatesh
    May 12 '14 at 2:35






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    May 12 '14 at 2:36










  • $begingroup$
    Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 2:47


















3












$begingroup$


For invertible $A_{ntimes n}$ find $min(operatorname{trace}(AA^T))$



(a) $0$

(b) $1$

(c) $n$

(d) $n^2$



Clearly for $A=I$, it is $n$, and I am unable to get any lower values, but how do I prove it.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
    $endgroup$
    – Ian Coley
    May 12 '14 at 2:32








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 12 '14 at 2:33










  • $begingroup$
    If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
    $endgroup$
    – Siddharth Venkatesh
    May 12 '14 at 2:35






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    May 12 '14 at 2:36










  • $begingroup$
    Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 2:47
















3












3








3


5



$begingroup$


For invertible $A_{ntimes n}$ find $min(operatorname{trace}(AA^T))$



(a) $0$

(b) $1$

(c) $n$

(d) $n^2$



Clearly for $A=I$, it is $n$, and I am unable to get any lower values, but how do I prove it.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




For invertible $A_{ntimes n}$ find $min(operatorname{trace}(AA^T))$



(a) $0$

(b) $1$

(c) $n$

(d) $n^2$



Clearly for $A=I$, it is $n$, and I am unable to get any lower values, but how do I prove it.







linear-algebra matrices trace






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Jan 1 at 8:20









user26857

39.4k124183




39.4k124183










asked May 12 '14 at 2:30









MortyMorty

337111




337111








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
    $endgroup$
    – Ian Coley
    May 12 '14 at 2:32








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 12 '14 at 2:33










  • $begingroup$
    If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
    $endgroup$
    – Siddharth Venkatesh
    May 12 '14 at 2:35






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    May 12 '14 at 2:36










  • $begingroup$
    Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 2:47
















  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
    $endgroup$
    – Ian Coley
    May 12 '14 at 2:32








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 12 '14 at 2:33










  • $begingroup$
    If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
    $endgroup$
    – Siddharth Venkatesh
    May 12 '14 at 2:35






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    May 12 '14 at 2:36










  • $begingroup$
    Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 2:47










2




2




$begingroup$
Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
$endgroup$
– Ian Coley
May 12 '14 at 2:32






$begingroup$
Well if you take $varepsiloncdot I_n$ for small $varepsilon$ then you get a lower value, to begin with.
$endgroup$
– Ian Coley
May 12 '14 at 2:32






1




1




$begingroup$
and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
$endgroup$
– Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
May 12 '14 at 2:33




$begingroup$
and in that way you get all positive values for the function. Since it only takes positive values, this gives you the answer.
$endgroup$
– Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
May 12 '14 at 2:33












$begingroup$
If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
$endgroup$
– Siddharth Venkatesh
May 12 '14 at 2:35




$begingroup$
If $A$ is real, there is no minimum value. As Mariano mentioned, if you compute the $i$th diagonal entry of $AA^{T}$, this is the norm squared of the $i$th row of $A$ and is hence positive. Thus, the trace is positive. But Ian's answer shows that you can make the trace as close to 0 as you like.
$endgroup$
– Siddharth Venkatesh
May 12 '14 at 2:35




1




1




$begingroup$
If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
$endgroup$
– Will Jagy
May 12 '14 at 2:36




$begingroup$
If the entries must be integers, $n$ is correct.
$endgroup$
– Will Jagy
May 12 '14 at 2:36












$begingroup$
Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 2:47






$begingroup$
Well thanks to all of you. This is a multiple choice question with options $0$,$1$, $n$ and $n^2$. But clearly $0$ cant be attained, but $0^+$ can be. I guess the question was set keeping integers in mind. @WillJagy But how do I prove it formally (for integral values)? I mean why cant I have $n-1$ or less?
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 2:47












1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















7












$begingroup$

I will assume all the entries are integers. By multiplying out the matrices, you see that
$$ text{trace}(A^TA) = sum_{i,j} a_{i,j}^2 .$$
Suppose $text{trace}(A^TA) < n$. Then at most $n-1$ entries must be non-zero, meaning that at least one column of the matrix is all zeros. Hence $A$ is not invertible.



Hence $text{trace}(A^TA) ge n$. We know that the value $n$ can be obtained (e.g. by the identity, or any permutation matrix).






