In linear algebra, an Euclidean subspace (or subspace of Rn) is a set of vectors that is closed under addition and scalar multiplication. Linear algebra is the branch of Mathematics concerned with In Mathematics, a vector space (or linear space) is a collection of objects (called vectors) that informally speaking may be scaled and added In Mathematics, a set is said to be closed under some operation if the operation on members of the set produces a member of the set Geometrically, a subspace is a flat in n-dimensional Euclidean space that passes through the origin. In Geometry, a flat is a subset of ''n''-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower Dimension. Examples of subspaces include the solution set to a homogeneous system of linear equations, the subset of Euclidean space described by a system of homogeneous linear parametric equations, the span of a collection of vectors, and the null space, column space, and row space of a matrix. In Mathematics, a system of linear equations (or linear system) is a collection of Linear equations involving the same set of Variables For example In Mathematics, parametric equations are a method of defining a curve In the mathematical subfield of Linear algebra, the linear span, also called the linear hull, of a set of vectors in a Vector In Linear algebra, the column space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its column vectors In Linear algebra, the row space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its row vectors In Mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is a rectangular table of elements (or entries) which may be Numbers or more generally [1]
In abstract linear algebra, Euclidean subspaces are important examples of vector spaces. In Mathematics, a vector space (or linear space) is a collection of objects (called vectors) that informally speaking may be scaled and added In this context, a Euclidean subspace is simply a linear subspace of a Euclidean space. The concept of a linear subspace (or vector subspace) is important in Linear algebra and related fields of Mathematics.
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In mathematics, Rn denotes the set of all vectors with n real components:
Here the word vector refers to any ordered list of numbers. In Mathematics, the real numbers may be described informally in several different ways Vectors can be written as either ordered tuples or as columns of numbers:
Geometrically, we regard vectors with n components as points in an n-dimensional space. In Geometry, Topology and related branches of mathematics a spatial point describes a specific point within a given space that consists of neither Volume That is, we identify the set Rn with n-dimensional Euclidean space. Any subset of Rn can be thought of as a geometric object (namely the object consisting of all the points in the subset). Using this mode of thought, a line in three-dimensional space is the same as the set of points on the line, and is therefore just a subset of R3.
A Euclidean subspace is a subset S of Rn with the following properties:
There are several common variations on these requirements, all of which are logically equivalent to the list above. [4] [5]
Because subspaces are closed under both addition and scalar multiplication, any linear combination of vectors from a subspace is again in the subspace. In Mathematics, a set is said to be closed under some operation if the operation on members of the set produces a member of the set In Mathematics, linear combinations are a concept central to Linear algebra and related fields of mathematics That is, if v1, v2, . . . , vk are elements of a subspace S, and c1, c2, . . . , ck are scalars, then
is again an element of S. In Linear algebra, Real numbers are called Scalars and relate to vectors in a Vector space through the operation of Scalar multiplication
Geometrically, a subspace of Rn is simply a flat through the origin, i. In Geometry, a flat is a subset of ''n''-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower Dimension. e. a copy of a lower dimensional (or equi-dimensional) Euclidean space sitting in n dimensions. For example, there are four different types of subspaces in R3:
In n-dimensional space, there are subspaces of every dimension from 0 to n. In Mathematics, an n -dimensional space is a Topological space whose Dimension is n (where n is a fixed Natural
The geometric dimension of a subspace is the same as the number of vectors required for a basis (see below). Basis vector redirects here For basis vector in the context of crystals see Crystal structure.
The solution set to any homogeneous system of linear equations with n variables is a subspace of Rn:
![\left\{ \left[\!\! \begin{array}{c} x_1 \\ x_2 \\ \vdots \\ x_n \end{array} \!\!\right] \in \textbf{R}^n : \begin{alignat}{6}
a_{11} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{12} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{1n} x_n &&\; = 0& \\
a_{21} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{22} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{2n} x_n &&\; = 0& \\
\vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; && \vdots\,& \\
a_{m1} x_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{m2} x_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{mn} x_n &&\; = 0&
\end{alignat} \right\}](../../../../math/7/1/5/715cf82949b488b26fdb48a7a81466ab.png)
For example, the set of all vectors (x, y, z) satisfying the equations

is a one-dimensional subspace of R3. In Mathematics, a system of linear equations (or linear system) is a collection of Linear equations involving the same set of Variables For example
In linear algebra, a homogeneous system of linear equations can be written as a single matrix equation:

