[Math] Uniqueness of the direct sum complement of a vector subspace

direct-sumlinear algebravector-spaces

I came across the following in a linear algebra book:

We know already that if $U$ is a subspace of a vector space $V$, then there are, usually, many other subspaces $W$ in $V$ such that $U \oplus W = V$. There is no natural way of choosing one from among the wealth of complements of $U$.

In other words, there exist at least $2$ subspaces $W_1$ and $W_2$, both disjoint from $U$, such that $U+W_1=U+W_2=V$. If $\{v_1, \ldots, v_m\}$ is a basis of $U$, that can be extended to a basis $\{v_1, \ldots, v_m, v_{m+1}, \ldots, v_n\}$ of $V$. Won't the elements $\{v_{m+1}, \ldots, v_n\}$ form the basis of the direct sum complement? And no matter how the original basis of $U$ was extended, won't the new vectors in the extended set span the same vector space regardless? In such a case, how can we get different direct-sum complement subspaces $W_1$ and $W_2$?

(I know there's a flaw in my thinking above. Would be great if anyone could point them out. How would I prove that the direct sum complement is non-unique?)

Best Answer

The error lies in assuming that the only possibility for the supplementary subspace is $\langle v_{m+1},\ldots,v_n\rangle$. It isn't. If $V=\mathbb{R}^2$, $U=\langle(1,0)\rangle$ and if you complete the basis, which vector will you take? You will choose $(0,1)$ probably. And indeed $\langle(0,1)\rangle$ is a supplementary subspace. However, $\langle(1,1)\rangle(=\langle(1,0)+(0,1)\rangle)$ will also work, for instance.