Linear Algebra – Direct Sum Question Problem

direct-sumlinear algebra

Find $k \in \mathbb{R}$ such that $\mathbb{R}^3=S \oplus T$, with $S=\operatorname{span}\left\{\left[\begin{array}{c}-3 \\ 4 \\ 1\end{array}\right]\right\}$ and $T=\left\{(x, y, z) \in \mathbb{R}^3: k x+y-z=0\right\}.$

Two subspaces $S$ and $T$ are complementary if their intersection is the zero vector space, and their direct sum spans the entire space.

So, the intersection can be found by making S and T equal

so we get

\begin{aligned}
-3 a & =k x \\
4 a & =y \\
a & =-z
\end{aligned}

Then, $a = -\frac{3}{k}x$, we set $a+z$ and get that $k$ should not be $0$ right?

Best Answer

Note that if $S=\text{span}\left\{\begin{bmatrix} -3\\ 4\\ 1 \end{bmatrix}\right\}$, then $S=\left\{a\begin{bmatrix} -3\\ 4\\ 1 \end{bmatrix}:a\in\mathbb{R}\right\}$. This vector space is isomorphic to $\tilde{S}=\left\{a(-3,4,1):a\in\mathbb{R}\right\}$.

Also, note that $T=\left\{(x,y,z)\in\mathbb{R}^3:kx+y-z=0\right\}\Leftrightarrow T=\{(x,y,kx+y):x,y\in\mathbb{R}\}$.

Since $\mathbb{R}^3=\tilde{S}\oplus T$, we must have $\tilde{S}\cap T=\{(0,0,0)\}$. This occurs for any real number $k\neq 1$ (why?).

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