Generating all invertible matrices by row operations
Abstract
We show that all invertible matrices over any finite field can be generated in a Gray code fashion. More specifically, there exists a listing such that (1) each matrix appears exactly once, and (2) two consecutive matrices differ by adding or subtracting one row from a previous or subsequent row, or by multiplying or diving a row by the generator of the multiplicative group of . This even holds if the addition and subtraction of each row is allowed to some specific rows satisfying a certain mild condition. Moreover, we can prescribe the first and the last matrix if , or and . In other words, the corresponding flip graph on all invertible matrices over is Hamilton connected if it is not a cycle. This solves yet another special case of Lov\'{a}sz conjecture on Hamiltonicity of vertex-transitive graphs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2405.01863,
title = {Generating all invertible matrices by row operations},
author = {Petr Gregor and Hung P. Hoang and Arturo Merino and Ondřej Mička},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.01863},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
23 pages, 7 figures, extended abstract in ISAAC 2024