rank of a matrix


Let D be a division ring, and M an m×n matrix over D. There are four numbers we can associate with M:

  1. 1.

    the dimensionPlanetmathPlanetmath of the subspacePlanetmathPlanetmath spanned by the columns of M viewed as elements of the n-dimensional right vector spaceMathworldPlanetmath over D.

  2. 2.

    the dimension of the subspace spanned by the columns of M viewed as elements of the n-dimensional left vector space over D.

  3. 3.

    the dimension of the subspace spanned by the rows of M viewed as elements of the m-dimensional right vector space over D.

  4. 4.

    the dimension of the subspace spanned by the rows of M viewed as elements of the m-dimensional left vector space over D.

The numbers are respectively called the right column rank, left column rank, right row rank, and left row rank of M, and they are respectively denoted by rc.rnk(M), lc.rnk(M), rr.rnk(M), and lr.rnk(M).

Since the columns of M are the rows of its transposeMathworldPlanetmath MT, we have

lc.rnk(M)=lr.rnk(MT),and  rc.rnk(M)=rr.rnk(MT).

In addition, it can be shown that for a given matrix M,

lc.rnk(M)=rr.rnk(M),and  rc.rnk(M)=lr.rnk(M).

For any 0rD, it is also easy to see that the left column and row ranks of rM are the same as those of M. Similarly, the right column and row ranks of Mr are the same as those of M.

If D is a field, lc.rnk(M)=rc.rnk(M), so that all four numbers are the same, and we simply call this number the rank of M, denoted by rank(M).

Rank can also be defined for matrices M (over a fixed D) that satisfy the identityPlanetmathPlanetmath M=rMT, where r is in the center of D. Matrices satisfying the identity include symmetricPlanetmathPlanetmath and anti-symmetric matrices.

However, the left column rank is not necessarily the same as the right row rank of a matrix, if the underlying division ring is not commutativePlanetmathPlanetmathPlanetmath, as can be shown in the following example: let u=(1,j) and v=(i,k) be vectors over the Hamiltonian quaternions . They are columns in the 2×2 matrix

M:=(1ijk)

Since iu=(i,ij)=(i,k)=v, they are left linearly dependent, and therefore the left column rank of M is 1. Now, suppose ur+vs=(0,0), with r,s. Since ui=(i,ji)=(i,-k), then ui(-ir)+vs=0, which boils down to two equations ir=s and -ir=s, and which imply that s=r=0, showing that u,v are right linearly independent. Thus the right column rank of M is 2.

Title rank of a matrix
Canonical name RankOfAMatrix
Date of creation 2013-03-22 19:22:42
Last modified on 2013-03-22 19:22:42
Owner CWoo (3771)
Last modified by CWoo (3771)
Numerical id 15
Author CWoo (3771)
Entry type Definition
Classification msc 15A03
Classification msc 15A33
Related topic DeterminingRankOfMatrix
Defines left row rank
Defines left column rank
Defines right row rank
Defines right column rank