In
linear algebra
Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations such as:
:a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n=b,
linear maps such as:
:(x_1, \ldots, x_n) \mapsto a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n,
and their representations in vector spaces and through matric ...
, a Toeplitz matrix or diagonal-constant matrix, named after
Otto Toeplitz
Otto Toeplitz (1 August 1881 – 15 February 1940) was a German mathematician working in functional analysis., reprinted in
Life and work
Toeplitz was born to a Jewish family of mathematicians. Both his father and grandfather were ''Gymnas ...
, is a
matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** '' The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchi ...
in which each descending diagonal from left to right is constant. For instance, the following matrix is a Toeplitz matrix:
:
Any ''n'' × ''n'' matrix ''A'' of the form
:
is a Toeplitz matrix. If the ''i'', ''j'' element of ''A'' is denoted ''A''
''i'', ''j'' then we have
:
A Toeplitz matrix is not necessarily
square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
.
Solving a Toeplitz system
A matrix equation of the form
:
is called a Toeplitz system if ''A'' is a Toeplitz matrix. If ''A'' is an ''n'' × ''n'' Toeplitz matrix, then the system has only 2''n'' − 1
degrees of freedom
Degrees of freedom (often abbreviated df or DOF) refers to the number of independent variables or parameters of a thermodynamic system. In various scientific fields, the word "freedom" is used to describe the limits to which physical movement or ...
, rather than ''n''
2. We might therefore expect that the solution of a Toeplitz system would be easier, and indeed that is the case.
Toeplitz systems can be solved by the
Levinson algorithm in
''O''(''n''2) time. Variants of this algorithm have been shown to be weakly stable (i.e. they exhibit
numerical stability for
well-conditioned linear systems). The algorithm can also be used to find the
determinant
In mathematics, the determinant is a scalar value that is a function of the entries of a square matrix. It characterizes some properties of the matrix and the linear map represented by the matrix. In particular, the determinant is nonzero if ...
of a Toeplitz matrix in
''O''(''n''2) time.
A Toeplitz matrix can also be decomposed (i.e. factored) in
''O''(''n''2) time. The Bareiss algorithm for an
LU decomposition
In numerical analysis and linear algebra, lower–upper (LU) decomposition or factorization factors a matrix as the product of a lower triangular matrix and an upper triangular matrix (see matrix decomposition). The product sometimes includes a ...
is stable. An LU decomposition gives a quick method for solving a Toeplitz system, and also for computing the determinant.
Algorithms that are asymptotically faster than those of Bareiss and Levinson have been described in the literature, but their accuracy cannot be relied upon.
General properties
* An ''n'' × ''n'' Toeplitz matrix may be defined as a matrix ''A'' where ''A''
''i'', ''j'' = ''c''
''i''−''j'', for constants ''c''
1−''n'', ..., ''c''
''n''−1. The
set of ''n'' × ''n'' Toeplitz matrices is a
subspace of the
vector space
In mathematics and physics, a vector space (also called a linear space) is a set whose elements, often called '' vectors'', may be added together and multiplied ("scaled") by numbers called '' scalars''. Scalars are often real numbers, but ...
of ''n'' × ''n'' matrices (under matrix addition and scalar multiplication).
* Two Toeplitz matrices may be added in
''O''(''n'') time (by storing only one value of each diagonal) and
multiplied in ''O''(''n''
2) time.
* Toeplitz matrices are
persymmetric. Symmetric Toeplitz matrices are both
centrosymmetric and
bisymmetric.
* Toeplitz matrices are also closely connected with
Fourier series
A Fourier series () is a summation of harmonically related sinusoidal functions, also known as components or harmonics. The result of the summation is a periodic function whose functional form is determined by the choices of cycle length (or '' ...
, because the
multiplication operator by a
trigonometric polynomial In the mathematical subfields of numerical analysis and mathematical analysis, a trigonometric polynomial is a finite linear combination of functions sin(''nx'') and cos(''nx'') with ''n'' taking on the values of one or more natural numbers. The c ...
,
compressed to a finite-dimensional space, can be represented by such a matrix. Similarly, one can represent linear convolution as multiplication by a Toeplitz matrix.
* Toeplitz matrices
commute asymptotically. This means they
diagonalize in the same
basis when the row and column dimension tends to infinity.
* A
positive semi-definite ''n'' × ''n'' Toeplitz matrix
of
rank ''r'' < ''n'' can be ''uniquely'' factored as
::
:where
is an ''r'' × ''r''
positive definite diagonal matrix
In linear algebra, a diagonal matrix is a matrix in which the entries outside the main diagonal are all zero; the term usually refers to square matrices. Elements of the main diagonal can either be zero or nonzero. An example of a 2×2 diagonal ...
,