English

The entry sum of the inverse Cauchy matrix

Rings and Algebras 2023-05-09 v1

Abstract

Let x1,x2,,xnx_{1},x_{2},\ldots,x_{n} be nn numbers, and y1,y2,,yny_{1},y_{2},\ldots,y_{n} be nn further numbers chosen such that all n2n^{2} pairwise sums xi+yjx_{i}+y_{j} are nonzero. Consider the n×nn\times n-matrix C:=(1xi+yj)1in, 1jn=(1x1+y11x1+y21x1+yn1x2+y11x2+y21x2+yn1xn+y11xn+y21xn+yn). C:=\left( \dfrac{1}{x_{i}+y_{j}}\right) _{1\leq i\leq n,\ 1\leq j\leq n} = \begin{pmatrix} \dfrac{1}{x_{1}+y_{1}} & \dfrac{1}{x_{1}+y_{2}} & \cdots & \dfrac{1}{x_{1}+y_{n}}\\ \dfrac{1}{x_{2}+y_{1}} & \dfrac{1}{x_{2}+y_{2}} & \cdots & \dfrac{1}{x_{2}+y_{n}}\\ \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots\\ \dfrac{1}{x_{n}+y_{1}} & \dfrac{1}{x_{n}+y_{2}} & \cdots & \dfrac{1}{x_{n}+y_{n}} \end{pmatrix}. This matrix CC is known as the "Cauchy matrix", and has been studied for 180 years. A classical result says that if CC is invertible, then the sum of all entries of its inverse C1C^{-1} is k=1nxk+k=1nyk\sum_{k=1}^{n}x_{k}+\sum_{k=1}^{n}y_{k}. We give a simple and short proof of this result, and briefly discuss a "tropicalized" variant in which the entries 1xi+yj\dfrac{1}{x_i+y_j} are replaced by min{xi,yj} \min\left\{ x_{i},y_{j}\right\}.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2301.09777,
  title  = {The entry sum of the inverse Cauchy matrix},
  author = {Darij Grinberg},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.09777},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

7 pages. Expository note