Positive-definite matrix
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
In linear algebra, the positive-definite matrices are (in several ways) analogous to the positive real numbers. First, define some things:
- aT is the transpose of a matrix or vector a
- a * is the complex conjugate of its transpose a
is the set of all real numbers
is the set of all complex numbers
is the set of all integers
- M is any Hermitian matrix
An n × n Hermitian matrix M is said to be positive definite if it has one (and therefore all) of the following six equivalent properties:
| 1. | For all non-zero vectors we have
Here we view z as a column vector with n complex entries and z * as the complex conjugate of its transpose. (z * Mz is always real.) |
| 2. | For all non-zero vectors x in
|
| 3. | For all non-zero vectors , we have
|
| 4. | All eigenvalues of M are positive.
|
| 5. | The form
defines an inner product on
|
| 6. | All the following matrices have positive determinant:
|
| Contents |
Further properties
Every positive definite matrix is invertible and its inverse is also positive definite. If M is positive definite and r > 0 is a real number, then rM is positive definite. If M and N are positive definite, then M + N is also positive definite, and if MN = NM, then MN is also positive definite. Every positive definite matrix M, has at least one square root matrix N such that N2 = M. In fact, M may have infinitely many square roots, but exactly one positive definite square root.
Negative-definite, semidefinite and indefinite matrices
The Hermitian matrix M is said to be negative-definite if
- x * Mx < 0
for all non-zero
(or, equivalently, all non-zero
). It is called positive-semidefinite if
for all
(or
) and negative-semidefinite if
for all
(or
).
A Hermitian matrix which is neither positive- nor negative-semidefinite is called indefinite.
Non-Hermitian matrices
A real matrix M may have the property that xTMx > 0 for all nonzero real vectors x without being symmetric. The matrix
provides an example. In general, we have xTMx > 0 for all real nonzero vectors x if and only if the symmetric part, (M + MT) / 2, is positive definite.
The situation for complex matrices may be different, depending on how one generalizes the inequality z*Mz > 0. If z*Mz is real for all complex vectors z, then the matrix M is necessarily Hermitian. So, if we require that z*Mz be real and positive, then M is automatically Hermitian. On the other hand, we have that Re(z*Mz) > 0 for all complex nonzero vectors z if and only if the Hermitian part, (M + M*) / 2, is positive definite.
There is no agreement in the literature on the proper definition of positive-definite for non-Hermitian matrices.
Generalizations
Suppose K denotes the field
or
, V is a vector space over K, and
is a bilinear map which is Hermitian in the sense that B(x,y) is always the complex conjugate of B(y,x).
Then B is called positive definite if B(x,x) > 0 for every nonzero x in V.
References
- Roger A. Horn and Charles R. Johnson. Matrix Analysis, Chapter 7. Cambridge University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-521-30586-1 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-38632-2 (paperback).it:Matrice definita positiva
we have
.
we have
, we have
.

