October 7, 2013

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

RODICA D. COSTIN

Contents
1. Motivation
1.1. Diagonal matrices
1.2. Example: solving linear dierential equations
2. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors: definition and calculation
2.1. Definitions
2.2. The characteristic equation
2.3. Geometric interpretation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors
2.4. Digression: the fundamental theorem of algebra
2.5. Diagonal matrices
2.6. Similar matrices have the same eigenvalues
2.7. Projections
2.8. Trace, determinant and eigenvalues
2.9. The eigenvalue zero
2.10. Eigenvectors corresponding to dierent eigenvalues are
independent
2.11. Diagonalization of matrices with linearly independent
eigenvectors
2.12. Eigenspaces
2.13. Real matrices with complex eigenvalues; decomplexification
2.14. Jordan normal form
2.15. Block matrices
3. Solutions of linear dierential equations with constant coefficients
3.1. The case when M is diagonalizable.
3.2. Non-diagonalizable matrix
3.3. Fundamental facts on linear dierential systems
3.4. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the exponential of a matrix
3.5. Higher order linear dierential equations; companion matrix
3.6. Stability in dierential equations
4. Dierence equations (Discrete dynamical systems)
4.1. Linear dierence equations with constant coefficients
4.2. Solutions of linear dierence equations
4.3. Stability
4.4. Example: Fibonacci numbers
4.5. Positive matrices
4.6. Markov chains
5. More functional calculus
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RODICA D. COSTIN

5.1.
5.2.
5.3.

Discrete equations versus dierential equations

Functional calculus for digonalizable matrices
Commuting matrices

45
46
49

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

1. Motivation
1.1. Diagonal matrices. Perhaps the simplest type of linear transformations are those whose matrix is diagonal (in some basis). Consider for example the matrices

a1 0
b1 0
(1)
M=
, N=
0 a2
0 b2
It can be easily checked that
M + N =
and
M

1
a1

0
1
a2

, M =

a1 + b1
0
0
a2 + b2

ak1 0
0 ak2

, MN =

a 1 b1
0
0
a 2 b2

Diagonal matrices behave like the bunch of numbers on their diagonal!

The linear transformation consisting of multiplication by the matrix M
in (1) dialates a1 times vectors in the direction of e1 and a2 times vectors
in the direction of e2 .
In this chapter we will see that most linear transformations do have diagonal matrices in a special basis, whose elements are called the eigenvectors
of the transformation. We will learn how to find these bases. Along the
special directions of the eigenvectors the transformation just dialation by a
factor, called eigenvalue.
1.2. Example: solving linear dierential equations. Consider the simple equation
du
= u
dt
which is linear, homogeneous, with constant coefficients, and unknown function u(t) 2 R (or in C). Its general solution is, as it is well known,
u(t) = Ce t .
Consider now a similar equation, but where the unknown u(t) is a vector
valued function:
du
(2)
= M u, u(t) 2 Rn , M is an n n constant matrix
dt
Inspired by the one dimensional case we look for exponential solutions.
Substituting in (2) u(t) = e t v (where is a number and v is a constant
vector, both be determined) and dividing by e t , we obtain that the scalar
and the vector v must satisfy
(3)

v = Mv

or
(4)

(M

I)v = 0

RODICA D. COSTIN

If the null space of the matrix M

I is zero, then the only solution of
(4) is v = 0 which gives the (trivial!) solution u(t) 0.
If however, we can find special values of for which N (M
I) is not
null, then we found a nontrivial solution of (2). Such values of are called
eigenvalues of the matrix M , and vectors v 2 N (M
I), v 6= 0, are
called eigenvectors corresponding to the eigenvalue .
Of course, the necessary and sufficient condition for N (M
I) 6= {0} is
that
(5)

det(M

I) = 0

Example. Let us calculate the exponential solutions for

"
#
1
3
(6)
M=
0
2
Looking for eigenvalues of M we solve equation (5), which for (6) is
"
#
"
#!
1
3
1 0
1
3
det
=
=( 1
) (2
0
2
0 1
0
2

with solutions 1 = 1 and 2 = 2.

We next determine an eigenvector corresponding to the eigenvalue =
1 = 1: looking for a nozero vector v1 such that (M
1 I)v1 = 0 we solve
"
#"
#
" #
0
3
x1
0
=
0 3
x2
0
giving x2 = 0 and x1 arbitrary; therefore the first eigenvector is any scalar
multiple of v1 = (0, 1)T .
Similarly, for the eigenvalue = 2 = 2 we solve (M
2 I)v2 = 0:
"
#"
#
" #
3
3
y1
0
=
0
0
y2
0
which gives y2 = y1 and y1 arbitrary, and the second eigenvector is any
scalar multiple of v2 = (1, 1)T .
We found two particular solutions of (2), (6), namely u1 (t) = e t (0, 1)T
and u2 (t) = e2t (1, 1)T . These are functions belonging to the null space
of the linear operator Lu = du
M u, therefore any linear combination of
dx
these two solutions also belongs to the null space: any C1 u1 (t) + C2 u2 (t) is
also a solution, for and constants C1 , C2 .
A bit later we will show that these are all the solutions.
2. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors: definition and calculation
2.1. Definitions. Denote the set of n n (square) matrices with entries in
F (= R or C)
Mn (F ) = {M | M = [Mij ]i,j=1,...n , Mij 2 F }

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

A matrix M 2 Mn (F ) defines an endomorphism the vector space F n (over

the scalars F ) by usual multiplication x 7! M x.
Note that a matrix with real entries can also act on Cn , since for any
x 2 Cn also M x 2 Cn . But a matrix with complex non real entries cannot
act on Rn , since for x 2 Rn the image M x may not belong to Rn (while
certainly M x 2 Cn ).
Definition 1. Let M be an nn matrix acting on the vector space V = F n .
A scalar 2 F is an eigenvalue of M if for some nonzero vector v 2 V ,
v 6= 0 we have
(7)

Mv = v

The vector v is called eigenvector corresponding to the eigenvalue .

Of course, if v is an eigenvector corresponding to , then so is any scalar
multiple cv (for c 6= 0).
2.2. The characteristic equation. Equation (7) can be rewritten as M v
v = 0, or (M
I)v = 0, which means that the nonzero vector v belongs
to the null space of the matrix M
I, and in particular this matrix is not
invertible. Using the theory of matrices, we know that this is equivalent to
det(M

I) = 0

The determinant has the form

M11
M21
det(M
I) =
..
.

M12
M22
..
.

Mn1

Mn2

...
...

M1n
M2n
..
.

. . . Mnn

This is a polynomial in , having degree n. To understand why this is

the case, consider first n = 2 and n = 3.
For n = 2 the characteristic polynomial is
M11
M21

M12
M22

= (M11

) (M22

M12 M21

= 2 (M11 + M22 ) + (M11 M22 M12 M21 )

which is a quadratic polynomial in ; the dominant coefficient is 1.
For n = 3 the characteristic polynomial is
M11
M21
M13

M12
M22
M23

M13
M23
M33

and expanding along say, row 1,

= ( 1)1+1 (M11

M22
M23

M23
M33

+( 1)1+3 M13

+( 1)1+2 M12

M21 M22
M13
M23

M21
M23
M13 M33

RODICA D. COSTIN

+ (M11 + M22 + M33 )

+ ...

which is a cubic polynomial in ; the dominant coefficient is 1.

It is easy to show by induction that det(M
I) is polynomial in
having degree n, and that the coefficient of n is ( 1)n .

Definition 2. The polynomial det(M

I) is called the characteristic
polynomial of the matrix M , and the equation det(M
I) = 0 is called
the characteristic equation of M .
Remark. Some authors refer to the characteristic polynomial as det( I
M ); the two polynomial are either equal or a 1 multiple of each other,
since det( I M ) = ( 1)n det(M
I).
2.3. Geometric interpretation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Let
M be an n n matrix, and T : Rn ! Rn defined by T (x) = M x be the
corresponding linear transformation.
If v is an eigenvector corresponding to an eigenvalue of M : M v = v,
then T expands or contracts v (and any vector in its direction) times (and
it does not change its direction!).
If the eigenvalue/vector are not real, a similar fact is true, only that
multiplication by a complex (not real) scalar cannot be easily called an
expansion or a contraction (there is no ordering in complex numbers), see
the example of rotations, 2.13.1.
The special directions of the eigenvectors are called principal axes of
the linear transformation (or of the matrix).
2.4. Digression: the fundamental theorem of algebra.
2.4.1. Polynomials of degree two: roots and factorization. Consider polynomials of degree two, with real coefficients: p(x) p
= ax2 + bx + c. It is well
b b2 4ac
known that p(x) has real solutions x1,2 =
if b2 4ac
0
2a
2
(where x1 = x2 when b
4ac = 0), and p(x) has no real solutions if
b2 4ac < 0.
When the solutions are real, then the polynomial factors as
ax2 + bx + c = a(x

x1 )(x

x2 )

In particular, if x1 = x2 then p(x) = a(x x1 )2 and x1 is called a double

root; x1 is said to have multiplicity two. It is convenient to say that also in
this case p(x) has two roots.
If, on the other hand, if p(x) has no real roots, then p cannot be factored
within real numbers, and it is called irreducible (over the real numbers).
2.4.2. Complex numbers and factorization of polynomials of degree two. If
p(x) = ax2 + bx + c is irreducible this means that b2 4ac < 0 and we cannot
take the square root of this quantity in order to calculate the two roots of

