Hello this indeed a very short question from Algebra that I have no real idea on and figured it is simple but for some reason I cannot seem to find it. I am given $A$ and $B$ complex square matrices for which
$A^*A=B^*B-BB^*$ where * denotes the complex transpose.
I am required to show $A=0$ but have no idea how to deduce this the only thing I figured out was that both sides of the equality I am given are Hermitian but cannot proceed. Any help appreciated. Thanks
Answer
The matrix $A^*A$ is Hermitian non-negative, and it is enough to show that its only eigenvalue is $0$. By assumption, we have $Tr(A^*A)=0$. Recall that the trace is the sum of all eigenvalues. Now, if $\lambda>0$ is an eigenvalue, it follows that $A^*A$ has negative eigenvalues, which is impossible.
No comments:
Post a Comment