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Definition

Trace of a Matrix

The trace of a square matrix is the sum of its diagonal elements. Denoted as tr(A)tr(A) for an m×mm \times m matrix AA, it is defined only for square matrices.

Properties of Trace

  1. Cyclic Property: tr(ABC)=tr(CAB)=tr(BCA)tr(ABC) = tr(CAB) = tr(BCA)
  2. Transpose Invariance: tr(A)=tr(AT)tr(A) = tr(A^T)
  3. Commutative-like Property under Multiplication: For ARm×nA \in \mathbb{R}^{m \times n} and BRn×mB \in \mathbb{R}^{n \times m}, tr(AB)=tr(BA)tr(AB) = tr(BA).

Example

tr([283146795])=2+4+5=11tr\left(\begin{bmatrix} 2 & 8 & 3 \\ 1 & 4 & 6 \\ 7 & 9 & 5 \end{bmatrix}\right) = 2 + 4 + 5 = 11

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Updated 2026-06-17

References


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Data Science

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