Past exam of the algebra, analysis and differential equations II course of the University of Oxford / 2011 / Algebra / 2 / a

Use the convention that the inner product is linear in its first argument, as required by the displayed representation of a linear functional. Choose an orthonormal basis $e_1,\dots ,e_n$, for instance by Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization. DefineFor $u={\sum }_j{u}_j{e}_j$, conjugate linearity in the second argument givesThusThe representation is unique as well: if two vectors represent the same functional, their difference is orthogonal to every vector and therefore to itself, so it is zero.

The adjoint operator is characterized byFor each fixed $v$, the map $u\mapsto ⟨Tu,v⟩$ is a linear functional. Part (i) gives a representing vector, which we define to be $T^{\ast }v$. Hence such a map exists on every vector of $V$. Part (b) proves that this constructed map is linear.