In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, negative definiteness is a property of any object to which a
bilinear form
In mathematics, a bilinear form is a bilinear map on a vector space (the elements of which are called '' vectors'') over a field ''K'' (the elements of which are called ''scalars''). In other words, a bilinear form is a function that is linear i ...
may be naturally associated, which is
negative-definite. See, in particular:
*
Negative-definite bilinear form
*
Negative-definite quadratic form
*
Negative-definite matrix
In mathematics, a symmetric matrix M with real entries is positive-definite if the real number z^\textsfMz is positive for every nonzero real column vector z, where z^\textsf is the transpose of More generally, a Hermitian matrix (that is, a c ...
*
Negative-definite function
{{Set index article, mathematics
Quadratic forms