Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / ib / Paper 1 / 1E / Solution

The adjugate matrix is the transpose of the cofactor matrix: $\mathrm{adj}(A{)}_{ij}=(-1{)}^{i+j}\det A_{\hat{j},\hat{i}}$. Cofactor expansion gives the adjugate identityFor an invertible matrix this yields $A^{-1}=\mathrm{adj}(A)/\det A$. Integer entries of $A$ imply integer cofactors, so $\det A=\pm 1$ makes its inverse integral. Conversely, if $A$ and $A^{-1}$ both have integer entries, their determinants are integers and $(\det A)(\det A^{-1})=1$. The only integer units are $\pm 1$. Hence an invertible integer matrix has an integer inverse exactly when it is a unimodular matrix, with determinant $\pm 1$. Invertibility is implicit whenever $A^{-1}$ is used.