Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / ia / Paper 1 / 7A / Solution

By the real spectral theorem, a real symmetric matrix has an orthogonal diagonalizationWriting $y=Q^{T}x$ givesThis is nonnegative for every $x$ exactly when every ${\lambda }_i\ge 0$. Thus the quadratic-form and eigenvalue definitions of a positive semidefinite matrix agree.

When $A$ is positive semidefinite, defineThis matrix is symmetric and positive semidefinite, and its square is $A$, so it is the principal square root of a positive semidefinite matrix.

For nonsingular $M$, the matrix $M^{T}M$ is symmetric andfor every nonzero $x$. Thus $M^{T}M$ is positive definite, andexists and is nonsingular. Let $R=M{P}^{-1}$. Since $P$ is symmetric,Hence $R$ is an orthogonal matrix andthe polar decomposition of an invertible real matrix.

In three dimensions, $P$ stretches or contracts along three mutually perpendicular eigenvector directions by its positive eigenvalues. The orthogonal map $R$ is then applied: it is a rotation when $\det M>0$, and a rotation combined with a reflection when $\det M<0$.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.