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

2
p(x). However,
4ac = ( 1) ( b2 + 4ac) and introducing the
p writing b
symbol i for
1 we can write the zeroes of p(x) as
p
p
bi
b2 + 4ac
b
b2 + 4ac
x1,2 =
=
i
2 R + iR = C
2a
2a
2a

Considering the two roots x1 , x2 complex, we can still factor ax2 +bx+c =
a(x x1 )(x x2 ), only now the factors have complex coefficients. Within
complex numbers every polynomial of degree two is reducible!
Note that the two roots of a quadratic polynomial with real coefficients
are complex conjugate: if a, b, c 2 R and x1,2 62 R then x2 = x1 .
2.4.3. The fundamental theorem of algebra. It is absolutely remarkable that
any polynomial can be completely factored using complex numbers:
Theorem 3. The fundamental theorem of algebra
Any polynomial p(x) = an xn +an 1 xn 1 +. . .+a0 with coefficients aj 2 C
can be factored
(8)

an xn + an

1x

n 1

+ . . . + a0 = an (x

x1 )(x

x2 ) . . . (x

xn )

for a unique set of complex numbers x1 , x2 , . . . , xn (not necessarily distinct),

called the roots of the polynomial p(x).
Remark. With probability one, the zeroes x1 , . . . , xn of polynomials p(x)
are distinct. Indeed, if x1 is a double root (or has higher multiplicity) then
both relations p(x1 ) = 0 and p0 (x1 ) = 0 must hold. This means that there is
a relation between the coefficients a0 , . . . an of p(x) (the multiplet (a0 , . . . an )
belongs to an n dimensional surface in Cn+1 ).
2.4.4. Factorization within real numbers. If we want to restrict ourselves
only within real numbers then we can factor any polynomial into factors of
degree one or two:
Theorem 4. Factorization within real numbers
Any polynomial of degree n with real coefficients can be factored into factors of degree one or two with real coefficients.
Theorem 4 is an easy consequence of the (deep) Theorem 3. Indeed, first,
factor the polynomial in complex numbers (8). Then note that the zeroes
x1 , x2 , . . . , xn come in pairs of complex conjugate numbers, since if z satisfies
p(z) = 0, then also its complex conjugate z satisfies p(z) = 0. Then each
pair of factors (x z)(x z) must be replaced in (8) by its expanded value:
(x

z)(x

z) = x2

(z + z) x + |z|2

which is an irreducible polynomial of degree 2, with real coefficients. 2

RODICA D. COSTIN

2.5. Diagonal matrices. Let D be a diagonal

2
d1 0 . . . 0
6 0 d2 . . . 0
6
(9)
D = 6 ..
..
..
4 .
.
.
0

. . . dn

To find its eigenvalues, calculate

d1

det(D

I) =

0
0
..
.
0

d2

..
.
0

...
...

0
0
..
.

matrix:
3
7
7
7
5

= (d1

1 )(d2

2 ) . . . (dn

n)

. . . dn

The eigenvalues are precisely the diagonal elements, and the eigenvector
corresponding to dj is ej (as it is easy to check). The principal axes of
diagonal matrices the coordinate axes. Vectors in the direction of one of
these axes preserve their direction and are stretched or compressed: if x =
cek then Dx = dk x.
Diagonal matrices are easy to work with: what was noted for the 2 2
matrices in 1 is true in general, and one can easily check that any power
Dk is the diagonal matrix having dkj on the diagonal.
If p(x) is a polynomial
p(t) = ak tk + ak

1t

k 1

+ . . . + a1 t + a0

then for any square matrix M one can define p(M ) as

(10)

p(M ) = ak M k + ak

1M

k 1

+ . . . + a1 M + a0 I

If D is a diagonal matrix (9) then p(D) is the diagonal matrix having

p(dj ) on the diagonal. (Check!)
Diagonal matrices can be viewed as the collection of their eigenvalues!
Exercise. Show that the eigenvalues of an upper (or lower) triangular
matrix are the elements on the diagonal.
2.6. Similar matrices have the same eigenvalues. It is very easy to
work with diagonal matrices and a natural question arises: which linear
transformations have a diagonal matrix in a well chosen basis? This is the
main topic we will be exploring for many sections to come.
Recall that if the matrix M represents the linear transformation L : V !
represents the same linear
V in some basis BV of V , and the matrix M
transformation L, only in a dierent basis BV , then the two matrices are
= S 1 M S (where S the the matrix of change of basis).
similar: M
Eigenvalues are associated to the linear transformation (rather than its
matrix representation):

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

,S
Proposition 5. Two similar matrices have the same eigenvalues: if M, M
1
= S M S then the eigenvalues of M and of M

are n n matrices, and M

are the same.
This is very easy to check, since

det(M

I) = det(S

= det S

I) = det S

MS

det(M

(M

I) det S = det(M

I)S
I)

have the same characteristic equation. 2

so M and M
2.7. Projections. Recall that projections do satisfy P 2 = P (we saw this
for projections in dimension two, and we will prove it in general).
Proposition 6. Let P be a square matrix satisfying P 2 = P . Then the
eigenvalues of P can only be 0 or 1.
Proof. Let be an eigenvalue; this means that there is a nonzero vector
v so that P v = v. Applying P to both sides of the equality we obtain
P 2 v = P ( v) = P v = 2 v. Using the fact that P 2 v = P v = v it follows
2 )v = 0 and since v 6= 0 then
2 = 0 so
that v = 2 v so (
2 {0, 1}. 2
Example. Consider the projection of R3 onto the x1 x2 plane. Its matrix
2
3
1 0 0
P =4 0 1 0 5
0 0 0
is diagonal, with eigenvalues 1, 1, 0.

2.8. Trace, determinant and eigenvalues.

Definition 7. Let M be an n n matrix, M = [Mij ]i,j=1,...,n . The trace
of M is the sum of its elements on the principal diagonal:
Tr M =

n
X

Mjj

j=1

The following theorem shows that what we noticed in 2.2 for n = 2 is

true for any n:
Theorem 8. Let M be an nn matrix, an let
(complex, not necessarily distinct). Then
(11)

det M =

1 2...

1, . . . ,

be its n eigenvalues

and
(12)

Tr M =

+ ... +

In particular, the traces of similar matrices are equal, and so are their
determinants.

10

RODICA D. COSTIN

Sketch of the proof.

The coefficients of any polynomial can be written in terms of its roots1,
and, in particular, it is not hard to see that
(13) p(x) (x

1 )(x

= xn

2 ) . . . (x
1

+ ... +

n)
n )x

n 1

+ . . . + ( 1)n (

1 2...

n)

In particular, p(0) = ( 1)n 1 2 . . . n .

The characteristic polynomial factors as
det(M

I) = ( 1)n (

1) . . . (

n)

( 1)n p( )

(recall that the dominant coefficient of the characteristic polynomial is ( 1)n )

and (11) follows.
To show (12) we expand the determinant det(M
I) using minors and
n
1
cofactors keeping track of the coefficient of
. As seen on the examples
in 2.2, only the first term in the expansion contains the power n 1 , and
continuing to expand to lower and lower dimensional determinants, we see
that the only term containing n 1 is
(M11
= ( 1)n

)(M22

) . . . (Mnn

( 1)n (M11 + M22 + . . . + Mnn )

n 1

)
+ lower powers of

which compared to (13) gives (12). 2

2.9. The eigenvalue zero. As an immediate consequence of Theorem 8,
we can recognize invertible matrices by looking at their eigenvalues:
Corollary 9. A matrix M is invertible if and only if all its eigenvalues are
nonzero.
Note that a matrix M has an eigenvalue equal to zero if and only if its
null space N (M ) is nontrivial. Moreover, the matrix M has dim N (M )
eigenvectors linearly independent which correspond to the eigenvalue zero.
2.10. Eigenvectors corresponding to dierent eigenvalues are independent.
Theorem 10. Let M be an n n matrix.
Let 1 , . . . k a set of distinct eigenvalues of M and v1 , . . . , vk be corresponding eigenvectors.
Then the set v1 , . . . , vk is linearly independent.
In particular, if M has entries in F = R or C, and all the eigenvalues
of M are in F and are distinct, then the set of corresponding eigenvectors
form a basis for F n .
1These are called Vietas formulas.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

11

Proof.
Assume, to obtain a contradiction, that the eigenvectors are linearly dependent: there are c1 , . . . , ck 2 F not all zero such that
(14)

c1 v1 + . . . + ck vk = 0

Step I. We can assume that all cj are not zero, otherwise we just remove
those vj from (14) and we have a similar equation with a smaller k.
If after this procedure we are left with k = 1, then this implies c1 v1 = 0
which contradicts the fact that not all cj are zero or the fact that v1 6= 0.
Otherwise, for k 2 we continue as follows.
Step II. Then we can solve (14) for vk :
vk = c01 v1 + . . . + c0k

(15)

1 vk 1

where c0j = cj /ck .

