The Jordan Decomposition is a fundamental concept in linear algebra, particularly in the study of linear operators on finite-dimensional vector spaces. It states that any square matrix can be expressed in the form:
where is an invertible matrix and is a Jordan canonical form. The Jordan form is a block diagonal matrix composed of Jordan blocks, each corresponding to an eigenvalue of . A Jordan block for an eigenvalue has the structure:
where is the size of the block. This decomposition is particularly useful because it simplifies the analysis of the matrix's properties, such as its eigenvalues and geometric multiplicities, allowing for easier computation of functions of the matrix, such as exponentials or powers.
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