Codimension of a vector subspace 2026-10-25
For a vector subspace of , its codimension is the dimension of the quotient vector space . This definition also applies when is infinite-dimensional. If is a direct sum, the map is a linear isomorphism from to , so . In particular, the kernel of a nonzero linear functional has codimension one: normalize and write .
Cokernel Created 2026-09-29 Updated 2026-10-14
The cokernel records output information that a linear map cannot produce. For , it is the quotient vector spaceIts elements are cosets . Two vectors represent the same class exactly when is in the image of a linear map. The zero class is the whole image of a linear map, soChanging by an attainable output does not change its obstruction. This is useful because one can test compatibility before trying to find an input. The quotient vector space construction is described in Axler's §3E. [ref]
Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler (4th edition). Sheldon Axler, Linear Algebra Done Right, fourth edition, §3E: quotient spaces
For the linear map given by , the image of a linear map is the horizontal line. All outputs with the same second coordinate have the same cokernel class, because their difference is horizontal. Thus this cokernel is isomorphic to via . In particular, has zero class and is attainable, while has nonzero class and is unattainable.
If is finite-dimensional, the dimension rule for a quotient vector space givesCompare this with the rank-nullity theorem, . The kernel counts invisible inputs; the cokernel counts missing output directions. They need not have the same dimension: has a two-dimensional kernel and a one-dimensional cokernel. A linear map is surjective exactly when its cokernel is zero.
The cokernel is a quotient, rather than a chosen perpendicular vector subspace. With a finite-dimensional inner product space as output, one may represent each class by its unique component in the orthogonal complement of the image of a linear map. That representation depends on the chosen inner product. For matrices over the complex numbers, this complement is , leading to the cokernel compatibility equations.
The same quotient definition applies to a group homomorphism of abelian groups. For given by , the cokernel is . The equation is solvable exactly when is an even integer; the two cosets record integer parity. A quotient captures the obstruction here just as it captures a missing output coordinate for a linear map.
Duals of a subspace and its quotient Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-11-05
For a vector subspace of a finite-dimensional vector space, there are canonical linear isomorphismswhere is the annihilator of a vector subspace.
For the first identity, let be the quotient map of vector spaces. Composing a linear functional on with gives a linear functional on that vanishes on . Conversely, if , the formula is well-defined: changing the representative adds an element on which is zero. These operations are inverse.
For the second identity, restriction is surjective by basis extension, and its kernel is exactly . Two linear functionals therefore have the same restriction precisely when their difference belongs to this annihilator of a vector subspace. Taking the quotient vector space gives the identity.
For example, if and is the span of , then consists of . These linear functionals descend to . Restricting a general to instead remembers only ; the terms in disappear in the quotient of the dual.
Exterior power Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
The th exterior power is the quotient vector space of the tensor power that makes every elementary tensor with two equal factors zero. More precisely, take the quotient vector space by the linear span of all such tensors. Its elementary products turn alternating multilinear maps into linear maps: every alternating -linear map on factors uniquely through .[ref]
Exterior Powers by Keith Conrad. Exterior Powers, §3, Definition 3.1 and Theorem 3.3: quotient construction and universal property
If is an ordered basis, the increasing productsform a basis of . There is one for each -element choice of basis directions, soRepeated directions vanish; products with a different order can be sorted using their sign. Coordinate determinants distinguish the remaining increasing products, establishing linear independence.[ref]
Exterior Powers by Keith Conrad. Exterior Powers, §4, Theorem 4.2: basis and rank of an exterior power
For , a basis of is . This explains the three bivector components in the worked example. The top exterior power has one basis element, , while : four independent directions cannot fit into that vector space. By convention is the scalar field, even when has dimension zero.
Finite generation descends along a field extension Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-11-05
Let be a field extension and a -algebra. If is a finitely generated algebra over , then is finitely generated over .
