A combinatorial proof of the Cayley-Hamilton theorem (Q789474)

The Cayley-Hamilton theorem asserts that \(p_ A(x)=\det(xI-A)\) is the zero matrix, where A is an \(n\times n\) matrix over a commutative ring R. In this paper the author gives a combinatorial proof of this theorem and notes a connection with the Foata-Cartier theory. This observation leads to a generalization of the Cayley-Hamilton theorem: The theorem holds for a matrix \(A=(a_{ij})\) over an arbitrary ring provided that entries from distinct rows of A commute with one another.