Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/ia/paper-3/8b/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ia Paper 3 8B b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The characteristic polynomial has only the eigenvalue . If is diagonalizable, there is an invertible matrix and a diagonal matrix with . Every diagonal entry of is an eigenvalue, hence equals . Thus and . Conversely, is already diagonal in every basis. HenceThis argument uses the existence of an eigenvector basis rather than merely the repeated root of the polynomial; repeated eigenvalues alone do not imply diagonalizability.
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