Applying M to both sides of (15) we obtain
(16)

k vk

Multiplying (15) by
(17)

0 = c01 (

= c01

1 v1

+ . . . + c0k

1 k 1 vk 1

and subtracting from (16) we obtain

k )v1

+ . . . + c0k

1( k 1

k )vk 1

0
Note that all c0j ( j
k ) are non-zero (since all c1 are non-zero, and
j 6= k ).
If k=2, then this implies v1 = 0 which is a contradiction.
If k > 2 we go to Step I. with a lower k.
The procedure decreases k, therefore it must end, and we have a contradiction. 2

2.11. Diagonalization of matrices with linearly independent eigenvectors. Suppose that the M be an n n matrix has n independent eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vn .
Note that, by Theorem 10, this is the case if we work in F = C and all
the eigenvalues are distinct (recall that this happens with probability one).
Also this is the case if we work in F = R and all the eigenvalues are real
and distinct.
Let S be the matrix with columns v1 , . . . , vn :
S = [v1 , . . . , vn ]
which is invertible, since v1 , . . . , vn are linearly independent.
Since M vj = j vj then
(18)

M [v1 , . . . , vn ] = [

1 v1 , . . . ,

n vn ]

12

RODICA D. COSTIN

The left side of (18) equals M S. To identify the matrix on the right side
of (18) note that since Sej = vj then S( j ej ) = j vj so
2
3
0 ... 0
1
6 0
0 7
2 ...
6
7
[ 1 v1 , . . . , n vn ] = S[ 1 e1 , . . . , n en ] = S, where = 6 ..
..
.. 7
4 .
.
. 5
0 0 ... n
Relation (18) is therefore
M S = S,

or

M S = = diagonal

Note that the matrix S which diagonalizes a matrix is not unique. For
example, we can replace any eigenvector by a scalar multiple of it. Also, we
can use dierent orders for the eigenvectors (this will result on a diagonal
matrix with the same values on the diagonal, but in dierent positions).
Example 1. Consider the matrix (6) for which we found the eigenvalues
1 and 2 = 2 and the corresponding eigenvectors v1 = (0, 1)T .
1 =
v2 = (1, 1)T . Taking

0 1
S=
1
1
we have
S

MS =

1 0
0 2

Not all matrices are diagonalizable, certainly those with distinct eigenvalues are, and some matrices with multiple eigenvalues.
Example 2. The matrix

0 1
(19)
N=
0 0
has eigenvalues 1 = 2 = 0 but only one (up to a scalar multiple) eigenvector v1 = e1 .
Multiple eigenvalues are not guaranteed to have an equal number of independent eigenvectors!
N is not diagonalizable. Indeed, assume the contrary, to arrive at a
contradiction. Suppose there exists an invertible matrix S so that S 1 N S =
where is diagonal, hence it has the eigenvalues of N on its diagonal,
and therefore it is the zero matrix: S 1 N S = 0, which multiplied by S to
the left and S 1 to the right gives N = 0, which is a contradiction.
Some matrices with multiple eigenvalues may still be diagonalized; next
section explores when this is the case.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

13

2.12. Eigenspaces. Consider an n n matrix M with entries in F , with

eigenvalues 1 , . . . , n in F .
Definition 11. The set
V

= {x 2 F n | M x =

j x}

is called the eigenspace of M associated to the eigenvalue

j.

Exercise. Show that V j is the null space of the transformation M

I
and that V j is a subspace of F n .
Note that all the nonzero vectors in V j are eigenvectors of M corresponding to the eigenvalues j .
Definition 12. A subspace V is called an invariant subspace for M if
M (V ) V (which means that if x 2 V then M x 2 V ).
The following Remark gathers main features of eigenspaces; their proof
is left to the reader.
Remark. 1. Each V j is an invariant subspace for M .
2. V j \ V l = {0} if j 6= l .
3. Denote by 1 , . . . , k the distinct eigenvalues of M and by rj the
multiplicity of the eigenvalue j , for each j = 1, . . . , k; it is clear that
det(M

I) =

k
Y

)rj and r1 + . . . + rk = n

j=1

Then
dim V
Fn

4. M is diagonalizable in
and then

if and only if dim V

...

Example. Consider the matrix

2

6
M := 4 1

(20)

rj

I) =

+3

7
1 5

Its characteristic polynomials is

det(M

= rj for all j = 1, . . . , k

= Fn

4=

( + 1) (

2)2

so 1 = 1 and 2 = 3 = 2 is a double eigenvalue. The eigenspace V 1 is

one dimensional, spanned by an eigenvector, which, after a simple calculation turns out to be v1 = (0, 1, 1)T . If the eigenspace V 2 is two-dimensional
(which is not guaranteed) then the matrix M is diagonalizable. A simple

14

RODICA D. COSTIN

calculation shows that there are two independent eigenvectors corresponding to the eigenvalue 2 = 2, for example v2 = (1, 0, 1)T and v3 = (2, 1, 0)T
(the null space of M
2 I is two-dimensional). Let
2
3
0 1 2
6
7
S = [v1 , v2 , v3 ] = 4 1 0 1 5
1 1 0

then

1 0 0

6
MS = 4 0
0

7
2 0 5
0 2

2.13. Real matrices with complex eigenvalues; decomplexification.

2.13.1. Complex eigenvalues of real matrices. For an n n matrix with real
entries, if we want to have n guaranteed eigenvalues, then we have to accept
working in Cn . Otherwise, if we want to restrict ourselves to working only
with real vectors, then we have to accept that we may have fewer (real)
eigenvalues, or perhaps none.
Complex eigenvalues of real matrices come in pairs: if is an eigenvalue of
M , then so is its complex conjugate (since the characteristic equation has
real coefficients). Also, if v is an eigenvector corresponding to the eigenvalue
, then v is eigenvector corresponding to the eigenvalue (check!). The real
and imaginary parts of v span a plane where the linear transformation acts
by rotation, and a possible dilation. Simple examples are shown below.
Example 1: rotation in the xy-plane. Consider a rotation matrix

cos
sin
(21)
R =
sin
cos
To find its eigenvalues calculate
det(R

I) =

cos
sin

sin
cos

= (cos

)2 +sin2 =

2 cos +1

hence the solutions of the characteristic equations det(R

I) = 0 are
i
. It is easy to see that v1 = (i, 1)T is the
1,2 = cos i sin = e
eigenvector corresponding to 1 = ei and v2 = ( i, 1)T is the eigenvector
corresponding to 2 = e i .
Example 2: complex eigenvalues in R3 . Consider the matrix
p
p
2
3
5
1 12 3
3
0
2
p
p
6
7
M = 4 12 3
1 + 12 3 0 5
0

Its characteristic polynomial is

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

det(M

I) =

+4

16 =

( + 4)

15

2 +4

and its eigenvalues are: 1,2 = 1 i 3 = 2ei/3 and 3 = 4, and corresponding eigenvectors v1,2 = ( 1 2i, 1, 0)T , and v3 = e3 . The matrix
S = [v1 , v2 , v3 ] diagonalized the matrix: S 1 M S is the diagonal matrix,
having the eigenvalues on the diagonal, but all these are complex matrices.
To understand how the matrix acts on R3 , we consider the real and
imaginary parts of v1 : let x1 = <v1 = 12 (v1 + v2 ) = ( 1, 1, 0)T and
1
y1 = =v1 = 2i
(v1 v2 ) = (2, 0, 0)T . Since the eigenspaces are invariant under M , then so is Sp(x1 , y1 ), over the complex and even over the real
numbers (since M has real elements). The span over the real numbers is the
xy-plane, and it is invariant under M . The figure shows the image of the
unit circle in the xy-plane under the matrix M : it is an ellipse.
Figure 1. The image of the unit circle in the xy-plane.

Along the direction of the third eigenvector (the z-axis) the matrix multiples any c e3 by 4.
In the basis x1 , y1 , v3 the matrix of the linear transformation has its
simplest form: using SR = [x1 , y1 , v3 ] we obtain the matrix of the transformation in this new basis as
p
2
3
1
3 0
6 p
7
SR 1 M SR = 4
3 1
0 5
0

and the upper 2 2 block represents the rotation and dilation 2R

/3 .

2.13.2. Decomplexification. Suppose the n n matrix M has real elements,

eigenvalues 1 , . . . , n and n independent eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vn . Then M
is diagonalizable: if S = [v1 , . . . , vn ] then S 1 M S = where is a diagonal
matrix with 1 , . . . , n on its diagonal.

16

RODICA D. COSTIN

Suppose that some eigenvalues are not real. Then the matrices S and
are not real either, and the diagonalization of M must be done in Cn .
Suppose that we want to work in Rn only. Recall that the nonreal eigenvalues and eigenvectors of real matrices come in pairs of complex-conjugate
ones. In the complex diagonal form one can replace diagonal 2 2 blocks

0
j
0
j
by a 2 2 matrix which is not diagonal, but has real entries.
To see how this is done, suppose 1 2 C \ R and 2 = 1 , v2 = v1 .
Splitting into real and imaginary parts, write 1 = 1 +i 1 and v1 = x1 +iy1 .
Then from M (x1 + iy1 ) = (1 + i 1 )(x1 + iy1 ) identifying the real and
imaginary parts, we obtain
M x1 + iM y1 = (1 x

1 y)

+ i(

1x

+ 1 y)

In the matrix S = [v1 , v2 , . . . , vn ] composed of independent eigenvectors

of M , replace the first two columns v1 , v2 = v1 by x1 , y1 (which are vectors
in Rn ): using the matrix S = [x1 , y1 , v3 , . . . , vn ] instead of S we have M S =
where
S
2
3
1
0 ... 0
1
6
0 ... 0 7
1 1
6
7
0
0 7
=6
3 ...

