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The terms below are used in the branch of mathematics called matrix theory, which is often considered a subfield of linear algebra. For specific types of matrices, see the List of matrices. For some matrix operations, see Matrix.
- Matrix
- A rectangular array of objects which are usually members of a ring.
- The definitions below will assume the following matrix:
- Element
- One of the objects in a matrix.
- aij for a specific choice of i and j.
- Size or dimensions
- The number of rows and columns, respectively, of a matrix; usually expressed in the form m × n, read "m by n".
- i-th row of matrix A
- j-th column of matrix A
- Main diagonal
- The elements whose row and column number match.
- Transpose
- An operation resulting in a new matrix whose rows are the columns of the original matrix and whose columns are the rows of the original matrix, or the resulting matrix itself.
- Trace
- The sum of the elements on the main diagonal.
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- Minor
- The determinant of the matrix obtained by deleting a given row and column from the original matrix.
- Note that the i-th row and j-th column are missing in the above determinant.
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- Vector
- A matrix with one row (a row vector) or one column (column vector).
- See Vector for more information.
- Linear transformation
- The function that results from multiplying a given matrix by an appropriately sized vector of variables.
- Rank
- The dimension of the space generated by the rows of a given matrix.
- The dimension of the image of the linear transformation represented by the matrix.