2.2.3 Vector and matrix norms
A norm of a vector or matrix is a real number that provides a measure of its length or
magnitude. There are numerous instances in which we need to compare or determine the
length of a vector or the magnitude (norm) of a matrix. In this chapter, you will be
introduced to the concept of ill-conditioned problems in which the “condition number”
measures the extent of difficulty in obtaining an accurate solution. The condition number
depends on the norm of the associated matrix that defines the system coefficients.
The norm of a vector or matrix has several important propert ies as discussed in
the following.
(1) The norm of a vector v, denoted ||v||, and that of a matrix A,denoted||A||, is always
positive and is equal to zero only when all the elements of the vector or matrix are zero.
The double vertical lines on both sides of the vector that denote the scalar value of the
vector length should not be confused with the single vertical lines used to denote the absolute
value of a number. Only a zero vector or a zero matrix can have a norm equal to zero.
(2) The norm of the product of two vector s, a vector and a matrix, or two matrices is
equal to or less than the product of the norms of the two quantities being multiplied;
i.e., if u and v are vectors, and A and B are matrices, and the operations uv, Av, and
AB are all defined, then
(a) kuvkkukkvk,
(b) kAvkkAkkvk,
(c) kABkkAkkBk.
(3) For any two vectors or matrices, ku þ vkkukþkvk, which is also known as the
triangle inequality or the Cauchy–Schwarz inequa lity.
Norm of a vector
In Euclidean vector space,
2
the norm of an n × 1 vector v is defined as
kvk¼
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
v
T
v
p
¼
X
i¼n
i¼1
v
2
i
!
1=2
: (2:9)
The norm is thus the square root of the inner product of a vector with itself. This method
of calculating the vector length may be familiar to you since this is the same method used
to determine the length of vectors in our three-dimensional physical space.
A p-norm is a general method used to determine the vector length, and is defined as
kvk
p
¼
X
n
i¼1
jv
i
j
p
()
1=p
; (2:10)
where p can take on any value. When p = 2, we obtain Equation (2.9 ), which
calculates the Euclidean norm. Two other important norms commonly used are
the p = 1 norm and the p = ∞ norm :
p = 1 norm: kvk
1
¼ v
1
jj
þ v
2
jj
þ v
3
jj
þþ v
n
jj
;
p = ∞ norm: kvk
∞
¼ max
1in
jv
i
j.
2
Euclidean vector space is a finite real vector space and is represented as R
n
, i.e. each vector in this space is
defined by a sequence of n real numbers. In Euclidean space, the inner product is defined by Equation (2.5).
Other vector/function spaces may have different definitions for the vector norm and the inner product.
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Systems of linear equations