A textbook for a one-semester course in linear algebra for graduate or upper-level undergraduate students of mathematics and engineering. Employs a matrix perspective, and emphasizes training in definitions, theorems, and proofs. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Students receive the benefits of axiom-based mathematical reasoning as well as a grasp of concrete formulations. Suitable as a primary or supplementary text for college-level courses in linear algebra. 1957 edition.

The theory of vector spaces and matrices is an essential part of the mathematical background required by physicists. Most books on the subject, however, do not adequately meet the requirements of physics courses-they tend to be either highly mathematical or too elementary. Books that focus on mathematical theory may render the subject too dry to hold the interest of physics students, while books that are more elementary tend to neglect some topics that are vital in the development of physical theories. In particular, there is often very little discussion of vector spaces, and many books introduce matrices merely as a computational tool. Vector Spaces and Matrices in Physics fills the gap between the elementary and the heavily mathematical treatments of the subject with an approach and presentation ideal for graduate-level physics students. After building a foundation in vector spaces and matrix algebra, the author takes care to emphasize the role of matrices as representations of linear transformations on vector spaces, a concept of matrix theory that is essential for a proper understanding of quantum mechanics. He includes numerous solved and unsolved problems, and enough hints for the unsolved problems to make the book self-sufficient. Developed through many years of lecture notes, Vector Spaces and Matrices in Physics was written primarily as a graduate and post-graduate textbook and as a reference for physicists. Its clear presentation and concise but thorough coverage, however, make it useful for engineers, chemists, economists, and anyone who needs a background in matrices for application in other areas.

In 1943, a course in linear algebra did not yet exist as a standard part of the undergraduate curriculum. It would be another twenty years before that would become common. It is, however, easy to identify the defining features of that course in this volume. Start with the idea of solving linear systems; change the point of view to that of transformations on vector spaces; recognize similarity as an essential classifying principle; and catalogue the canonical forms (Jordan normal form) of the transformations. All of this is here but with a decided, old-fashioned, algebraic accent—there is only one figure in the entire text.

Concise undergraduate text focuses on problem solving, rather than elaborate proofs. The first three chapters present the basics of matrices, including addition, multiplication, and division. In later chapters the author introduces vectors and shows how to use vectors and matrices to solve systems of linear equations. 1961 edition. 20 black-and-white illustrations.