Inverse-preserving linear maps between spaces of matrices over fields (Q2508611)

Let \(F\) be a field with at least three elements, and let \(M_n(F)\), respectively, \(S_n(F)\) be the space of all \(n\)--by--\(n\), of all symmetric (\(A^t=A\)) \(n\)--by--\(n\), matrices over \(F\). The paper under review starts by classifying linear \textit{inverse preservers} \(f:S_n(F)\to M_n(F)\), that is, linear maps with the property \(f(A^{-1})=f(A)^{-1}\) for invertible \(A\in S_n(F)\). It is proven that any such map is standard, of the form \(\Phi\): \(X\mapsto e PXP^{-1}\) where \(e=\pm 1\). No surjectivity of \(\Phi\) is assumed in advance. As an application the author varies domain and codomain and, thus, classifies linear inverse preservers \(f:S_n(F)\to S_n(F)\) and \(f:M_n(F)\to M_n(F)\). This last result is then used to show that no linear map \(f:M_n(F)\to S_n(F)\) can preserve the inverses.