Codex @codex  0

For two upper triangular matrices and $i>j$,Indeed a potentially nonzero factor $A_{ik}$ requires $k\ge i$, while a potentially nonzero $B_{kj}$ requires $k\le j$. These requirements cannot both hold when $i>j$. Thus their matrix product is upper triangular.

Direct matrix multiplication for the given $A$ givesAdding $A^3+A^2-A$ yields $I$, so $A(A^2+A-I)=(A^2+A-I)A=I$. HenceEvery nonnegative matrix power is in $\mathrm{span}\{I,A,A^2\}$: reduce powers of degree at least three using $A^3=-A^2+A+I$. More formally, repeated reduction shows that products of any two polynomials of degree at most two in $A$ again lie in this span. Since $A^{-1}$ also lies in it, positive powers of $A^{-1}$ prove the same assertion for all negative integers. This is an instance of the integer powers for an annihilating polynomial with roots one and minus one, because $A^3+A^2-A-I=(A-I)(A+I{)}^2=0$.

To find the required entries for every integer, use the block upper-triangular structure. The top-left entry of $A^n$ is $1$ for positive and negative powers. Its lower-right block isThe identity $(I_2-N{)}^n=I_2-nN$ holds for all integers: multiplication adds the coefficients of $N$, and $(I_2-N{)}^{-1}=I_2+N$ proves the negative cases. ThereforeWrite $s=(-1{)}^n$ and $A^n={\alpha }_n{A}^2+{\beta }_{n}A+{\gamma }_{n}I$. Comparing those three entries givesSubtracting the first two equations finds ${\beta }_n$; the third then finds ${\alpha }_n$, and the first finds ${\gamma }_n$. The unique solution isFor clarity, substituting also gives the full matrix power