An eigenvector of a square matrix A is a nonzero vector that A sends to a multiple of itself, Av = λv, and the multiple λ is its eigenvalue. Along an eigenvector the transformation only stretches, shrinks or flips. The eigenvalues are the roots of the characteristic equation det(A − λI) = 0, because Av = λv has a nonzero solution exactly when A − λI is not invertible. For each eigenvalue, the eigenvectors, together with zero, form the null space of A − λI, called the eigenspace.
What you'll learn
Check whether a vector is an eigenvector
Find eigenvalues from the characteristic equation
Find a basis for each eigenspace
Read eigenvalues of a triangular matrix from its diagonal
Most vectors change direction when a matrix acts on them. A few special ones
only stretch. For
A=[2112]
the vector (1,0) goes to (2,1), a new direction, but (1,1) goes to
(3,3), which is 3 times itself.
An eigenvector of a square matrix A is a nonzero vector v with
Av=λv for some scalar λ, called its
eigenvalue.
Along an eigenvector the transformation is as simple as it can be:
multiplication by a number. A positive λ stretches or shrinks, a
negative one also flips the direction, and λ=0 collapses the vector to
0.
Rewrite the defining equation with everything on one side. Since
λv=λIv,
Av=λv⟺(A−λI)v=0
An eigenvector is a nonzero solution of that homogeneous system, and a
nonzero solution exists exactly when A−λI is not invertible.
By the Invertible Matrix Theorem,
that happens exactly when its determinant is zero. The eigenvalues are the
numbers λ that make A−λI singular, found by solving the
characteristic equation
det(A−λI)=0
For each eigenvalue, the solutions of (A−λI)x=0
form a subspace, the eigenspace for λ: the null space of
A−λI. Its nonzero vectors are the eigenvectors.
Is (1,1) an eigenvector of [3212]? If so, with what eigenvalue?
Answer
Yes, with eigenvalue 4
Full solution
A(1,1)=(3+1,2+2)=(4,4)=4(1,1).
Find the eigenvalues of [3212].
Answer
4 and 1
Full solution
(3−λ)(2−λ)−2=λ2−5λ+4=(λ−4)(λ−1).
Find an eigenvector of the same matrix for λ=1.
Answer
(1,−2), or any nonzero multiple
Full solution
A−I=[2211] gives 2x1+x2=0, so x2=−2x1. Check: A(1,−2)=(1,−2).
Find the eigenvalues of [500−2].
Answer
5 and −2
Full solution
A diagonal matrix is triangular, so its eigenvalues are its diagonal entries, with eigenvectors e1 and e2.
Find an eigenvector of 200130045 for λ=5.
Answer
(2,6,3)
Full solution
A−5I=−3001−20040. With x3=3, the second row gives x2=6 and the first gives x1=2. Check: A(2,6,3)=(10,30,15).
Show that [01−10] has no real eigenvalues.
Answer
Its characteristic equation is λ2+1=0.
Full solution
det[−λ1−1−λ]=λ2+1, which is positive for every real λ.
Av=3v. Find A2v and A10v.
Answer
9v and 310v
Full solution
A2v=A(3v)=3Av=9v, and each further factor of A multiplies by another 3.
A is invertible and has eigenvalue λ with eigenvector v. Find an eigenvalue of A−1.
Answer
λ1, with the same eigenvector
Full solution
Apply A−1 to both sides of Av=λv: v=λA−1v. Since A is invertible, λ=0, so A−1v=λ1v.
A 3×3 matrix has eigenvalues 1, 0 and 4. Is it invertible?
Answer
No
Full solution
An eigenvalue of 0 means Av=0 for some nonzero v, so the null space is not trivial. Equivalently, detA is the product of the eigenvalues, which is 0.
A student row reduces [1324] to [102−2] and reports the eigenvalues 1 and −2. What went wrong?
Hint
Do the reported eigenvalues add to the diagonal sum of the original?
Answer
Row operations change eigenvalues. The true ones are 25±33≈5.37 and −0.37.
Full solution
det(A−λI)=(1−λ)(4−λ)−6=λ2−5λ−2, whose roots are 25±33. The student’s values add to −1, not to the diagonal sum 5, which already shows they are wrong.
Frequently asked questions
What is an eigenvector?
A nonzero vector v with Av = λv for some number λ. The matrix sends it to a multiple of itself, so it stays on its own line through the origin.
How do you find eigenvalues?
Solve the characteristic equation det(A − λI) = 0. For a 2 × 2 matrix it is a quadratic in λ.
How do you find the eigenvectors for an eigenvalue?
Solve (A − λI)x = 0. Its nonzero solutions are the eigenvectors, and the whole solution set is the eigenspace.
Can the zero vector be an eigenvector?
No. A0 = λ0 for every λ, so allowing it would make every number an eigenvalue. Eigenvalues may be zero; eigenvectors may not.
What does an eigenvalue of 0 mean?
Av = 0 for some nonzero v, so A has a nontrivial null space and is not invertible.