Choose finitely many generators of . Each is a finite sum of pure tensors, so only finitely many coefficients from occur. Let be the -subalgebra generated by those coefficients. The image of contains every chosen generator and all scalars, hence equals . ThereforeHere is a quotient vector space, not a quotient algebra: need not be an ideal. The extension is a faithfully flat module over , so this vanishing forces . Thus , proving finite generation.
Hermitian inner product Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-20
A Hermitian inner product is a Hermitian form on a complex vector space which has positive definiteness: for every nonzero vector . It is precisely a complex inner product. Only with this definiteness condition doesdefine a norm rather than a seminorm or an expression that may not be real. The standard Hermitian inner product on is ; positive weights give , with squared norm .[ref]
https://linear.axler.net/InnerProduct.pdf. Sheldon Axler, Linear Algebra Done Right, third edition, §6.A, definitions 6.3 and 6.9 and examples 6.4
A Hermitian inner product need not have a real matrix. For instance, with the linear-first coordinate convention,The last expression proves positive definiteness without a lengthy calculation of eigenvalues. For it gives , while for it gives . These unequal values expose why a silent switch to would change this particular Hermitian inner product: with these same entries it gives at . All entries must keep their roles from the matrix of a Hermitian form.
The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for a Hermitian inner product statesEquality holds exactly when are linearly dependent, including when either is zero. For a nonzero , outline the proof by setting and . Then , and the Pythagorean theorem givesNonnegativity proves the inequality, while positive definiteness makes equality equivalent to . The scalar has no extra conjugate because the first argument is linear.[ref]
https://linear.axler.net/InnerProduct.pdf. Axler, Linear Algebra Done Right, third edition, orthogonal decomposition 6.14 and Cauchy-Schwarz inequality 6.15
The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality also holds for a positive semidefinite Hermitian form, but equality need not imply linear dependence: for , the independent vectors and give . Equality then describes dependence after passing to the quotient vector space by the radical of a Hermitian form. The indefinite Hermitian form in Hermitian form shows that conjugate symmetry alone does not even guarantee the inequality.
For a worked orthogonal projection, take , and . Then , and , with and for the squared norms. The residual is perpendicular in this Hermitian inner product even though its ordinary real dot product with is . For complex , the same orthogonal projection uses ; rotating multiplies by , while rotating multiplies by . This combines geometric decomposition with sensitivity to the relative complex arguments of the multipliers.
Analytical illustration: weighted orthogonal projection on a real slice and opposite changes of complex argument of its projection coefficient
. Details. A Hermitian inner product therefore supplies more than a positive diagonal: orthogonality, orthogonal projection onto a span, and the triangle inequality for its norm make approximation and distance meaningful. For the function space of complex continuous functions on , has positive definiteness, because a nonzero continuous function has positive modulus on a small interval. The same construction turns overlap under integration into lengths and best approximation in finite-dimensional vector subspaces.
Induced linear map on a quotient vector space Created 2026-10-25 Updated 2026-11-05
For a linear map and an invariant subspace , the rule defines a linear map on the quotient vector space . Indeed, two representatives differ by an element of , so their images also differ by an element of . Conversely, this rule is well-defined only if , by comparing every with zero.
Kernel of a seminorm 2026-10-14
The kernel of a seminorm is its zero set, a linear subspace by absolute homogeneity and the triangle inequality. The estimate shows that adding an element of does not change . Hence defines a norm on the quotient vector space .
On itself, is a pseudometric; it is a metric exactly when is a norm. In particular, zero distance in one pseudometric need not mean equality of vectors. A separating family of seminorms removes the common zero-distance ambiguity.
Lie algebra cohomology Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
For a Lie algebra over a field and a Lie algebra representation , set . These alternating multilinear maps form a cochain complex with differentialThe hat means that the argument is omitted. The Jacobi identity and the Lie algebra representation identity give . The Lie algebra cohomology is the quotient vector space . In degree zero it consists of the invariant vectors of a Lie algebra representation; with a trivial Lie algebra representation as coefficients, .[ref]
Lie Groups and Lie Algebras by Pavel Etingof (2024). Section 48.1, standard complex and low-degree cohomology
For trivial real coefficients, classifies central extensions of a Lie algebra by a fixed one-dimensional center, up to equivalences inducing the identity on the quotient and center. If is abelian and two-dimensional, every alternating bilinear form is a Lie algebra two-cocycle and every coboundary is zero; a nonzero such form produces the Heisenberg Lie algebra.
