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In linear algebra, a linear relation, or simply relation, between elements of a vector space or a module is a linear equation that has these elements as a solution.. More precisely, if , …, are elements of a (left) module M over a ring R (the case of a vector space over a field is a special case), a relation between , …, is a sequence (, …,) of elements of R such that
Concerning general linear maps, linear endomorphisms, and square matrices have some specific properties that make their study an important part of linear algebra, which is used in many parts of mathematics, including geometric transformations, coordinate changes, quadratic forms, and many other parts of mathematics.
A linear map is a homomorphism of vector spaces; that is, a group homomorphism between vector spaces that preserves the abelian group structure and scalar multiplication. A module homomorphism, also called a linear map between modules, is defined similarly. An algebra homomorphism is a map that preserves the algebra operations.
In mathematics, the term linear is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: . linearity of a function (or mapping);; linearity of a polynomial.; An example of a linear function is the function defined by () = (,) that maps the real line to a line in the Euclidean plane R 2 that passes through the origin.
Conversely, every line is the set of all solutions of a linear equation. The phrase "linear equation" takes its origin in this correspondence between lines and equations: a linear equation in two variables is an equation whose solutions form a line. If b ≠ 0, the line is the graph of the function of x that has been defined in the preceding ...
For example, if G is (,), the Lie group of real n-by-n invertible matrices, then the adjoint representation is the group homomorphism that sends an invertible n-by-n matrix to an endomorphism of the vector space of all linear transformations of defined by: .
While linear groups are a vast class of examples, among all infinite groups they are distinguished by many remarkable properties. Finitely generated linear groups have the following properties: They are residually finite; Burnside's theorem: a torsion group of finite exponent which is linear over a field of characteristic 0 must be finite; [6]
If the object is a vector space we have a linear representation. Some people use realization for the general notion and reserve the term representation for the special case of linear representations. The bulk of this article describes linear representation theory; see the last section for generalizations.