Mendoza, Joanne Cherlene M. CE-3/2009180076 CE60P/B1 Special Types of Matrices: 1.

Diagonal Matrix - a matrix (usually a square matrix) in which the entries outside the main diagonal () are all zero. The diagonal entries themselves may or may not be zero. Thus, the matrix D = (di,j) with n columns and n rows is diagonal if: For example, the following matrix is diagonal:

The term diagonal matrix may sometimes refer to a rectangular diagonal matrix, which is an m-by-n matrix with only the entries of the form di,i possibly non-zero. For example:

or However, in the remainder of this article we will consider only square matrices. Any square diagonal matrix is also a symmetric matrix. Also, if the entries come from the field R orC, then it is a normal matrix as well. Equivalently, we can define a diagonal matrix as a matrix that is both upper- and lower-triangular. The identity matrix In and any square zero matrix are diagonal. A one-dimensional matrix is always diagonal. 2. Symmetric Matrix - a square matrix that is equal to its transpose. Let A be a symmetric matrix. Then: The entries of a symmetric matrix are symmetric with respect to the main diagonal (top left to bottom right). So if the entries are written as A = (aij), then Example:

Every diagonal matrix is symmetric, since all off-diagonal entries are zero. Similarly, each diagonal element of a skew-symmetric matrix must be zero, since each is its own negative. In linear algebra, a real symmetric matrix represents a self-adjoint operator over a real inner product space. The corresponding object for a complex inner product space is a Hermitian matrix with complex-valued entries, which is equal to its conjugate transpose. Therefore, in linear algebra over the complex numbers, it is often assumed that a symmetric matrix refers to one which has real-valued entries. Symmetric matrices appear naturally in a variety of applications, and typical numerical linear algebra software makes special accommodations for them. 3. Lower triangular matrix - a special kind of square matrix. A square matrix is called lower triangular if all the entries above the main diagonal are zero. A triangular matrix is one that is either lower triangular or upper triangular. A matrix that is both upper and lower triangular is a diagonal matrix. A matrix of the form

is called a lower triangular matrix or left triangular matrix, and analogously a matrix of the form. The variable L (standing for lower or left) is commonly used to represent a lower triangular matrix. Example:

4. Upper triangular matrix a special kind of square matrix where all the entries below the main diagonal are zero. A matrix of the form

is called an upper triangular matrix or right triangular matrix. The variable U (standing for upper) is commonly used for upper triangular matrix. Example: