Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/digital-systems-linear-algebra-and-introduction-to-formal-proof/4/g/solution
Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2023 Digital systems, linear algebra and introduction to formal proof 4 g Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Fix one common eigenvector , and write and . By (d),so and at least one of the two eigenvalues is zero.
To exclude both being zero, use the kernel of a Gram product identity:If both products annihilate , then . By (b), , and by (e), this is . On the other hand, makes orthogonal to every vector in . In particular is orthogonal to itself, so and , a contradiction.
Therefore each specified common eigenvector belongs to exactly one of and . Both eigenvalues are nonnegative by the displayed squared-norm identities, so the other eigenvalue is strictly positive. This is the spectral mechanism behind orthogonal null-space completion of a square matrix.
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