# Matrices¶

>>> from sympy import *
>>> init_printing(use_unicode=True)


To make a matrix in SymPy, use the Matrix object. A matrix is constructed by providing a list of row vectors that make up the matrix. For example, to construct the matrix

$\begin{split}\left[\begin{array}{cc}1 & -1\\3 & 4\\0 & 2\end{array}\right]\end{split}$

use

>>> Matrix([[1, -1], [3, 4], [0, 2]])
⎡1  -1⎤
⎢     ⎥
⎢3  4 ⎥
⎢     ⎥
⎣0  2 ⎦


To make it easy to make column vectors, a list of elements is considered to be a column vector.

>>> Matrix([1, 2, 3])
⎡1⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎢2⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣3⎦


Matrices are manipulated just like any other object in SymPy or Python.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 2, 3], [3, 2, 1]])
>>> N = Matrix([0, 1, 1])
>>> M*N
⎡5⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎣3⎦


One important thing to note about SymPy matrices is that, unlike every other object in SymPy, they are mutable. This means that they can be modified in place, as we will see below. The downside to this is that Matrix cannot be used in places that require immutability, such as inside other SymPy expressions or as keys to dictionaries. If you need an immutable version of Matrix, use ImmutableMatrix.

## Basic Operations¶

### Shape¶

Here are some basic operations on Matrix. To get the shape of a matrix use shape

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 2, 3], [-2, 0, 4]])
>>> M
⎡1   2  3⎤
⎢        ⎥
⎣-2  0  4⎦
>>> M.shape
(2, 3)


### Accessing Rows and Columns¶

To get an individual row or column of a matrix, use row or col. For example, M.row(0) will get the first row. M.col(-1) will get the last column.

>>> M.row(0)
[1  2  3]
>>> M.col(-1)
⎡3⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎣4⎦


### Deleting and Inserting Rows and Columns¶

To delete a row or column, use row_del or col_del. These operations will modify the Matrix in place.

>>> M.col_del(0)
>>> M
⎡2  3⎤
⎢    ⎥
⎣0  4⎦
>>> M.row_del(1)
>>> M
[2  3]


To insert rows or columns, use row_insert or col_insert. These operations do not operate in place.

>>> M
[2  3]
>>> M = M.row_insert(1, Matrix([[0, 4]]))
>>> M
⎡2  3⎤
⎢    ⎥
⎣0  4⎦
>>> M = M.col_insert(0, Matrix([1, -2]))
>>> M
⎡1   2  3⎤
⎢        ⎥
⎣-2  0  4⎦


Unless explicitly stated, the methods mentioned below do not operate in place. In general, a method that does not operate in place will return a new Matrix and a method that does operate in place will return None.

## Basic Methods¶

As noted above, simple operations like addition and multiplication are done just by using +, *, and **. To find the inverse of a matrix, just raise it to the -1 power.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 3], [-2, 3]])
>>> N = Matrix([[0, 3], [0, 7]])
>>> M + N
⎡1   6 ⎤
⎢      ⎥
⎣-2  10⎦
>>> M*N
⎡0  24⎤
⎢     ⎥
⎣0  15⎦
>>> 3*M
⎡3   9⎤
⎢     ⎥
⎣-6  9⎦
>>> M**2
⎡-5  12⎤
⎢      ⎥
⎣-8  3 ⎦
>>> M**-1
⎡1/3  -1/3⎤
⎢         ⎥
⎣2/9  1/9 ⎦
>>> N**-1
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: Matrix det == 0; not invertible.


To take the transpose of a Matrix, use T.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]])
>>> M
⎡1  2  3⎤
⎢       ⎥
⎣4  5  6⎦
>>> M.T
⎡1  4⎤
⎢    ⎥
⎢2  5⎥
⎢    ⎥
⎣3  6⎦


## Matrix Constructors¶

Several constructors exist for creating common matrices. To create an identity matrix, use eye. eye(n) will create an $$n\times n$$ identity matrix.

>>> eye(3)
⎡1  0  0⎤
⎢       ⎥
⎢0  1  0⎥
⎢       ⎥
⎣0  0  1⎦
>>> eye(4)
⎡1  0  0  0⎤
⎢          ⎥
⎢0  1  0  0⎥
⎢          ⎥
⎢0  0  1  0⎥
⎢          ⎥
⎣0  0  0  1⎦


To create a matrix of all zeros, use zeros. zeros(n, m) creates an $$n\times m$$ matrix of $$0$$s.

>>> zeros(2, 3)
⎡0  0  0⎤
⎢       ⎥
⎣0  0  0⎦


Similarly, ones creates a matrix of ones.

>>> ones(3, 2)
⎡1  1⎤
⎢    ⎥
⎢1  1⎥
⎢    ⎥
⎣1  1⎦


To create diagonal matrices, use diag. The arguments to diag can be either numbers or matrices. A number is interpreted as a $$1\times 1$$ matrix. The matrices are stacked diagonally. The remaining elements are filled with $$0$$s.

