Let x1,x2,…,xn be n numbers, and y1,y2,…,yn be n further numbers chosen such that all n2 pairwise sums xi+yj are nonzero. Consider the n×n-matrix C:=(xi+yj1)1≤i≤n,1≤j≤n=x1+y11x2+y11⋮xn+y11x1+y21x2+y21⋮xn+y21⋯⋯⋱⋯x1+yn1x2+yn1⋮xn+yn1. This matrix C is known as the "Cauchy matrix", and has been studied for 180 years. A classical result says that if C is invertible, then the sum of all entries of its inverse C−1 is ∑k=1nxk+∑k=1nyk. We give a simple and short proof of this result, and briefly discuss a "tropicalized" variant in which the entries xi+yj1 are replaced by min{xi,yj}.
@article{arxiv.2301.09777,
title = {The entry sum of the inverse Cauchy matrix},
author = {Darij Grinberg},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.09777},
year = {2023}
}