8.

4 COMPLEX VECTOR SPACES AND INNER PRODUCTS

All the vector spaces we have studied thus far in the text are real vector spaces since the
scalars are real numbers. A complex vector space is one in which the scalars are complex
numbers. Thus, if are vectors in a complex vector space, then a linear com-
bination is of the form
where the scalars are complex numbers. The complex version of is the
complex vector space consisting of ordered n-tuples of complex numbers. Thus, a vector
in has the form
It is also convenient to represent vectors in by column matrices of the form
As with , the operations of addition and scalar multiplication in are performed com-
ponent by component.
E X AMP L E 1 Vector Operations in C
n
Let
and
be vectors in the complex vector space , and determine the following vectors.
(a) (b) (c)
Solution (a) In column matrix form, the sum is
(b) Since and we have
(c)
(c)
(c) 12 i, 11 i
3 6i, 9 3i 9 7i, 20 4i
3v 5 iu 31 2i, 3 i 5 i2 i, 4
2 i v 2 i 1 2i, 3 i 5i, 7 i .
2 i3 i 7 i, 2 i1 2i 5i
v u

1
3
2i
i

2
4
i

1
7
3i
i

.
v u
3v 5 iu 2 iv v u
C
2
u 2 i, 4 v 1 2i, 3 i
C
n
R
n
v

a
1
b
1
i
a
2
b
2
i
.
.
.
a
n
b
n
i

.
C
n
v a
1
b
1
i, a
2
b
2
i, . . . , a
n
b
n
i .
C
n
C
n
R
n
c
1
,

c
2
, . . . , c
m
c
1
v
1
c
2
v
2
c
m
v
m
v
1
, v
2
, . . . , v
m
SECTION 8.4 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES ANDINNERPRODUCTS 455
Many of the properties of are shared by For instance, the scalar multiplicative
identity is the scalar 1 and the additive identity in is The standard
basis for is simply
which is the standard basis for . Since this basis contains n vectors, it follows that the
dimension of is n. Other bases exist; in fact, any linearly independent set of n vectors in
can be used, as we demonstrate in Example 2.
E X AMP L E 2 Verifying a Basis
Show that
v
1
v
2
v
3
is a basis for
Solution Since has a dimension of 3, the set will be a basis if it is linearly indepen-
dent. To check for linear independence, we set a linear combination of the vectors in S equal
to 0 as follows.
This implies that
Therefore, and we conclude that is linearly independent.
E X AMP L E 3 Representing a Vector in C
n
by a Basis
Use the basis S in Example 2 to represent the vector
v 2, i, 2 i.
v
1
, v
2
, v
3
c
1
c
2
c
3
0,
c
3
i 0.
c
2
i 0
c
1
c
2
i 0
c
1
c
2
i, c
2
i,

c
3
i 0, 0, 0
c
1
i ,

0, 0 c
2
i, c
2
i, 0 0, 0, c
3
i 0, 0, 0
c
1
v
1
c
2
v
2
c
3
v
3
0, 0, 0
v
1
, v
2
, v
3
C
3
C
3
.
S i, 0, 0, i, i, 0, 0, 0, i
C
n
C
n
R
n
e
n
0, 0, 0, . . . , 1
.
.

.
e
2
0, 1, 0, . . . , 0
e
1
1, 0, 0, . . . , 0
C
n
0 0, 0, 0, . . . , 0. C
n
C
n
. R
n
456 CHAPTER8 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES
{{{
Solution By writing
we obtain
which implies that and
and
Therefore,
Try verifying that this linear combination yields
Other than there are several additional examples of complex vector spaces. For
instance, the set of complex matrices with matrix addition and scalar multiplication
forms a complex vector space. Example 4 describes a complex vector space in which the
vectors are functions.
E X AMP L E 4 The Space of Complex-Valued Functions
Consider the set S of complex-valued functions of the form
where and are real-valued functions of a real variable. The set of complex numbers
form the scalars for S and vector addition is defined by
It can be shown that S, scalar multiplication, and vector addition form a complex vector
space. For instance, to show that S is closed under scalar multiplication, we let
be a complex number. Then
is in S.
af
1
x bf
2
x i bf
1
x af
2
x
cfx a bif
1
x i f
2
x
c a bi
f
1
x g
1
x i f
2
x g
2
x.
fx gx f
1
x i f
2
x g
1
(x i g
2
x
f
2
f
1
fx) f
1
x i f
2
x
m n
C
n
,
2, i, 2 i.
v 1 2iv
1
v
2
1 2iv
3
.
c
3

2 i
i
1 2i . c
1

2 i
i
1 2i
c
2
1
c
3
i 2 i
c
2
i i
c
1
c
2
i 2
2, i, 2 i
c
1
c
2
i, c
2
i, c
3
i
v c
1
v
1
c
2
v
2
c
3
v
3
SECTION 8.4 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES ANDINNERPRODUCTS 457
The definition of the Euclidean inner product in is similar to that of the standard dot
product in except that here the second factor in each term is a complex conjugate.
R E M A R K : Note that if u and v happen to be real, then this definition agrees with the
standard inner (or dot) product in .
E X AMP L E 5 Finding the Euclidean Inner Product in C
3
Determine the Euclidean inner product of the vectors
and
Solution
Several properties of the Euclidean inner product are stated in the following theorem.
Proof We prove the first property and leave the proofs of the remaining properties to you. Let
and
Then
v
1
u
1
v
2
u
2

