Elementary Linear Algebra 7th Edition

Published by Cengage Learning
ISBN 10: 1-13311-087-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-13311-087-3

Chapter 7 - Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors - 7.1 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors - 7.1 Exercises - Page 352: 77

Answer

Either $1$ or $0$.

Work Step by Step

Let $A$ be an idempotent matrix. This means that $A^2-A=0$, so the minimal polynomial of $A$ is $m(x)=x^2-x$. The possible eigenvalues of the matrix $A$ are the zeroes of the minimal polynomials. Since the zeroes of $m(x)$ are $\{0,1\}$, the possible eigenvalues are $0$ or $1$.
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