6 0
7
6 ..
..
..
.. 7
4 .
.
.
. 5
0
0 0 ... m
We can similarly replace any pair of complex conjugate eigenvalues with
2 2 real blocks.

Exercise. Show that each 2 2 real block obtained through decomplexification has the form

= R

for a suitable > 0 and R rotation matrix (21).

2.14. Jordan normal form. We noted in 2.12 that a matrix is similar to

a diagonal matrix if and only if the dimension of each eigenspace V j equals
the order of multiplicity of the eigenvalue j . Otherwise, there are fewer
than n independent eigenvectors; such a matrix is called defective.
2.14.1. Jordan blocks. Defective matrices can not be diagonalized, but we
will see that they are similar to block diagonal matrices, called Jordan normal forms; these are upper triangular, have the eigenvalues on the diagonal,
1 in selected placed above the diagonal, and zero in the rest. After that, in
section 2.14.3 it is shown how to construct the transition matrix S, which
conjugates a defective matrix to its Jordan form; its columns are made of
generalized eigenvectors.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

17

The Jordan blocks which appear on the diagonal of a Jordan normal form
are as follows.
1 1 Jordan blocks are just [ ].
2 2 Jordan blocks have the form

1
(22)
J2 ( ) =
0
For example, the matrix (19) is a Jordan block J2 (0).
3 3 Jordan blocks have the form
2
3
1 0
6
7
(23)
J3 ( ) = 6
1 7
4 0
5
0 0

In general, a k k Jordan block, Jk ( ), is a matrix having the same

number, , on the diagonal, 1 above the diagonal and 0 everywhere else.
Note that Jordan blocks Jk ( ) have the eigenvalue with multiplicity k,
and the dimension of the eigenspace is one.
Example of a matrix in Jordan normal form:
2
3
3|
0
0 0 0
6
7
6
7
6 0 |2| 0 0 0 7
6
7
6
7
6
7
6
7
6 0
0
|2 1 0 7
6
7
6
7
0
|0 2 1 5
4 0
0

|0

which is block-diagonal, having two 11 Jordan blocks and one 33 Jordan

block along its diagonal. The eigenvalue 3 is simple, while 2 has multiplicity
four. The eigenspace corresponding to 2 is two-dimensional (e2 and e3 are
eigenvectors).
Note how Jordan blocks act on the vectors of the basis. For (22): J2 ( )e1 =
e1 , so e1 is an eigenvector. Also
(24)

J2 ( )e2 = e1 + e2

which implies that (J2 ( )

I)2 e2 = (J2 ( )
I)e1 = 0.
Similarly, for (30): J3 ( )e1 = e1 so e1 is an eigenvector. Then
(25)
implying that (J3 ( )
(26)

J3 ( )e2 = e1 + e2
I)2 e2 = (J3 ( )

I)e1 = 0. Finally,

J3 ( )e3 = e2 + e3

18

RODICA D. COSTIN

implying that (J3 ( )

I)3 e3 = (J3 ( )
I)2 e2 = 0. This illuminates
the idea behind the notion of generalized eigenvectors defined in the next
section.

2.14.2. The generalized eigenspace. Defective matrices are similar to a matrix which is block-diagonal, having Jordan blocks on its diagonal. An appropriate basis is formed using generalized eigenvectors:
Definition 13. A generalized eigenvector of M corresponding to the
eigenvalue is a vector x 6= 0 so that
(27)

(M

I)k x = 0

for some positive integer k.

Examples.
1) Eigenvectors are generalized eigenvectors (take k = 1 in (27)).
2) Vectors in the standard basis are generalized eigenvectors for Jordan
blocks.
Definition 14. The generalized eigenspace of M corresponding to the
eigenvalue is the subspace
E = {x | (M

I)k x = 0 for some k 2 Z+ }

Sometimes we want to refer to only at the distinct eigenvalues of a matrix,

this set is called the spectrum:
Definition 15. The spectrum (M ) of a matrix M is the set of its eigenvalues.
Theorem 16. For any n n matrix M the following hold:
(i) V E ;
(ii) E is a subspace;
(iii) E is an invariant subspace under M ;
(iv) E 1 \ E 2 = 0 for 1 6= 2 .
(v) dim E =the multiplicity of .
(vi)The set of eigenvectors and generalized eigenvectors of M span the
whole space Cn :
2 (M )

E = Cn

The proofs of (i)-(iv) are simple exercises.

The proofs of (v), (vi) are not included here.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

19

2.14.3. How to find a basis for each E that can be used to conjugate a
matrix to a Jordan normal form.
Example 1. The matrix
"
#
1+a
1
(28)
M=
1
a 1
is defective: it has eigenvalues a, a and only one independent eigenvector,
(1, 1)T . It is therefore similar to J2 (a). To find a basis x1 , x2 in which the
matrix takes this form, let x1 = (1, 1)T (the eigenvector); to find x2 we
solve (M aI)x2 = x1 (as seen in (24) and in (25)). The solutions are
x2 2 (1, 0)T + N (M aI), and any vector in this space works, for example
x2 = (1, 0)T . For
"
#
1 1
(29)
S = [x1 , x2 ] =
1 0
we have S

1M S

= J2 (a).

Example 2.
The matrix

6
M =4 1
0

2
2
1

7
1 5

has eigenvalues 2, 2, 2 and only one independent eigenvector v1 = (1, 1, 1)T .

Let x1 = v1 = (1, 1, 1)T . Solving (M
2I)x2 = x1 we obtain x2 =
(1, 1, 0)T (plus any vector in N (M 2I) = V 1 ). Next solve (M 2I)x3 =
x2 which gives x3 = (0, 1, 1)T (plus any vector in the null space of M 2I).
For S = [x1 , x2 , x3 ] we have
2
3
2 1 0
6
7
7
(30)
S 1M S = 6
0
2
1
4
5
0 0 2

In general, if is an eigenvalue of M for which dimV is less than the

multiplicity of , we do the following. Choose a basis for V . For each
eigenvector v in this basis set x1 = v and solve recursively
(31)

(M

I)xk+1 = xk , k = 1, 2, . . .

Note that each x1 satisfies (27) for k = 1, x2 satisfies (27) for k = 2, etc.
At some step k1 the system (M
I)xk1 +1 = xk1 will have no solution;
we found the generalized eigenvectors x1 , . . . , xk1 (which will give a k1 k1
Jordan block). We then repeat the procedure for a dierent eigenvector in
the chosen basis for V , and obtain a new set of generalized eigenvectors,
corresponding to a new Jordan block.
Note: Jordan form is not unique.

20

RODICA D. COSTIN

2.14.4. Real Jordan normal form. If a real matrix has multiple complex
eigenvalues and is defective, then its Jordan form can be replaced with an
upper block diagonal matrix in a way similar to the diagonal case illustrated in 2.13.2, by replacing the generalized eigenvectors with their real
and imaginary parts.
For example, a real matrix which can be brought to the complex Jordan
normal form
2
3
+i
1
0
0
6
7
0
+i
0
0
6
7
4
5
0
0
i
1
0
0
0
i
can be conjugated (by a real matrix) to the real matrix
2
3

1 0
6
0 1 7
6
7
4 0 0
5
0 0

2.15. Block matrices.

2.15.1. Multiplication of block matrices. It is sometimes convenient to work
with matrices split in blocks. We have already used this when we wrote
M [v1 , . . . , vn ] = [M v1 , . . . , M vn ]
More generally, if we have two matrices M, P with dimensions that allow
for multiplication (i.e. the number of columns of M equals the number of
rows of P ) and they are split into blocks:
2
3
2
3
M11
|
M12
P11
|
P12
5, P = 4
5
M =4
M21
|
M22
P21
|
P22
then

MP = 4

M11 P11 + M12 P21

M11 P12 + M12 P22

M21 P11 + M22 P21

M21 P12 + M22 P22

3
5

if the number of columns of M11 equals the number of rows of P11 .

Exercise. Prove that the block multiplication formula is correct.
More generally, one may split the matrices M and P into many blocks, so
that the number of block-columns of M equal the number of block-rows of
P and so that all products Mjk Pkl make sense. Then M P can be calculated
using blocks by a formula similar to that using matrix elements.
In particular, if M, P are block diagonal matrices, having the blocks Mjj ,
Pjj on the diagonal, then M P is a block diagonal matrix, having the blocks
Mjj Pjj along the diagonal.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

21

For example, if M is a matrix in Jordan normal form, then it is block

diagonal, with Jordan blocks Mjj along the diagonal. Then the matrix
2 along the diagonal, and all powers M k
M 2 is block diagonal, having Mjj
k
are block diagonal, having Mjj along the diagonal. Furthermore, any linear
combination of these powers of M , say c1 M +c2 M 2 is block diagonal, having
2 along the diagonal.
the corresponding c1 Mjj + c2 Mjj
2.15.2. Determinant of block matrices.
Proposition 17. Let M be a square matrix, having a triangular block form:

A B
A 0
M=
or M =
0 D
C D

where A and D are square matrices, say A is k k and D is l l.

