Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/ib/paper-1/9g/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ib Paper 1 9G i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
If , the generated subspace is zero and invariant. Otherwise, let be the first index for which are linearly dependent. Such an index exists with , since there are vectors. The preceding vectors are independent, so the coefficient of in this first relation cannot vanish. HenceThe linear operator sends each of the first generators to the next and sends the last into their span. This proves that their span is an invariant subspace. Every later iterate lies in the same subspace by induction, so it equals the span of the first iterates. Therefore the indicated subspace is -invariant. This proof of a cyclic subspace uses only finite dimension and linear dependence.
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