[Math] If $Ax=b$ has two or more solutions for some vector $b$, then the null space of $A$ is non-trivial.

linear algebramatrices

I'm trying to prove (or disprove) this statement for general, real valued matrices/column vectors. I know that this is straightforward for square matrices. By the invertible matrix theorem, a square matrix has trivial null space if and only if the equation $Ax=b$ has a unique solution. But I'm struggling to see how to adapt this to non-square matrices (or come up with a different proof). Thanks in advance.

Best Answer

If you have two distinct solutions: $\; Ax_1=b$, $\, Ax_2=b$, then $$A(x_1-x_2)=b-b=0,$$ and $\:y=x_1-x_2$ is a non-trivial, since $x_1\ne x_2$, solution to the equation $\:Ax=0$.