>>> diag(1, 2, 3)
⎡1  0  0⎤
⎢       ⎥
⎢0  2  0⎥
⎢       ⎥
⎣0  0  3⎦
>>> diag(-1, ones(2, 2), Matrix([5, 7, 5]))
⎡-1  0  0  0⎤
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   1  1  0⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   1  1  0⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   0  0  5⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   0  0  7⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎣0   0  0  5⎦


### Determinant¶

To compute the determinant of a matrix, use det.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 0, 1], [2, -1, 3], [4, 3, 2]])
>>> M
⎡1  0   1⎤
⎢        ⎥
⎢2  -1  3⎥
⎢        ⎥
⎣4  3   2⎦
>>> M.det()
-1


### RREF¶

To put a matrix into reduced row echelon form, use rref. rref returns a tuple of two elements. The first is the reduced row echelon form, and the second is a list of indices of the pivot columns.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 0, 1, 3], [2, 3, 4, 7], [-1, -3, -3, -4]])
>>> M
⎡1   0   1   3 ⎤
⎢              ⎥
⎢2   3   4   7 ⎥
⎢              ⎥
⎣-1  -3  -3  -4⎦
>>> M.rref()
⎛⎡1  0   1    3 ⎤, [0, 1]⎞
⎜⎢              ⎥        ⎟
⎜⎢0  1  2/3  1/3⎥        ⎟
⎜⎢              ⎥        ⎟
⎝⎣0  0   0    0 ⎦        ⎠


Note

The first element of the tuple returned by rref is of type Matrix. The second is of type list.

### Nullspace¶

To find the nullspace of a matrix, use nullspace. nullspace returns a list of column vectors that span the nullspace of the matrix.

>>> M = Matrix([[1, 2, 3, 0, 0], [4, 10, 0, 0, 1]])
>>> M
⎡1  2   3  0  0⎤
⎢              ⎥
⎣4  10  0  0  1⎦
>>> M.nullspace()
⎡⎡-15⎤, ⎡0⎤, ⎡ 1  ⎤⎤
⎢⎢   ⎥  ⎢ ⎥  ⎢    ⎥⎥
⎢⎢ 6 ⎥  ⎢0⎥  ⎢-1/2⎥⎥
⎢⎢   ⎥  ⎢ ⎥  ⎢    ⎥⎥
⎢⎢ 1 ⎥  ⎢0⎥  ⎢ 0  ⎥⎥
⎢⎢   ⎥  ⎢ ⎥  ⎢    ⎥⎥
⎢⎢ 0 ⎥  ⎢1⎥  ⎢ 0  ⎥⎥
⎢⎢   ⎥  ⎢ ⎥  ⎢    ⎥⎥
⎣⎣ 0 ⎦  ⎣0⎦  ⎣ 1  ⎦⎦


### Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors, and Diagonalization¶

To find the eigenvalues of a matrix, use eigenvals. eigenvals returns a dictionary of eigenvalue:algebraic multiplicity pairs (similar to the output of roots).

>>> M = Matrix([[3, -2,  4, -2], [5,  3, -3, -2], [5, -2,  2, -2], [5, -2, -3,  3]])
>>> M
⎡3  -2  4   -2⎤
⎢             ⎥
⎢5  3   -3  -2⎥
⎢             ⎥
⎢5  -2  2   -2⎥
⎢             ⎥
⎣5  -2  -3  3 ⎦
>>> M.eigenvals()
{-2: 1, 3: 1, 5: 2}


This means that M has eigenvalues -2, 3, and 5, and that the eigenvalues -2 and 3 have algebraic multiplicity 1 and that the eigenvalue 5 has algebraic multiplicity 2.

To find the eigenvectors of a matrix, use eigenvects. eigenvects returns a list of tuples of the form (eigenvalue:algebraic multiplicity, [eigenvectors]).

>>> M.eigenvects()
⎡⎛-2, 1, ⎡⎡0⎤⎤⎞, ⎛3, 1, ⎡⎡1⎤⎤⎞, ⎛5, 2, ⎡⎡1⎤, ⎡0 ⎤⎤⎞⎤
⎢⎜       ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥  ⎢  ⎥⎥⎟⎥
⎢⎜       ⎢⎢1⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢1⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢1⎥  ⎢-1⎥⎥⎟⎥
⎢⎜       ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥  ⎢  ⎥⎥⎟⎥
⎢⎜       ⎢⎢1⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢1⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢1⎥  ⎢0 ⎥⎥⎟⎥
⎢⎜       ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥⎥⎟  ⎜      ⎢⎢ ⎥  ⎢  ⎥⎥⎟⎥
⎣⎝       ⎣⎣1⎦⎦⎠  ⎝      ⎣⎣1⎦⎦⎠  ⎝      ⎣⎣0⎦  ⎣1 ⎦⎦⎠⎦


This shows us that, for example, the eigenvalue 5 also has geometric multiplicity 2, because it has two eigenvectors. Because the algebraic and geometric multiplicities are the same for all the eigenvalues, M is diagonalizable.

To diagonalize a matrix, use diagonalize. diagonalize returns a tuple $$(P, D)$$, where $$D$$ is diagonal and $$M = PDP^{-1}$$.

>>> P, D = M.diagonalize()
>>> P
⎡0  1  1  0 ⎤
⎢           ⎥
⎢1  1  1  -1⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎢1  1  1  0 ⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎣1  1  0  1 ⎦
>>> D
⎡-2  0  0  0⎤
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   3  0  0⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎢0   0  5  0⎥
⎢           ⎥
⎣0   0  0  5⎦
>>> P*D*P**-1
⎡3  -2  4   -2⎤
⎢             ⎥
⎢5  3   -3  -2⎥
⎢             ⎥
⎢5  -2  2   -2⎥
⎢             ⎥
⎣5  -2  -3  3 ⎦
>>> P*D*P**-1 == M
True


Note that since eigenvects also includes the eigenvalues, you should use it instead of eigenvals if you also want the eigenvectors. However, as computing the eigenvectors may often be costly, eigenvals should be preferred if you only wish to find the eigenvalues.

If all you want is the characteristic polynomial, use charpoly. This is more efficient than eigenvals, because sometimes symbolic roots can be expensive to calculate.

>>> lamda = symbols('lamda')
>>> p = M.charpoly(lamda)
>>> factor(p)
2
(λ - 5) ⋅(λ - 3)⋅(λ + 2)