. . .
v
n
u
n
v
1
u
1
v
2
u
2

. . .
v
n
u
n
v u v
1
u
1
v
2
u
2

. . .
v
n
u
n
v v
1
, v
2
, . . . , v
n
. u u
1
, u
2
, . . . , u
n

C
n
3 i
2 i1 i 02 i 4 5i0
u v u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u
3
v
3
v 1 i, 2 i, 0. u 2 i, 0, 4 5i
R
n
R
n
,
C
n
458 CHAPTER8 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES
Theorem 8.7
Properties of the
Euclidean Inner
Product
Let u, v, and w be vectors in and let k be a complex number. Then the following
properties are true.
if and only if u 0. 6. u u 0
5. u u 0
4. u kv ku v
3. ku v ku v
2. u v w u w v w
1. u v v u
C
n
Definition of
Euclidean Inner
Product in C
n
Let u and v be vectors in The Euclidean inner product of u and v is given by
u v u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u
n
v
n
.
C
n
.
We now use the Euclidean inner product in to define the Euclidean norm (or length)
of a vector in and the Euclidean distance between two vectors in .
The Euclidean norm and distance may be expressed in terms of components as
E X AMP L E 6 Finding the Euclidean Norm and Distance in
Determine the norms of the vectors
and
and find the distance between u and v.
Solution The norms of u and v are given as follows.
The distance between u and v is given by
1 5 41
12
47.
1
2
0
2
2
2
1
2
4
2
5
2

12
1, 2 i, 4 5i
du, v u v
2 5 0
12
7
1
2
1
2
2
2
1
2
0
2
0
2

12
v v
1

2
v
2

2
v
3

12
5 0 41
12
46
2
2
1
2
0
2
0
2
4
2
5
2

12
u u
1

2
u
2

2
u
3

12
v 1 i, 2 i, 0 u 2 i, 0, 4 5i
C
n
du, v u
1
v
1

2
u
2
v
2

2
u
n
v
n

12
.
u u
1

2
u
2

2


u
n

12
C
n
C
n
C
n
u v.
u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u
n
v
n
SECTION 8.4 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES ANDINNERPRODUCTS 459
Definition of Norm
and Distance in C
n
The Euclidean norm (or length) of u in is denoted by and is
The Euclidean distance between u and v is
du, v u v .
u u u
12
.
u C
n
Complex Inner Product Spaces
The Euclidean inner product is the most commonly used inner product in . However, on
occasion it is useful to consider other inner products. To generalize the notion of an inner
product, we use the properties listed in Theorem 8.7.
A complex vector space with a complex inner product is called a complex inner product
space or unitary space.
E X AMP L E 7 A Complex Inner Product Space
Let and be vectors in the complex space . Show that the func-
tion defined by
is a complex inner product.
Solution We verify the four properties of a complex inner product as follows.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Moreover, if and only if
Since all properties hold, is a complex inner product. u, v
u
1
u
2
0. u, u 0
u, u u
1
u
1
2u
2
u
2
u
1

2
2u
2

2
0
ku, v ku
1
v
1
2ku
2
v
2
ku
1
v
1
2u
2
v
2
k u, v
u, w v, w
u
1
w
1
2u
2
w
2
v
1
w
1
2v
2
w
2

u v, w u
1
v
1
w
1
2u
2
v
2
w
2
v, u v
1
u
1
2v
2
u
2
u
1
v
1
2u
2
v
2
u, v
u, v u
1
v
1
2u
2
v
2
C
2
v v
1
, v
2
u u
1
, u
2

C
n
460 CHAPTER8 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES
Definition of a Complex
Inner Product
Let u and v be vectors in a complex vector space. A function that associates with u and
v the complex number is called a complex inner product if it satisfies the fol-
lowing properties.
0 and if and only if u 0. u, u 0 4. u, u
3. ku, v ku, v
2. u v, w u, w v, w
1. u, v v, u
u, v
SECTION 8.4 EXERCISES 461
In Exercises 3538, determine whether the given function is a com-
plex inner product, where and
35.
36.
37. 38.
39. Let and If and the
set {v
1
, v
2
, v
3
} is not a basis for C
3
, what does this imply
about and ?
40. Let and Determine a vector
such that is a basis for
In Exercises 4145, prove the given property where u, v, and w are
vectors in and k is a complex number.
41. 42.
43. 44.
45. if and only if
46. Let be a complex inner product and k a complex
number. How are and related?
In Exercises 47 and 48, determine the linear transformation
that has the given characteristics.
47.
48.
In Exercises 4952, the linear transformation is given
by Find the image of v and the preimage of w.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53. Find the kernel of the linear transformation given in Exercise
49.
A

