Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ib/paper-3/13e/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ib Paper 3 13E iii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
An example in dimension four isBoth 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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