Parallel lines as a quotient vector space Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-10-25
For fixed , the parallel affine lines are precisely the cosets of the indicated quotient vector space. Changing representatives adds a multiple of , so and are well-defined. The zero is the whole line , not a single point. If is a basis, the two line classes form a basis of the quotient by spanning and independence modulo .
Past exam of the functional analysis I course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 b i Solution 2026-10-25
Since is proper, is a nonzero linear functional. Choose with , by rescaling any vector outside its kernel. For every ,If , applying gives . Consequently this is a direct sum, and the quotient vector space has dimension one. This computes the codimension of a vector subspace:
To prove boundedness without assuming completeness, use the linear functional with closed kernel criterion directly. Since is a closed set and , the distanceis positive. If , then , soFor the resulting estimate is immediate. ThereforeHere denotes the continuous dual space.
The annihilator of a vector subspace isChoose a basis of and extend it to a basis of . In the dual basis, precisely span . ThereforeThe canonical restriction linear transformationhas kernel of a linear map . It is surjective: extend any linear functional on by assigning arbitrary values, for instance zero, to the additional basis vectors. The First isomorphism theorem for vector spaces gives the explicit linear isomorphismIt is natural because the displayed map itself makes no basis choice; a basis was used only to prove surjectivity. In particular, is canonically a quotient vector space of , rather than canonically a subspace of .
Write , where and . These kernels satisfy . Also and : for example, when . Thus the proposed linear map between quotient vector spaces is well-defined and has the formulaIf belongs to its kernel, then . Therefore , so and is zero. We have provedThese are the injections between successive kernel quotients. In finite dimension, they imply .
Surjectivity need not hold. Take a nonzero vector space and the zero linear map . At , we have and , so
No. Over any field , take , let be the identity operator, and choose the vector subspaceBoth and the quotient vector space have dimension one. A one-dimensional vector space has no nonzero proper vector subspace, so neither can have a nonzero proper invariant subspace. The induced linear map on a quotient vector space is again the identity operator.
However, is another nonzero proper vector subspace of , and . HenceThe hypotheses do not prevent a direct sum whose two summands are invariant subspaces.
The quotient vector space identifies two vectors precisely when . Since is an invariant subspace, . ThusConsequently : the output does not depend on the chosen representative. This proves that the induced linear map on a quotient vector spaceis well-defined. It is a linear map because, for scalars ,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 1 8C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The line through the origin is , containing zero and closed under addition and scalar multiplication, so it is a vector subspace. If , then and for some real . Conversely that equality gives the same set after shifting the line parameter. ThusChanging representatives to , changes their sum by and a scalar multiple by . The line classes therefore do not change, proving both operations well-defined. Associativity follows from . The zero vector of this quotient vector space is the entire line , because .
For a basis of , every vector is , so . If this combination equals , then ; independence of the three original basis vectors forces . Hence is a basis of the space of parallel lines as a quotient vector space.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ib Paper 3 7C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Call the four given column vectors . Direct componentwise calculation givesThe first two vectors are independent: their first two components give the determinant . They form a basis of , so .
Choose columns . This gives the matrixIts image is exactly , since all its columns belong to and its first two span . Its column sum is zero, so belongs to its kernel.