The set of solutions to this equation is known as the null space of the matrix. In Mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is a rectangular table of elements (or entries) which may be Numbers or more generally For example, the subspace of R3 described above is the null space of the matrix
![A = \left[ \begin{alignat}{3} -1 && 5 && 2 &\\ 2 && \;\;-4 && \;\;\;\;3 &\end{alignat} \,\right]\text{.}](../../../../math/6/4/c/64cf76fc262cc5e63ff7c25765c9b6fe.png)
Every subspace of Rn can be described as the null space of some matrix (see algorithms, below).
The subset of Rn described by a system of homogeneous linear parametric equations is a subspace:
![\left\{ \left[\!\! \begin{array}{c} x_1 \\ x_2 \\ \vdots \\ x_n \end{array} \!\!\right] \in \textbf{R}^n : \begin{alignat}{7}
x_1 &&\; = \;&& a_{11} t_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{12} t_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{1m} t_m & \\
x_2 &&\; = \;&& a_{21} t_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{22} t_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{2m} t_m & \\
\vdots \,&& && \vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; && && \vdots\;\;\; & \\
x_n &&\; = \;&& a_{n1} t_1 &&\; + \;&& a_{n2} t_2 &&\; + \cdots + \;&& a_{nm} t_m & \\
\end{alignat} \text{ for some } t_1,\ldots,t_m\in\textbf{R} \right\}](../../../../math/d/e/c/decef3aeed1c7bf9243846ee04b7b205.png)
For example, the set of all vectors (x, y, z) parameterized by the equations

is a two-dimensional subspace of R3. In Mathematics, parametric equations are a method of defining a curve
In linear algebra, the system of parametric equations can be written as a single vector equation:
![\left[ \begin{alignat}{1} x& \\ y& \\ z& \end{alignat}\,\right] \;=\; t_1 \!\left[ \begin{alignat}{1} 2& \\ 5& \\ -1& \end{alignat}\,\right] + t_2 \!\left[ \begin{alignat}{1} 3& \\ -4& \\ 2& \end{alignat}\,\right]](../../../../math/4/3/c/43c57ec875f202bc7117f201172a70a5.png)
The expression on the right is called a linear combination of the vectors (2, 5, −1) and (3, −4, 2). In the mathematical subfield of Linear algebra, the linear span, also called the linear hull, of a set of vectors in a Vector In Mathematics, linear combinations are a concept central to Linear algebra and related fields of mathematics These two vectors are said to span the resulting subspace.
In general, a linear combination of vectors v1, v2, . . . , vk is any vector of the form

The set of all possible linear combinations is called the span:

If the vectors v1,. . . ,vk have n components, then their span is a subspace of Rn. Geometrically, the span is the flat through the origin in n-dimensional space determined by the points v1,. . . ,vk.


A system of linear parametric equations can also be written as a single matrix equation:
![\textbf{x} = A\textbf{t}\;\;\;\;\text{where}\;\;\;\;A = \left[ \begin{alignat}{2} 2 && 3 & \\ 5 && \;\;-4 & \\ -1 && 2 & \end{alignat} \,\right]\text{.}](../../../../math/6/f/2/6f2d7da04ae52dc3d113e91892f55d27.png)
In this case, the subspace consists of all possible values of the vector x. In Linear algebra, the column space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its column vectors In Linear algebra, the row space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its row vectors In linear algebra, this subspace is known as the column space (or image) of the matrix A. In Mathematics, the image of a preimage under a given function is the set of all possible function outputs when taking each element of the preimage It is precisely the subspace of Rn spanned by the column vectors of A.
The row space of a matrix is the subspace spanned by its row vectors. The row space is interesting because it is the orthogonal complement of the null space (see below). In the mathematical fields of Linear algebra and Functional analysis, the orthogonal complement W^\bot of a subspace W
In general, a subspace of Rn determined by k parameters (or spanned by k vectors) has dimension k. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the subspace of R3 spanned by the three vectors (1, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1), and (2, 0, 3) is just the xz-plane, with each point on the plane described by infinitely many different values of t1, t2, t3.
In general, vectors v1,. . . ,vk are called linearly independent if

for (t1, t2, . . . , tk) ≠ (u1, u2, . . . , uk). [6] If v1, . . . , vk are linearly independent, then the coordinates t1, . . . , tk for a vector in the span are uniquely determined.
A basis for a subspace S is a set of linearly independent vectors whose span is S. The number of elements in a basis is always equal to the geometric dimension of the subspace. Any spanning set for a subspace can be changed into a basis by removing redundant vectors (see algorithms, below).


