Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/prelims/mathematics-i/4/c/ii/solution

Since , the vector is an eigenvector with nonzero eigenvalue . The assumption also makes , so the kernel has dimension . Choose its basis .
The vector is outside this kernel. Hence is a basis of consisting of eigenvectors, with corresponding eigenvalues . In that basis, is the diagonal matrix
This proves that is a diagonalisable matrix, including the case .

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