Then det M = det A det D.
Moreover, if a1 , . . . , ak are the eigenvalues of A, and d1 , . . . , dl are the
eigenvalues of D, then the eigenvalues of M are a1 , . . . , ak , d1 , . . . , dl .
The proof is left to the reader as an exercise.2
For a more general 2 2 block matrix, with D invertible3

A B
M=
C D

the identity

A B
C D

I
0
D 1C I

together with Proposition 17 implies that

A B
det
= det(A BD
C D

BD
0

1C

B
D

C) det D

which, of course, equals det(AD BD 1 CD).

For larger number of blocks, there are more complicated formulas.

2Hint: bring A, D to Jordan normal form, then M to an upper triangular form.

3References: J.R. Silvester, Determinants of block matrices, Math. Gaz., 84(501)

(2000), pp. 460-467, and P.D. Powell, Calculating Determinants of Block Matrices,
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1112.4379v1.pdf

22

RODICA D. COSTIN

3. Solutions of linear differential equations with constant

coefficients
In 1.2 we saw an example which motivated the notions of eigenvalues
and eigenvectors. General linear first order systems of dierential equations
with constant coefficients can be solved in a quite similar way. Consider
du
(32)
= Mu
dt
where M is an m m constant matrix and u in an m-dimensional vector.
As in 1.2, it is easy to check that u(t) = e t v is a solution of (32) if
is an eigenvalue of M , and v is a corresponding eigenvector. The goal is
to find the solution to any initial value problem: find the solution of (32)
satisfying
(33)

u(0) = u0

for any given vector u0 .

3.1. The case when M is diagonalizable. Assume that M has m independent eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vm , corresponding to the eigenvalues 1 , . . . , m .
Then (32) has the solutions uj (t) = e j t vj for each j = 1, . . . , m.
These solutions are linearly independent. Indeed, assume that for some
constants c1 , . . . , cm we have c1 u1 (t) + . . . + cm um (t) = 0 for all t. Then,
in particular, for t = 0 it follows that c1 v1 + . . . + cm vm = 0 which implies
that all cj are zero (since v1 , . . . , vm were assumed independent).
3.1.1. Fundamental matrix solution. Since equation (32) is linear, then any
linear combination of solutions is again a solution:
(34) u(t) = a1 u1 (t) + . . . + am um (t)
= a1 e

1t

v 1 + . . . + am e

mt

vm ,

aj arbitrary constants

The matrix
(35)

U (t) = [u1 (t), . . . , um (t)]

is called a fundamental matrix solution. Formula (34) can be written

more compactly as
(36)

u(t) = U (t)a,

where a = (a1 , . . . , am )T

The initial condition (33) determines the constants a, since (33) implies
U (0)a = u0 . Noting that U (0) = [v1 , . . . , vm ] = S therefore a = S 1 u0 and
the initial value problem (32), (33) has the solution
u(t) = U (t)S

u0

General results in the theory of dierential equations (on existence and

uniqueness of solutions to initial value problems) show that this is only
one solution.
In conclusion:

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

23

Proposition 18. If the m m constant matrix M has has m independent

eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vm , corresponding to the eigenvalues 1 , . . . , m , then
equation (32) has m linearly independent solutions uj (t) = e j t vj , j =
1, . . . , m and any solution of (32) is a linear combination of them.
Example. Solve the initial value problem
dx
dt
dy
dt

(37)

= x 2y,
= 2x + y,

x(0) =
y(0) =

Denoting u = (x, y)T , problem (37) is

"
1
du
(38)
= M u, where M =
dt
2

2
1

, with u(0) =

Calculating the eigenvalues of M , we obtain 1 = 1, 2 = 3, and corresponding eigenvectors v1 = (1, 1)T , v2 = ( 1, 1)T . There are two independent solutions of the dierential system:

1
1
t
3t
u1 (t) = e
, u2 (t) = e
1
1
and a fundamental matrix solution is
(39)

U (t) = [u1 (t), u2 (t)] =

"

e3t
e3t

The general solution is a linear combination of the two independent solutions

1
1
a1
u(t) = a1 e t
+ a2 e3t
= U (t)
1
1
a2
This solution satisfies the initial condition if

1
1

a1
+ a2
=
1
1
which is solved for a1 , a2 : from
"
#
1
1
a1
a2
1 1
it follows that
"

1
a1
=
a2
1

1
1

therefore
(40)

u(t) =

+
2

so
x(t) =
y(t) =

+
2
+
2

1
1
e
e

"

+
t
t

1
2
1
2

+
2
+
2
+
2

1
2
1
2

3t

e3t
e3t

1
1

+
2
+
2

24

RODICA D. COSTIN

3.1.2. The matrix eM t . It is often preferable to work with a matrix of independent solutions U (t) rather than with a set of independent solutions.
Note that the m m matrix U (t) satisfies
d
(41)
U (t) = M U (t)
dt
In dimension one this equation reads du
dt = u having its general solution
t
u(t) = Ce . Let us check this fact based on the fact that the exponential
is the sum of its Taylor series:
1
X
1
1 2
1 n
1 n
x
e = 1 + x + x + ... + x + ... =
x
1!
2!
n!
n!
n=0

where the series converges for all x 2 C. Then

e

=1+

1
1
t+
1!
2!

2 2

t + ... +

1
n!

n n

x + ... =

1
X
1
n!

n=0

n=0

and the series can be dierentiated term-by-term, giving

1
1
1
d t
d X 1 n n X 1 nd n X
1
e =
t =
t =
dt
dt
n!
n! dt
(n 1)!
n=0

n n

n n 1

= e

n=1

Perhaps one can define, similarly, the exponential of a matrix and obtain
solutions to (41)?
For any square matrix M , one can define polynomials, as in (10), and it
is natural to define
1
X
1
1
1
1 n n
(42) etM = 1 + tM + t2 M 2 + . . . + tn M n + . . . =
t M
1!
2!
n!
n!
n=0

provided that the series converges. If, furthermore, the series can dierentiated term by term, then this matrix is a solution of (41) since
(43)
1
1
1
d tM
d X 1 n n X 1 d n n X n n 1 n
e =
t M =
t M =
t
M = M etM
dt
dt
n!
n! dt
n!
n=0

n=0

n=1

Convergence and term-by-term dierentiation can be justified by diagonalizing M .

Let v1 , . . . , vm be independent eigenvectors corresponding to the eigenvalues 1 , . . . , m of M , let S = [v1 , . . . , vm ]. Then M = SS 1 with the
diagonal matrix with entries 1 , . . . , m .
Note that
M 2 = SS

1 2

SS

M 3 = M 2 M = S2 S 1 SS
and so on; for any power
M n = Sn S 1

= SS

= S2 S

then
= S3 S

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

25

Then the series (42) is

(44)

etM

1
1
X
1 n n X 1 n n
=
t M =
t S S
n!
n!
n=0

For

it is easy to see that

therefore

6
6
n = 6
4

1
X
1 n n 6
6
(47)
t =6
n!
4
n=1

and (44) becomes

(49)

6
6
=6
4

0
..
.

n
1

...
...

0
0
..
.

...

n
m

0
n
2

0
..
.

..
.
0

2 P1

(48)

=S

n=0

(45)

(46)

1 n n
1
n=1 n! t

0
..
.

..
.
0

6
6
=6
4

et 1
0
..
.

et 2
..
.

n=0

...
...

0
0
..
.

...

3
7
7
7
5

7
7
7 for n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
5
0

P1

1 n n
2
n=1 n! t

..
.
0

0
2

1
X
1 n n
t
n!

...
...

. . . et

etM = Set S

...
3

0
0
..
.
m

...
...
P1

0
0
..
.

1 n n
m
n=1 n! t

3
7
7
7
5

7
7
7 = et
5

which shows that the series defining the matrix etM converges and can be
dierentiated term-by-term (since these are true for each of the series in
(47)). Therefore etM is a solution of the dierential equation (41).
Multiplying by an arbitrary constant vector b we obtain vector solutions
of (32) as
(50)

u(t) = etM b, with b an arbitrary constant vector

Noting that u(0) = b it follows that the solution of the initial value problem
(32), (33) is
u(t) = etM u0
Note: the fundamental matrix U (t) in (35) is linked to the fundamental
matrix etM by
(51)

U (t) = Set = etM S

26

RODICA D. COSTIN

Example. For the example (38) we have

"
#
"
#
"
#
e t 0
1
1
1 0
t
S=
, =
, e =
1 1
0 3
0 e3t
and
u1 (t) = e

1
1

, u2 (t) = e

3t

The fundamental matrix U (t) is given by (39).

Using (49)
"
1
e t + 1 e3 t
tM
t
1
e = Se S = 21 t 21 3 t
2e
2e

1
1

1
2
1
2

and the solution to the initial value problem is

"

1
t + 1 e3 t + 1 e

2e
2
2
etM
=
1
1 3t
1
t
e
e

+
2
2
2e

t
t

1 3t
2e
1 3t
2e

1 3t
2e
1 3t
2e

#
#

which, of course, is the same as (40).

