scientific article; zbMATH DE number 108444

Publication date 23 January 1993

affine geometry affine transformations bilinear and quadratic forms characteristic polynomials determinants eigenvalues Euclidean geometry linear transformation matrices systems of linear equations textbook vector spaces

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to linear algebra (15-01) Vector spaces, linear dependence, rank, lineability (15A03) Linear transformations, semilinear transformations (15A04) Linear equations (linear algebraic aspects) (15A06) Determinants, permanents, traces, other special matrix functions (15A15) Eigenvalues, singular values, and eigenvectors (15A18) Quadratic and bilinear forms, inner products (15A63) Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to geometry (51-01) Affine analytic geometry (51N10) Euclidean analytic geometry (51N20)

Review text

The essential part of this book treats affine and Euclidean geometry. Linear algebra is motivated by geometric considerations. Then it is developed largely as a tool used in investigations of space. The author treats vector spaces over subfields of the complex numbers. A vector space is defined as a nonempty set \(V\), subject to certain rules. One of the defining properties is: There exists an element \(O\in V\dots\) One wonders why the author stresses that \(V\) is nonempty, when he afterwards stipulates the existence of a specific element in \(V\). Similar formulations occur in the definitions of groups and fields. Linear dependence is defined for vectors \(v_ 1,\dots,v_ n\in V\) (Definition 4.8) and then used for the set \(\{v_ 1,\dots,v_ n\}\) in e.g. Proposition 4.8. No word of explanation is offered. The author treats all the usual concepts as matrices, systems of linear equations, determinants, eigenvalues, characteristic polynomials etc. The presentation is smooth and pleasing. It progresses quickly to some nontrivial results like the Laplace expansion of a determinant for minors of order \(k\). Affine planes and affine spaces of dimension 3 are studied in detail. Linear transformation, affine transformations and their relationship are investigated. Properties of bilinear and quadratic forms are derived. The acquired knowledge is then applied to Euclidean spaces, giving features of isometries in particular for the Euclidean plane and culminating in the determination of the finite subgroups of its group of isometries.

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