Check Point Questions 3

The skeptic will say: ”It may well be true that this system of equations is
reasonable from a logical standpoint. But this does not prove that it
corresponds to nature.” You are right, dear skeptic. Experience alone can
decide on truth. ... Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge
of the empirical world: all knowledge of reality starts from experience and
ends in it.
Albert Einstein

3.1 Matrix Algebra

(i) Find A + B, A − B, B − A, 2A + B, and 2 (A + B) if

! !
1 −1 2 5 −2 −2
A= and B=
0 3 −2 6 −7 0

(ii) Find x, y, z and w if

! ! !
x y x 6 4 x+y
3 = + .
z w −1 2w z+w 3

(iii) Find the products F G and GF if

! !
4 2 1 5 3
F = and G=
−3 1 2 7 −4

(iv) Find a (2 × 2) matrix X that commutes with the following matrix A, that is
when AX = XA if
! !
1 1 a b
A= and X=
0 1 c d

(v) Find the inverse matrix M −1 of the matrix M, if

! !
3 5 1 0
M= and MM −1
=
2 3 0 1

(vi)* Find A2 = AA, AA2 , and A2 A given that

 
1 0 1
A= 0 1 1 
 

1 1 0

1
(vii)* Given the matrices below, find ST , T S, S + T , 5S, 3T , 5S − 3T .
Show that det (ST ) = det (T S) = det S det T , but that det (S + T ) 6= det S +
det T , det 5S 6= 5 det S, and det 3T 6= 3 det T .
! !
2 −5 −1 4
a) S= and T =
−1 3 0 2
   
1 0 2 1 1 0
b)∗ S =  3 −1 0  and T = 0 2 1 
  

0 5 1 3 −1 0

Show that in part a) det 3T = 9 det T , and that in part b) det 3T = 27 det T .

(viii)* The Pauli spin matrices in quantum mechanics are

! ! !
0 1 0 −i 1 0
σ1 = σ2 = σ3 =
1 0 i 0 0 −1

show that σ12 = σ22 = σ32 = I, where I denotes the 2 × 2 unit matrix
!
1 0 √
I= , and i= −1
0 1

(ix)* Show that the following is true for the Pauli spin matrices

σ1 σ2 = −σ2 σ1 = iσ3 ,
σ2 σ3 = −σ3 σ2 = iσ1 ,
σ3 σ1 = −σ1 σ3 = iσ2 .

3.2 Matrices as Operators

(i) By reading off the graph show that the rotation matrix for rotating the Cartesian
unit vectors x̂, and ŷ, counter clockwise by an angle θ around the z-axis is given
by
 
cos θ sin θ 0
R (θ) =  − sin θ cos θ 0  .
 

0 0 1

(ii) By using a similar method derive the corresponding rotation matrices for a ro-
tation by positive θ about
(a) y-axis;
(b) x-axis.

2
 Bonus Questions

3.3 The rotation of axis in three dimensions is given by the rotation matrix
 
cos θ sin θ 0
R (θ) =  − sin θ cos θ 0  .
 

0 0 1

(a) Show that R (θ) R (φ) = R (θ + φ).

(b) Show that the rotation of axis by π/4 about the y−axis followed by the
rotation of axis by π/4 about the x−axis is described by the resultant
rotational matrix
 √ √ 
2 √ 0 − 2
R = 21  1 √2 1 .
 

1 − 2 1

The positive direction of rotation is counterclockwise in the standard right

handed coordinate system.
(c) Given the equations

√1 √1
 

 x′ = 2
(x − z) , 
 x′′ = 2
(y ′ − z ′ ) ,

 

 
√  √

 

    
1
y′ = 2
x+y 2+z , y ′′ = − 12 x′ 2 + y ′ + z ′ ,

 

 
√ √

   
  
 
1 1
z′ = x−y 2+z , z ′′ = −x′ 2 + y ′ + z ′ ,

 

2 2

write each set of equations as a matrix equation and solve for x′′ , y ′′, z ′′ in
terms of x, y, z by multiplying matrices.
(d) These equations describe rotation of axis in three dimensions. Describe
geometrically the net result of the above two rotations.

3
3.4 The box in the diagram below represents some electrical network1 , where I1 and

E1 are the input current and voltage, and I2 and E2 are the output current and
voltage. In case of a linear four terminal network I1 and E1 may be expressed
as linear combinations of I2 and E2 by following pair of equations


 E1 = αE2 + βI2 ,

I1 = γE2 + ζI2,



where α, β, γ, ζ are constants.

(a) Write the above equations in matrix form. The (2 × 2) matrix in the matrix
equation is called the transmission matrix T .
(b) Consider two identical networks in series, as shown in the diagram below.
Find the overall transformation matrix, and thus find I1 and E1 in terms
of I3 and E3 .

(c) Under certain conditions the constants α, β, γ, ζ can be written in terms of

two other constants µ and ν as
α = ζ = cosh µ,

β = ν sinh µ,

1
γ = ν
sinh µ.
Using these values of constants, and the known formulas for hyperbolic
functions, show that
 
cosh 2µ νsinh 2µ
T2 =  .
 
1
ν
sinh 2µ cosh 2µ
(d) Write down the overall transformation matrix in terms of µ and ν for four
identical networks connected in series.
1
We are not concerned with the details inside the box.