Most algorithms for dealing with subspaces involve row reduction. In Linear algebra, Gaussian elimination is an efficient Algorithm for solving systems of linear equations, to find the rank of a matrix This is the process of applying elementary row operations to a matrix until it reaches either row echelon form or reduced row echelon form. In Mathematics, an elementary matrix is a simple matrix which differs from the Identity matrix in a minimal way In Linear algebra a matrix is in row echelon form if All nonzero rows are above any rows of all zeroes and The Leading coefficient In Linear algebra a matrix is in row echelon form if All nonzero rows are above any rows of all zeroes and The Leading coefficient Row reduction has the following important properties:
See the article on row space for an example. In Linear algebra, the row space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its row vectors In Linear algebra, the row space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its row vectors
If we instead put the matrix A into reduced row echelon form, then the resulting basis for the row space is uniquely determined. This provides an algorithm for checking whether two row spaces are equal and, by extension, whether two subspaces of Rn are equal.
See the article on column space for an example. In Linear algebra, the column space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its column vectors In Linear algebra, the column space of a matrix is the set of all possible Linear combinations of its column vectors
This produces a basis for the column space that is a subset of the original column vectors. It works because the columns with pivots are a basis for the column space of the echelon form, and row reduction does not change the linear dependence relationships between the columns.
If the final column of the reduced row echelon form contains a pivot, then the input vector v does not lie in S.
See the article on null space for an example. In Linear algebra, the kernel or null space (also nullspace) of a matrix A is the set of all vectors x for which
![\left[ \begin{alignat}{6}
1 && 0 && -3 && 0 && 2 && 0 \\
0 && 1 && 5 && 0 && -1 && 4 \\
0 && 0 && 0 && 1 && 7 && -9 \\
0 && \;\;\;\;\;0 && \;\;\;\;\;0 && \;\;\;\;\;0 && \;\;\;\;\;0 && \;\;\;\;\;0 \end{alignat} \,\right]](../../../../math/0/e/4/0e4344071790a3750116a02eafdae712.png)


If U and V are subspaces of Rn, their intersection is also a subspace:

The dimension of the intersection satisfies the inequality

The minimum is the most general case[7], and the maximum only occurs when one subspace is contained in the other. In Mathematics, the intersection of two sets A and B is the set that contains all elements of A that also belong to B (or equivalently For example, the intersection of two-dimensional subspaces in R3 has dimension one or two (with two only possible if they are the same plane). The intersection of three-dimensional subspaces in R5 has dimension one, two, or three, with most pairs intersecting along a line.
The codimension of a subspace U in Rn is the difference n − dim(U). In Mathematics, codimension is a basic geometric idea that applies to Subspaces in Vector spaces and more generally to Submanifolds in Manifolds Using codimension, the inequality above can be written

If U and V are subspaces of Rn, their sum is the subspace

For example, the sum of two lines is the plane that contains them both. The dimension of the sum satisfies the inequality

Here the minimum only occurs if one subspace is contained in the other, while the maximum is the most general case. [8] The dimension of the intersection and the sum are related:

The orthogonal complement of a subspace U is the subspace

Here x · u denotes the dot product of x and u. In the mathematical fields of Linear algebra and Functional analysis, the orthogonal complement W^\bot of a subspace W In Mathematics, the dot product, also known as the scalar product, is an operation which takes two vectors over the Real numbers R For example, if U is a plane through the origin in R3, then U⊥ is the line perpendicular to this plane at the origin.
If b1, b2, . . . , bk is a basis for U, then a vector x is in the orthogonal complement of U if and only if it is orthogonal to each bi. In Mathematics, two Vectors are orthogonal if they are Perpendicular, i It follows that the null space of a matrix is the orthogonal complement of the row space.
The dimension of a subspace and its orthogonal complement are related by the equation

That is, the dimension of U⊥ is equal to the codimension of U. In Mathematics, codimension is a basic geometric idea that applies to Subspaces in Vector spaces and more generally to Submanifolds in Manifolds The intersection of U and U⊥ is the origin, and the sum of U and U⊥ is all of Rn
Orthogonal complements satisfy a version of De Morgan's laws:

In fact, the collection of subspaces of Rn satisfy all of the axioms for a Boolean algebra, with intersection as AND, sum as OR, and orthogonal complement as NOT. In Logic, De Morgan's laws or De Morgan's theorem are rules in Formal logic relating pairs of dual Logical operators in a systematic manner expressed In Abstract algebra, a Boolean algebra or Boolean lattice is a complemented distributive lattice.