Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford / 2005 / Calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, logic and proof, and models of computation / 2 / a / Solution

The printed word “eigenvalues” must read “eigenvectors”: eigenvalues are real numbers, whereas a basis of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ consists of vectors. The intended assertion isThis wording error is present in the original scan.^[ref]

If $X^{-1}AX=D=\mathrm{diag}({\lambda }_1,\dots ,{\lambda }_n)$ for an invertible matrix $X$, write $x_i$ for its columns. The matrix identity $AX=XD$ says $A{x}_i={\lambda }_i{x}_i$. The columns of an invertible matrix are a basis, hence they give the required basis of eigenvectors.

Conversely, put a basis of real eigenvectors $x_1,\dots ,x_n$ into the columns of $X$, with corresponding eigenvalues ${\lambda }_i$. The basis property makes $X$ an invertible matrix. The equations $A{x}_i={\lambda }_i{x}_i$ give $AX=XD$, so $X^{-1}AX=D$. This is precisely diagonalizability over the real numbers.