3.2. Non-diagonalizable matrix. The exponential etM is defined similarly, only a Jordan normal form must be used instead of a diagonal form:
writing S 1 M S = J where S is a matrix formed of generalized eigenvectors
of M , and J is a Jordan normal form, then
(52)

etM = SetJ S

It only remains to check that the series defining the exponential of a Jordan
form converges, and that it can be dierentiated term by term.
Also to be determined are m linearly independent solutions, since if M is
not diagonalizable, then there are fewer than m independent eigenvectors,
hence fewer than m independent solutions of pure exponential type. This
can be done using the analogue of (51), namely by considering the matrix
(53)

U (t) = SetJ = etM S

The columns of the matrix (53) are linearly independent solutions, and we
will see that among them are the purely exponential ones multipling the
eigenvectors of M .
Since J is block diagonal (with Jordan blocks along its diagonal), then its
exponential will be block diagonal as well, with exponentials of each Jordan
block (see 2.15.1 for multiplication of block matrices).
3.2.1. Example: 2 2 blocks: for
(54)

J=

"

1
0

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

direct calculations give

"
#
"
2 2
3 3
2
3
(55) J =
, J =
2
0
0

2
3

and then
(56)

tJ

1
X
1 k k
=
t J =
k!
k=0

"

,...,J =

et

tet

et

27

"

k 1
k

,...

For the equation (32) with the matrix M is similar to a 2 2 Jordan

block: S 1 M S = J with J as in (54), and S = [x1 , x2 ] a fundamental
matrix solution is U (t) = SetJ = [et x1 , et (tx1 + x2 )] whose columns are
two linearly independent solutions
(57)

u1 (t) = et x1 , u2 (t) = et (tx1 + x2 )

and any linear combination is a solution:

(58)

u(t) = a1 et x1 + a2 et (tx1 + x2 )

Example. Solve the initial value problem

(59)

dx
dt
dy
dt

= (1 + a)x y,
= x + (a 1)y,

x(0) =
y(0) =

Denoting u = (x, y)T , the dierential system (59) is du

dt = M u with M given
by (28), matrix for which we found that it has a double eigenvalue a and
only one independent eigenvector x1 = (1, 1)T .
Solution 1. For this matrix we already found an independent generalized
eigenvector x2 = (1, 0)T , so we can use formula (58) to write down the
general solution of (59).
Solution 2. We know one independent solution to the dierential system,
namely u1 (t) = eat x1 . We look for a second independent solution as the
same exponential multiplying a polynomial in t, of degree 1: substituting
u(t) = eat (tb + c) in du
dt = M u we obtain that a(tb + c) + b = M (tb + c)
holds for all t, therefore M b = ab and (M aI)c = b which means that b
is an eigenvector of M (or b = 0), and c is a generalized eigenvector. We
have re-obtained the formula (57).
By either method it is found that a fundamental matrix solution is

1 t+1
U (t) = [u1 (t), u2 (t)] = eat
1
t
and the general solution has the form u(t) = U (t)c for an arbitrary constant
vector c. We now determine c so that u(0) = (, )T , so we solve

1 1

c=
1 0

28

RODICA D. COSTIN

which gives
c=

1 1
1 0

"

"

and the solution to the initial value problem is

"
#
"
#

t (
)+
1 t+1
at
at
u(t) = e
=e
1
t

+ t (
)
or
x(t) = eat (t (

) + ) , y(t) = eat (t (

3.2.2. Example: 3 3 blocks: for

)+ )

1 0
6
7
J =6
1 7
4 0
5
0 0

(60)

direct calculations give

2 2
3
2 3
2
1
3
6
7 3 6
2
2
2 5, J = 4 0
J =4 0
0

2
3

3
2

7 4 6
5, J = 4 0
0

Higher powers can be calculated by induction; it is clear that

2
3
k k k 1 k(k 1) k 2
2
6
7
7
k
k 1
(61)
Jk = 6
0
k
5
4
0

Then

(62)

etJ =

1
X

3
4

3
7
5

et

1 k k 6
t J =6
4 0
k!
k=0
0

tet
et
0

1 2 t
2t e
tet

et

3
7
7
5

For M = SJS 1 with J as in (60) and S = [x1 , x2 , x3 ], a fundamental

matrix solution for (32) is
1
SetJ = [x1 e t , (tx1 + x2 )e t , ( t2 x1 + tx2 + x3 )e t ]
2

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

29

3.2.3. In general, if an eigenvalue has multiplicity r, but there are only

k < r independent eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vk then, besides the k independent
solutions e t v1 , . . . , e t vk there are other r k independent solutions in the
form e t p(t) with p(t) polynomials in t of degree at most r k, with vector
coefficients (which turn out to be generalized eigenvectors of M ).
Then the solution of the initial value problem (32), (33) is
u(t) = etM u0
Combined with the results of uniqueness of the solution of the initial value
problem (known from the general theory of ordinary dierential equations)
it follows that:
Theorem 19. Any linear dierential equation u0 = M u where M is an m
m constant matrix, and u is an m-dimensional vector valued function has
m linearly independent solutions, and any solution is a linear combination
of these. In other words, the solutions of the equation form a linear space
of dimension m.
3.3. Fundamental facts on linear dierential systems.
Theorem 20. Let M be an n n matrix (diagonalizable or not).
(i) The matrix dierential problem
d
U (t) = M U (t), U (0) = U0
dt
has a unique solution, namely U (t) = eM t U0 .
(ii) Let W (t) = det U (t). Then
(63)

(64)

W 0 (t) = TrM W (t)

therefore
(65)

W (t) = W (0) etTrM

(iii) If U0 is an invertible matrix, then the matrix U (t) is invertible for

all t, called a fundamental matrix solution; the columns of U (t) form
an independent set of solutions of the system
du
(66)
= Mu
dt
(iv) Let u1 (t), . . . , un (t) be solutions of the system (66). If the vectors
u1 (t), . . . , un (t) are linearly independent at some t then they are linearly
independent at any t.
Proof.
(i) Clearly U (t) = eM t U0 is a solution, and it is unique by the general
theory of dierential equations: (63) is a linear system of n2 dierential
equation in n2 unknowns.
(ii) Using (52) it follows that
W (t) = det U (t) = det(SetJ S

U0 ) = det etJ det U0 = et

Pn

j=1

det U0

30

RODICA D. COSTIN

= etTrM det U0 = etTrM W (0)

which is (65), implying (64).
(iii), (iv) are immediate consequences of (65). 2
3.4. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the exponential of a matrix.
It is not hard to show that
(eM )

=e

, (eM )k = ekM , eM +cI = ec eM

More generally, it can be shown that if M N = N M , then eM eN = eM +N .

Warning: if the matrices do not commute, this may not be true!
Recall that if M is diagonalizable, in other words if M = SS 1 where
= diag( 1 , . . . , n ) is a diagonal matrix, then eM = Se S 1 where e =
diag(e1 , . . . , en ). If follows that the eigenvalues of eM are e1 , . . . , en and the
columns of S are eigenvectors of M , and also of eM .
If M is not diagonalizable, let J be its Jordan normal form. Recall that
if M = SJS 1 then eM = SeJ S 1 where eJ is an upper triangular matrix,
with diagonal elements still being exponentials of the eigenvalues of M . The
matrix eJ is not a Jordan normal form; however, generalized eigenvectors of
M are also of eM .
Exercise.
1. Show that if M x = 0 then eM x = x.
2. Show that if v is an eigenvector of M corresponding to the eigenvalues
, then v is also an eigenvector of eM corresponding to the eigenvalues e .
3. Show that if M v = v then eM v = e [v + (M
I)v].
Note that if (M
I)2 x = 0 then (eM
e )2 x = 0. Indeed, (eM
2
2M
M
2
2
2
2(M
)x
e ) x = (e
2e e + e I) x = e e
2e2 eM x + e2 x =
2
2
2
e [x + 2(M
)x] 2e [x + (M
)x] + e x = 0.
In general, if x is a generalized eigenvector of M corresponding to the
eigenvalues , then x is also a generalized eigenvector of eM corresponding
to the eigenvalues e .

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

31

3.5. Higher order linear dierential equations; companion matrix.

Consider scalar linear dierential equations, with constant coefficients, of
order n:
y (n) + an

(67)

1y

+ . . . + a1 y 0 + a0 y = 0

(n 1)

where y(t) is a scalar function and a1 , . . . , an 1 are constants.

Such equations can be transformed into systems of first order equations:
the substitution
u1 = y, u2 = y 0 , . . . , un = y (n

(68)

transforms (67) into the system

(69)

6
6
6
u = M u, where M = 6
6
4
0

1)

0
0
..
.

1
0

0
1

...
...

0
0
..
.

0
a0

0
a1

0
...
a2 . . .

1
an

7
7
7
7
7
5

The matrix M is called the companion matrix to the dierential equation

(67).
To find its eigenvalues an easy method is to search for so that the linear
system M x = x has a solution x 6= 0:
x 2 = x 1 , x 3 = x 2 , . . . , xn = x n

1,

a0 x1

a1 x2

...

an

1 xn

= xn

which implies that

(70)

+ an

n 1

+ . . . + a1 + a0 = 0

which is the characteristic equation of M .