0
i
0
1
i
i
1
1
0

, v

2
5
0

, w

1 i
1 i
i

A

1
i
i
0
0
i

, v

2
3
i
2i

, w

2
2i
3i

0
i
i
0
1
0

, v

i
0
1 i

, w

1
1

1
i
0
i

, v

1
1
i
i

, w

0
0

Tv Av.
C
n
T : C
m
Ti, 0) 2 i, 1, T0, i 0, i
T1, 0 2 i, 1, T0, 1 0, i
C
n
T : C
m
u, kv u, v
u, v
u 0. u u 0
u u 0 u kv ku v
ku) v ku v w u w v w u v
C
n
C
3
. v
1
, v
2
, v
3

v
3
v
2
1, 0, 1. v
1
i, i, i
z
3
z
1
,

z
2
,
v
3
z
1
, z
2
, z
3
v
2
i, i, 0. v
1
i, 0, 0
u, v u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u, v 4u
1
v
1
6u
2
v
2
u, v u
1
v
1
2u
2
v
2

u, v u
1
u
2
v
2
v v
1
, v
2
. u u
1
, u
2

In Exercises 18, perform the indicated operation using

and
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
In Exercises 912, determine whether S is a basis for
9. 10.
11.
12.
In Exercises 1316, express v as a linear combination of the
following basis vectors.
(a)
(b)
13. 14.
15. 16.
In Exercises 1724, determine the Euclidean norm of v.
17. 18.
19. 20.
21. 22.
23.
24.
In Exercises 2530, determine the Euclidean distance between u
and v.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
In Exercises 3134, determine whether the set of vectors is linearly
independent or linearly dependent.
31.
32.
33.
34. 1 i, 1 i, 0, 1 i, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1
1, i, 1 i, 0, i, i, 0, 0, 1
1 i, 1 i, 1, i, 0, 1, 2, 1 i, 0
1, i, i, 1
u 1, 2, 1, 2i, v i, 2i, i, 2
u 1, 0, v 0, 1
u 2, 2i, i, v i, i, i
u i, 2i, 3i, v 0, 1, 0
u 2 i, 4, i, v 2 i, 4, i
u 1, 0, v i, i
v 2, 1 i, 2 i, 4i
v 1 2i, i, 3i, 1 i
v 0, 0, 0 v 1, 2 i, i
v 2 3i, 2 3i v 36 i, 2 i
v 1, 0 v i, i
v i, i, i v i, 2 i, 1
v 1 i, 1 i, 3 v 1, 2, 0
1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1 i
i, 0, 0, i, i, 0, i, i, i
S 1 i, 0, 1, 2, i, 1 i, 1 i, 1, 1
S i, 0, 0, 0, i, i, 0, 0, 1
S 1, i, i, 1 S 1, i, i, 1
C
n
.
2iv 3 iw u u iv 2iw
6 3iv 2 2iw u 2 iv
iv 3w 1 2iw
4iw 3u
w 4i, 6. u i, 3 i, v 2 i, 3 i,
SECTION 8.4 K EXERCISES
462 CHAPTER8 COMPLEX VECTORSPACES
54. Find the kernel of the linear transformation given in Exercise 50.
In Exercises 55 and 56, find the image of for the indicated
composition, where and are given by the following matrices.
and
55. 56.
57. Determine which of the following sets are subspaces of the
vector space of complex matrices.
(a) The set of symmetric matrices.
(b) The set of matrices A satisfying
(c) The set of matrices in which all entries are real.
(d) The set of diagonal matrices. 2 2
2 2
A
T
A. 2 2
2 2
2 2
T
1
T
2
T
2
T
1
A
2

i
i
i
i

A
1

0
i
i
0

T
2
T
1
v i, i
58. Determine which of the following sets are subspaces of the
vector space of complex-valued functions (see Example 4).
(a) The set of all functions f satisfying
(b) The set of all functions f satisfying f
(c) The set of all functions f satisfying f . i f i
0 1.
f i 0.
8.5 UNITARY AND HERMITIAN MATRICES
Problems involving diagonalization of complex matrices, and the associated eigenvalue
problems, require the concept of unitary and Hermitian matrices. These matrices roughly
correspond to orthogonal and symmetric real matrices. In order to define unitary and
Hermitian matrices, we first introduce the concept of the conjugate transpose of a com-
plex matrix.
Note that if A is a matrix with real entries, then A* . To find the conjugate trans-
pose of a matrix, we first calculate the complex conjugate of each entry and then take the
transpose of the matrix, as shown in the following example.
E X AMP L E 1 Finding the Conjugate Transpose of a Complex Matrix
Determine A* for the matrix
A

3 7i
2i
0
4 i

.
A
T
Definition of the
Conjugate Transpose of a
Complex Matrix
The conjugate transpose of a complex matrix A, denoted by A*, is given by
A*
where the entries of are the complex conjugates of the corresponding entries of A. A
A
T