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:03












  • $begingroup$
    Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:05












  • $begingroup$
    @Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 14 '14 at 0:36










  • $begingroup$
    @MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 14 '14 at 4:55











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1 Answer
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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









7












$begingroup$

I will assume all the entries are integers. By multiplying out the matrices, you see that
$$ text{trace}(A^TA) = sum_{i,j} a_{i,j}^2 .$$
Suppose $text{trace}(A^TA) < n$. Then at most $n-1$ entries must be non-zero, meaning that at least one column of the matrix is all zeros. Hence $A$ is not invertible.



Hence $text{trace}(A^TA) ge n$. We know that the value $n$ can be obtained (e.g. by the identity, or any permutation matrix).






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:03












  • $begingroup$
    Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:05












  • $begingroup$
    @Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 14 '14 at 0:36










  • $begingroup$
    @MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 14 '14 at 4:55
















7












$begingroup$

I will assume all the entries are integers. By multiplying out the matrices, you see that
$$ text{trace}(A^TA) = sum_{i,j} a_{i,j}^2 .$$
Suppose $text{trace}(A^TA) < n$. Then at most $n-1$ entries must be non-zero, meaning that at least one column of the matrix is all zeros. Hence $A$ is not invertible.



Hence $text{trace}(A^TA) ge n$. We know that the value $n$ can be obtained (e.g. by the identity, or any permutation matrix).






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:03












  • $begingroup$
    Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:05












  • $begingroup$
    @Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 14 '14 at 0:36










  • $begingroup$
    @MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 14 '14 at 4:55














7












7








7





$begingroup$

I will assume all the entries are integers. By multiplying out the matrices, you see that
$$ text{trace}(A^TA) = sum_{i,j} a_{i,j}^2 .$$
Suppose $text{trace}(A^TA) < n$. Then at most $n-1$ entries must be non-zero, meaning that at least one column of the matrix is all zeros. Hence $A$ is not invertible.



Hence $text{trace}(A^TA) ge n$. We know that the value $n$ can be obtained (e.g. by the identity, or any permutation matrix).






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$



I will assume all the entries are integers. By multiplying out the matrices, you see that
$$ text{trace}(A^TA) = sum_{i,j} a_{i,j}^2 .$$
Suppose $text{trace}(A^TA) < n$. Then at most $n-1$ entries must be non-zero, meaning that at least one column of the matrix is all zeros. Hence $A$ is not invertible.



Hence $text{trace}(A^TA) ge n$. We know that the value $n$ can be obtained (e.g. by the identity, or any permutation matrix).







share|cite|improve this answer












share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer










answered May 12 '14 at 3:28









Stephen Montgomery-SmithStephen Montgomery-Smith

17.8k12247




17.8k12247












  • $begingroup$
    Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:03












  • $begingroup$
    Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:05












  • $begingroup$
    @Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 14 '14 at 0:36










  • $begingroup$
    @MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 14 '14 at 4:55


















  • $begingroup$
    Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:03












  • $begingroup$
    Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 12 '14 at 8:05












  • $begingroup$
    @Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
    $endgroup$
    – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
    May 14 '14 at 0:36










  • $begingroup$
    @MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
    $endgroup$
    – Morty
    May 14 '14 at 4:55
















$begingroup$
Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 8:03






$begingroup$
Nice proof by the way. I recently discussed this question with my guide, it is a bit trickier than it seems. Since nothing is said about the entries in $A$, and the trace is the sum of inner products of $i$th row with itself (as Siddharth has pointed out), considering entries as integers, we get the answer to be $n$; considering entries are real, there doesn't exist any minimum (since we can get $epsilon$, $epsilon rightarrow 0$) and (here is the punch), considering complex entries, we can get $-infty$. So this question is better suited for a subjective answer than objective.
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 8:03














$begingroup$
Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 8:05






$begingroup$
Anyhow among the options $0$ can also be achieved (with complex entries). So it comes down to what the question setter thought of while framing this :).
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 12 '14 at 8:05














$begingroup$
@Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
$endgroup$
– Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
May 14 '14 at 0:36




$begingroup$
@Morty, in what possible way doe this question have a «subjective answer»?! That the minimum depends on the field is a quite objective fact.
$endgroup$
– Mariano Suárez-Álvarez
May 14 '14 at 0:36












$begingroup$
@MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 14 '14 at 4:55




$begingroup$
@MarianoSuarez-Alvarez I meant that you can check a box since the field is not clear, and the option for the most general field, i.e. complex, is missing.
$endgroup$
– Morty
May 14 '14 at 4:55


















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