All linear maps with the stated kernel condition and image contained in factor uniquely through the quotient vector space . This quotient has dimension four. A linear map from it to the two-dimensional is specified by eight independent real coordinates, so the requested space has dimension . Requiring the image to equal , instead of being contained in , would not define a vector space; the printed containment is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ib Paper 4 15G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The zero-composition subspaces of a linear map are subspaces because the defining equations are homogeneous linear equations in : they hold for the zero map and are preserved by addition and scalar multiplication. A map with vanishes on , so it factors uniquely through the quotient vector space . Conversely every map from that quotient to gives such a . ThereforeThe condition says exactly that the image of lies in . ConsequentlyBoth dimension formulas use the fact that the space of maps between spaces of dimensions has dimension : matrix units in any chosen bases supply a basis.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 13 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the -uniform hypergraph and use strong saturation of a uniform hypergraph in its immediate-completion sense: each missing edge lies in an -set whose other -subsets are already edges of . The argument allows existing hypergraph cliques. Take , the usual parameter range; if , strong saturation forces every possible edge to be present, and the inequality is immediate whenever its binomial terms are defined. The case has the trivial lower bound zero.
For , choose distinct real numbers and form the Vandermonde matrix whose th column is . Every columns are linearly independent by the Vandermonde determinant. Set , so , and work in the quotient vector spaceHere the inclusion of is injective: extend a basis of to a basis of and use the resulting wedge bases of the exterior powers. Write for the image in of the coordinate wedge indexed by an -set . All these images span .
For any -set , let be its coordinate subspace. The restriction of has rank , so has dimension . Wedge a basis of this intersection to obtain a nonzero elementEvery coefficient is nonzero. Indeed, projection of onto the coordinates is an isomorphism: a vector in its kernel is supported on , whose columns of are independent. The coefficient is the determinant of that projection in the chosen bases. Passing to therefore gives a linear dependence
If is missing from , take its strong-saturation witness . The dependence expresses in the span of the for the other edges , all of which are present. Thus the vectors indexed by the present edges span all of . The exterior-power quotient bound for strong hypergraph saturation follows:The bound is sharp: include precisely the -sets meeting one fixed -set . A missing edge is disjoint from , and every other -subset of meets , so adding immediately completes a hypergraph clique of order . The number of included edges is exactly the displayed bound.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 10 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
An -uniform hypergraph is strongly saturated with respect to a complete uniform hypergraph of order if adding any missing edge creates a new complete uniform hypergraph on vertices containing that edge. Equivalently, for every missing -set , there is an -set for which all other -subsets are edges. Existing complete subhypergraphs are allowed in this strong-saturation definition.
We prove the bound by an exterior-power quotient bound for strong hypergraph saturation. Assume and . Let with basis . Choose distinct real numbers and let be the kernel of the matrix whose column isEvery columns are linearly independent by the Vandermonde determinant, so . Form the quotient vector spaceFor each -set , let be the image in of the exterior product . These images span .
For an -set , let be its coordinate subspace. The matrix restricted to has rank , so has dimension . The wedge of a basis of this intersection is a nonzero vectorEvery coefficient is nonzero. Indeed, projection from onto the coordinates in is an isomorphism: a vector in its kernel would be supported on , where the columns are independent, and hence would be zero. That projection's determinant is precisely the corresponding wedge coefficient. Thus, in the quotient vector space,For a missing edge, choose its strong-saturation witness . All other vectors in this relation come from present edges, so the missing edge's vector is in their span. Consequently the present-edge vectors already span all of . Their number is at least its dimension:This is sharp. Take all -sets that meet a fixed -set . A missing edge is disjoint from , and on every other -set meets ; adding completes the required clique. The number of edges is exactly the boxed difference. If , no missing edge could have a witness, so a strongly saturated hypergraph must be complete; the substantive construction above is for the usual range .
For the set-pair problem, write and choose . If , the cross-disjointness implies that is in neither nor . In particular, the witnesses are distinct. Let ; each and contains exactly its own witness from .
Choose two different indices . The sets and are disjoint, lie outside , and have sizes and . HenceFor equality, partition the ground set into disjoint sets with sizes , respectively, and enumerate as . SetThen is for and empty otherwise. This realizes equality whenever the bound permits . The argument is a diagonal-intersection set-pair bound, with no additional assumptions on intersections among the or among the .

