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The design of linear algebra and geometry

The design of linear algebra and geometry Conventional formulations of linear algebra do not do justice to the fundamental concepts of meet, join, and duality in projective geometry. This defect is corrected by introducing Clifford algebra into the foundations of linear algebra. There is a natural extension of linear transformations on a vector space to the associated Clifford algebra with a simple projective interpretation. This opens up new possibilities for coordinate-free computations in linear algebra. For example, the Jordan form for a linear transformation is shown to be equivalent to a canonical factorization of the unit pseudoscalar. This approach also reveals deep relations between the structure of the linear geometries, from projective to metrical, and the structure of Clifford algebras. This is apparent in a new relation between additive and multiplicative forms for intervals in the cross-ratio. Also, various factorizations of Clifford algebras into Clifford algebras of lower dimension are shown to have projective interpretations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Acta Applicandae Mathematicae Springer Journals

The design of linear algebra and geometry

Hestenes, David
Acta Applicandae Mathematicae , Volume 23 (1) – May 1, 2004
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References (21)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright
Subject
Mathematics; Computational Mathematics and Numerical Analysis; Applications of Mathematics; Partial Differential Equations; Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes; Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control; Optimization
ISSN
0167-8019
eISSN
1572-9036
DOI
10.1007/BF00046920
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Conventional formulations of linear algebra do not do justice to the fundamental concepts of meet, join, and duality in projective geometry. This defect is corrected by introducing Clifford algebra into the foundations of linear algebra. There is a natural extension of linear transformations on a vector space to the associated Clifford algebra with a simple projective interpretation. This opens up new possibilities for coordinate-free computations in linear algebra. For example, the Jordan form for a linear transformation is shown to be equivalent to a canonical factorization of the unit pseudoscalar. This approach also reveals deep relations between the structure of the linear geometries, from projective to metrical, and the structure of Clifford algebras. This is apparent in a new relation between additive and multiplicative forms for intervals in the cross-ratio. Also, various factorizations of Clifford algebras into Clifford algebras of lower dimension are shown to have projective interpretations.

Journal

Acta Applicandae Mathematicae – Springer Journals

Published: May 1, 2004

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