Talk:Eigenvalue

Just curious...does anyone know how eigenvalues and eigenvectors got their names? Decrypt3 02:20, Jul 21, 2004 (UTC)

From de Gërmân, of course! The original was "Eigenwert". Graft 02:40, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

What does "Eigenwert" mean? Decrypt3 14:24, Jul 21, 2004 (UTC)

I'd guess, 'own value'.

A better translation would be intrinsic value.

topic table

is there any reason for the "Topics in mathematics related to linear algebra" table to be at the top instead of the bottom? ✈ James C. 19:07, 2004 Aug 2 (UTC)

Geometric multiplicity

"The geometric multiplicity of λ is the number of factors t-λ of the minimal polynomial of A or equivalently the nullity of (λI-A)." This is untrue. The geometric multiplicity is defined as the nullity of (λI-A), which is not equivalent to "the number of factors t-λ of the minimal polynomial of A." Here's a counter example:

1  -3  3
3  -5  3
6  -6  4

The geometric multiplicity of λ=-2 is 2, while the minial polynomial is (t+2)(t-4). So the number of factors t-λ of the minimal polynomial is 1.

You're right. There is also a term for the number of factors in the minimal polynomial, which I've unfortunately forgotten; do you remember it? In any case, please do improve the article. -- Jitse Niesen 12:33, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing it. The same mistake is repeated in Minimal polynomial. Unfortunately I've not studied about Jordan blocks yet, so I am not sure how to go about correcting it :). Can you change it too? Spikeballs 17:53, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

Latent root

It's another name. I created the article, maybe you guys could mention it.