Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ib/paper-3/13e/iii/solution

An example in dimension four is
Both are invertible, so each has rank four. Both have characteristic polynomial , and each has minimal polynomial , since its nonzero nilpotent part squares to zero. However and . If , then , which would preserve these ranks. The contradiction proves that the matrices are not similar, despite all three specified invariants agreeing.

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