1.3 Matrix Operations

Linear Transformation

A transformation (function or mapping) T : \mathbb{R}^n \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^m denoted T from \mathbb{R}^n to \mathbb{R}^m is a rule that assigns to each vector \bold{x} \in \mathbb{R}^n a vector T(\bold{x}) \in \mathbb{R}^m.

Matrices serve as linear transformations

T(\bold{x}) = A\bold{x}

The set \mathbb{R}^n is called the domain of T, and the set \mathbb{R}^m is called the codomain of T.

Assume a matrix A with dimensions m x n, we can compute the dot product or matrix multiplication by

A\bold{x} = \begin{bmatrix} a_{11} & a_{12} & \cdots & a_{1n} \\ a_{21} & a_{22} & \cdots & a_{2n} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\ a_{m1} & a_{m2} & \cdots & a_{mn} \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} x_1 \\ x_2 \\ \vdots \\ x_n \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} a_{11}x_1 + a_{12}x_2 + \cdots + a_{1n}x_n \\ a_{21}x_1 + a_{22}x_2 + \cdots + a_{2n}x_n \\ \vdots \\ a_{m1}x_1 + a_{m2}x_2 + \cdots + a_{mn}x_n \end{bmatrix} = \bold{b}

A\bold{x} = \bold{b}

To perform the matrix multiplication A\bold{x}, the number of columns in A must match the number of entries in the vector \bold{x}.
That is, if A is an m \times n matrix and \bold{x} is an n \times 1 column vector, the multiplication is valid and the result will be an m \times 1 column vector.
If the dimensions do not align, the dot product is undefined.

Addition and Subtraction

Multiplication by a Scalar

Multiplication by a Vector

Matrix-Matrix Multiplication