Note that the characteristic equation (70) can also be obtained by searching for solutions of (67) which are purely exponential: y(t) = e t .
3.5.1. Linearly independent sets of functions. We are familiar with the notion of linear dependence or independence of functions belonging to a given
linear space. In practice, functions arise from particular problems, or classes
of problems, for example as solutions of equations and only a posteriori we
find a linear space to accommodates them. A natural definition of linear
dependence or independence which can be used in most usual linear space
of functions is:
Definition 21. A set of function f1 , . . . , fn are called linearly dependent
on an interval I if there are constants c1 , . . . , cn , not all zero, so that
(71)

c1 f1 (t) + . . . + cn fn (t) = 0 for all t 2 I

A set of functions which are not linearly dependent on I are called linearly
independent on I. This means that if, for some constants c1 , . . . , cn relation
(71) holds, then necessarily all c1 , . . . , cn are zero.
If all functions f1 , . . . , fn are enough many times dierentiable then there
is a simple way to check linear dependence or independence:

32

RODICA D. COSTIN

Theorem 22. Assume functions f1 , . . . , fn are n

the interval I. Consider their Wronskian
f1 (t)
...
f10 (t)
...
W [f1 , . . . , fn ](t) =
..
.
(n 1)

f1

1 times dierentiable on
fn (t)
fn0 (t)
..
.
(n 1)

(t) . . . fn

(t)

(i) If the functions f1 , . . . , fn are linearly dependent then

W [f1 , . . . , fn ](t) = 0 for all t 2 I

(ii) If there is some point t0 2 I so that W [f1 , . . . , fn ](t0 ) 6= 0 then the

functions are linearly independent on I.
Indeed, to show (i), assume that (71) holds for some constants c1 , . . . , cn ,
not all zero; then by dierentiation, we see that the columns of W (t) are
linearly dependent for each t, hence W (t) = 0 for all t.
Part (ii) is just the negation of (i). 2
Example 1. To check if the functions 1, t2 , et are linearly dependent we
calculate their Wronskian
1 t2 e t
2 t
W [1, t , e ] = 0 2t et = 2 et (t 1) is not identically 0
0 2 et
so they are linearly independent (even if the Wronskian happens to be zero
for t = 1).
Example 2. If the numbers 1 , . . . , n are all distinct then the functions
t
e 1 , . . . , et n are linearly independent.
Indeed, their Wronskian equals the product
et 1 . . . et n multiplied by a
Q
Vandermonde determinant which equals i<j ( j
i ) which is never zero
if 1 , . . . , n are all distinct, or identically zero if two of s are equal.
I what follows we will see that if the functions f1 , . . . , fn happen to be
solutions of the same linear dierential equation, then their Wronskian is
either identically zero, or never zero.
3.5.2. Linearly independent solutions of nth order linear dierential equations. Using the results obtained for first order linear systems, and looking
just at the first component u1 (t) of the vector u(t) (since y(t) = u1 (t)) we
find:
(i) if the characteristic equation (70) has n distinct solutions 1 , . . . , n
then the general solution is a linear combination of purely exponential solutions
y(t) = a1 e 1 t + . . . + an e n t
(ii) if j is a repeated eigenvalue of multiplicity rj then there are rj
independent solutions of the type e j t q(t) where q(t) are polynomials in t of
degree at most rj , therefore they can be taken to be e j t , te j t , . . . , trj 1 e j t .

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

33

Example. Solve the dierential equation

y 000

3y 00 + 4y = 0

The characteristic equation, obtained by substituting y(t) = e t , is 3 3 2 +

4 = 0 which factored is (
2)2 ( + 1) = 0 giving the simple eigenvalue 1
and the double eigenvalue 2. There are tree independent solutions y1 (t) =
e t , y2 (t) = e2t , y3 (t) = te2t and any solution is a linear combination of
these.
3.5.3. The Wronskian. Let y1 (t), . . . , yn (t) be n solutions of the equation
(67). The substitution (68) produces n solutions u1 , . . . un of the system
(69). Let U (t) = [u1 (t), . . . un (t)] be the matrix solution of (69). Theorem 20
applied to the companion system yields:
Theorem 23. Let y1 (t), . . . , yn (t) be solutions of equation (67).
(i) Their Wronskian W (t) = W [y1 , . . . , yn ](t) satisfies
W (t) = e

tan

W (0)

(ii) y1 (t), . . . , yn (t) are linearly independent if and only if their Wronskian
is not zero.
3.5.4. Decomplexification. Suppose equation (67) has real coefficients, aj 2
R, but there are nonreal eigenvalues, say 1,2 = 1 i 1 . Then there are two
independent solutions y1,2 (t) = et(1 i 1 ) = et1 [cos(t 1 ) i sin(t 1 )]. If real
valued solutions are needed (or desired), note that Sp(y1 , y2 ) = Sp(yc , ys )
where
yc (t) = et1 cos(t 1 ), ys (t) = et1 sin(t 1 )
and ys , yc are two independent solutions (real valued).
Furthermore, any solution in Sp(yc , ys ) can be written as
(72)

C1 et1 cos(t 1 ) + C2 et1 sin(t 1 ) = Aet1 sin(t

where
A=

+ B)

q
C12 + C22

and B is the unique angle in [0, 2) so that

C2
C1
cos B = p 2
, sin B = p 2
2
C1 + C2
C1 + C22

Example 1. Solve the equation of the harmonic oscillator

(73)

x0 =

y, y 0 = k 2 x

where k 2 R

giving both complex and real forms.

In this example it is quicker to solve by turning the system into a second
order scalar equation: taking the derivative in the first equation we obtain
x00 = y 0 and using the second equation it follows that x00 + k 2 x = 0, with

34

RODICA D. COSTIN

characteristic equation 2 + k 2 = 0 and eigenvalues 1,2 = ik. The general

solution is x(t) = c1 eikt + c2 e ikt . Then y(t) = x0 (t) = ikc1 eikt ikc2 e ikt .
In real form
(74)

x(t) = A sin(kt + B), y(t) =

Ak cos(kt + B)

Example 2. Solve the dierential equation y (iv) + y = 0. Find four real

valued independent solutions.
The characteristic equation is 4 +1 = 0 with solutions k = ei(2k+1)/4 , k =
0, 1, 2, 3. The equation has four independent solutions yk (t) = exp(i(2k +
1)/4 t), k = 0, 1, 2, 3.
To identify thep real p
and imaginary parts of the eigenvalues, note that
2
3
i
,
=
0 = exp( 4 ) = 2 + i 2 , 3 = 0 , 2 =
3 . (Alternatively,
p
p0 1
4
2
one can factor
+ 1 = ( 2 + 2 + 1)(
2
+
1)
then
solve.)
We
have
p
p
p
p
2
3
2
3
the four independent solutions exp(t 2 ) cos(t 2 ), exp(t 2 ) sin(t 2 ).
3.6. Stability in dierential equations.
3.6.1. Stable versus unstable equilibrium points. A linear, first order system
of dierential equation
du
(75)
= Mu
dt
always has the zero solution: u(t) = 0 for all t. The point 0 is called an
equilibrium point of the system (75). More generally,
Definition 24. An equilibrium point of a dierential equation u0 = f (u)
is a point u0 for which the constant function u(t) = u0 is a solution, therefore f (u0 ) = 0.
It is important in applications to know how solutions behave near an
equilibrium point.
An equilibrium point u0 is called stable if any solutions which start close
enough to u0 remain close to u0 for all t > 0. (This definition can be made
more mathematically precise, but it will not be needed here, and it is besides
the scope of these lectures.)
Definition 25. An equilibrium point u0 is called asymptotically stable
if
lim u(t) = u0 for any solution u(t)
t!1

It is clear that an asymptotically stable point is stable, but the converse is

not necessarily true. For example, the harmonic oscillator (73) has solutions
confined to ellipses, since from (74) it follows that x2 +y 2 /k 2 = A2 . Solutions
are close to the origin if A is small, and they go around the origin along an
ellipse, never going too far, and not going towards the origin: the origin is
a stable, but not asymptotically stable equilibrium point.
An equilibrium point which is not stable is called unstable.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

35

Suppose one is interested in the stability of an equilibrium point of an

equation u0 = f (u). By a change of variables the equilibrium point can be
moved to u0 = 0, hence we assume f (0) = 0. It is natural to approximate
the equation by its linear part: f (u) M x, where the matrix M has the elements Mij = @fi /@xj (0), and expect that the stability (or instability) of the
equilibrium point of u0 = f (u) to be the same as for its linear approximation
u0 = M u.
This is true for asymptotically stable points, and for unstable points,
under fairly general assumptions on f . But it is not necessarily true for
stable, not asymptotically stable, points as in this case the neglected terms
of the approximation may change the nature of the trajectories.
Understanding the stability for linear systems helps understand the stability for many nonlinear equations.
3.6.2. Characterization of stability for linear systems. The nature of the
equilibrium point u0 = 0 of linear dierential equations depends on the
eigenvalues of the matrix M as follows.
We saw that solutions of a linear system (75) are linear combinations of
exponentials et j where j are the eigenvalues of the matrix M , and if M is
not diagonalizable, also of tk et j for 0 < k (multiplicity of j ) 1.
Recall that
lim tk et j = 0 if and only if < j < 0
t!1

Therefore:
(i) if all j have negative real parts, then any solution u(t) of (75) converge
to zero: limt!1 u(t) = 0, and 0 is asymptotically stable.
(ii) If all < j 0, and some real parts are zero, and eigenvalues with zero
real part have the dimension of the eigenspace equal to the multiplicity of
the eigenvalue4 then 0 is stable.
(iii) If any eigenvalue has a positive real part, then 0 is unstable.
As examples, let us consider 2 by 2 systems with real coefficients.
Example 1: an asymptotically stable case, with all eigenvalues real.
For
"
#
"
#
"
#
5
2
3
0
1
2
M=
, M = SS 1 , with =
, S=
1
4
0
6
1 1
The figure shows the field plot (a representation of the linear transformation x ! M x of R2 ). The trajectories are tangent to the line field, and
they are going towards the origin. Solutions with initial conditions along
the directions of the two eigenvectors of M are straight half-lines (two such
4This means that if <

q(t).

= 0 then there are no solutions q(t)et

with nonconstant

36

RODICA D. COSTIN

solutions are shown in the picture); these are the solutions u(t) = e
(Solutions with any other initial conditions are not straight lines.)

Figure 2. Asymptotically stable equilibrium point, negative eigenvalues.

The point 0 is a hyperbolic equilibrium point.

jt

cvj .

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

37

Example 2: an asymptotically stable case, with nonreal eigenvalues.

For
"
#
"
#
"
#
1
2
2+i
0
1+i 1 i
M=
with =
, S=
1
3
0
2 i
1
1
The figure shows the field plot and two trajectories. All trajectories are
going towards the origin, though rotating around it. The equilibrium point
0 is hyperbolic.

Figure 3. Asymptotically stable equilibrium point, nonreal eigenvalues.

38

RODICA D. COSTIN

Example 3: an unstable case, with one negative eigenvalue, and a positive

one.
For
"
#
"
#
"
#
3 6
3 0
1 2
M=
with =
, S=
3 0
0 6
1 1
The figure shows the field plot. Note that there is a stable direction (in
the direction of the eigenvector corresponding to the negative eigenvalue),
and an unstable one (the direction of the second eigenvector, corresponding
to the positive eigenvalue). Any trajectory starting at a point not on the
stable direction has infinite limit as t ! 1.
Figure 4. Unstable equilibrium point, one positive eigenvalues.

The equilibrium point 0 is a saddle point.

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

39

Example 4: an unstable point, with both positive eigenvalues.

For
"
#
"
#
"
#
5 2
3 0
1 2
M=
with =
, S=
1 4
0 6
1 1
The field plot is similar to that that of Example 1, only the arrows have
opposite directions; the trajectories go away from the origin. In fact this
system is obtained from Example 1 by changing t into t.
Example 5: the equilibrium point 0 is stable, not asymptotically stable.
For
"
#
"
#
"
#
1
2
i 0
1+i 1 i
M=
with =
, S=
1
1
0
i
1
1
The trajectories rotate around the origin on ellipses, with axes determined
by the real part and the imaginary part of the eigenvectors.

Figure 5. Stable, not asymptotically stable, equilibrium point.

40

RODICA D. COSTIN

4. Difference equations (Discrete dynamical systems)

4.1. Linear dierence equations with constant coefficients. A first
order dierence equation, linear, homogeneous, with constant coefficients,
has the form
(76)

xk+1 = M xk

where M is an n n matrix, and xk are n-dimensional vectors. Given an

initial condition x0 the solution of (76) is uniquely determined: x1 = M x0 ,
then we can determine x2 = M x1 , then x3 = M x2 , etc. Clearly the solution
of (76) with the initial condition x0 is
xk = M k x0

(77)

A second order dierence equation, linear, homogeneous, with constant

coefficients, has the form
(78)

xk+2 = M1 xk+1 + M0 xk

A solution of (78) is uniquely determined if we give two initial conditions,

x0 and x1 . Then we can find x2 = M1 x1 + M0 x0 , then x3 = M1 x2 + M0 x1
etc.
Second order dierence equations can be reduced to first order ones: let
yk be the 2n dimensional vector

xk
yk =
xk+1
Then yk satisfies the recurrence
yk+1 = M yk where M =

0
I
M0 M1

which is of the type (76), and has a unique solution if y0 is given.

More generally, a dierence equation of order p which is linear, homogeneous, with constant coefficients, has the form
(79)

xk+p = Mp

1 xk+p 1

+ . . . + M1 xk+1 + M0 xk

which has a unique solution if the initial p values are specified x0 , x1 . . . , xp 1 .

The recurrence (79) can be reduced to a first order one for a vector of dimension np.
To understand the solutions of the linear dierence equations it then
suffices to study the first order ones, (76).
4.2. Solutions of linear dierence equations. Consider the equation
(76). If M has n independent eigenvectors v1 , . . . , vn (i.e. M is diagonalizable) let S = [v1 , . . . , vm ] and then M = SS 1 with the diagonal matrix
with entries 1 , . . . , n . The solution (77) can be written as
xk = M k x0 = Sk S

x0

EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS

and denoting S

1x

41

= b,

xk = Sk b = b1

k
1 v1

+ . . . + bn

hence solutions xk are linear combinations of

vj .

k
j

k
n vn

multiples of the eigenvectors

Example. Solve the recurrence relation zn+2 = 3zn+1 2zn if z0 = ,

z1 = .
This is a scalar dierence equation, and we could turn it into a first order
system. But, by analogy to higher order scalar dierential equations, it may
be easier to work directly with the scalar equation. We know that there are
solutions of the form zn = n , and substituting this in the recurrence we get
n+2 = 3 n+1
2 n therefore 2 3 + 2 = 0, implying 1 = 1, 2 = 2,
or = 0. We found the solutions zn = 1 and zn = 2n . We can always
discard the value = 0 since it corresponds to the trivial zero solution. The
general solution is zn = c1 + 2n c2 . The constants c1 , c2 can be determined
from the initial conditions: z0 = c1 + c2 = , z1 = c1 + 2c2 = , therefore
zn = (2 + ) + (
)2n .
If M is not diagonalizable, just as in the case of dierential equations,
then consider a matrix S so that S 1 M S is in Jordan normal form.
Consider the example of a 22 Jordan block: M = SJS 1 with J given by
(60). As in Let S = [y1 , y2 ] where y1 is the eigenvector of M corresponding
to the eigenvalue and y2 is a generalized eigenvector. Using (55) we obtain
the general solution
"
#
k k k 1

b1
k
k
k
xk = [y1 , y2 ]
=
b
y
+
b
k
y
+
y
1
1
2
1
2
k
b2
0
and the recurrence has two linearly independent solutions of the form k y1
and q(k) k where q(k) is a polynomial in k of degree one.
In a similar way, for p p Jordan blocks there are p linearly independent
solutions of the form q(k) k where q(k) are polynomials in k of degree at
most p 1, one of then being constant, equal to the eigenvector.
Example. Solve the recurrence relation yn+3 = 9 yn+2 24 yn+1 + 20yn .
Looking for solutions of the type yn = n we obtain n+3 = 9 n+2
24 n+1 +20 n which implies (disregarding = 0) that 3 9 2 +24
20 =
2
0 which factors (
5) (
2) = 0 therefore 1 = 5 and 2 = 3 = 2. The
general solution is zn = c1 5n + c2 2n + c3 n2n .
4.3. Stability. Clearly the constant zero sequance xk = 0 is a solution of
any linear homogeneous discrete equation (76): 0 is an equilibrium point
(a steady state).

42

RODICA D. COSTIN

As in the case of dierential equations, an equilibrium point of a dierence

equation is called asymptotically stable, or an attractor, if solutions starting
close enough to the equilibrium point converge towards it.
For linear dierence equations this means that limk!1 xk = 0 for all
solutions xk . This clearly happens if and only if all the eigenvalues j of M
satisfy | j | < 1.
If all eigenvalues have either | j | < 1 or | j | = 1 and for eigenvalues of
modulus 1, the dimension of the eigenspace equals the multiplicity of the
eigenvalue, 0 is a stable point (or neutral).
In all other cases the equilibrium point is called unstable.
4.4. Example: Fibonacci numbers.
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, . . .
this is one of the most famous sequence of numbers, studied for more that 2
milennia (it fist appeared in ancient Indian mathematics), which describes
countless phenomena in nature, in art and in sciences.
The Fibonacci numbers are defined by the recurrence relation
(80)

Fk+2 = Fk+1 + Fk

with the initial condition F0 = 0, F1 = 1.

Substituting Fk = k into the recurrence (80) it follows that 2 = + 1
with solutions
p
p
1+ 5
1
5
= = the golden ratio,
1 =
2 =
2
2
Fk is a linear combination of k1 and k2 : Fk = c1 k1 + c2 k2 . The values of
c1 , c2 can be found from the initial conditions:
Note that the ratio of two consecutive Fibonacci numbers converges to
the golden ratio:
Fk+1
lim
=
k!1 Fk