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Exercise 2121Linear algebra › DeterminantsL1Added 3 Nov 2026

Sylvester's determinant identity

#Sylvester identity#block matrices#determinant

Statement

Let AA be m×nm\times n, BB be n×mn\times m. Show that
det⁡(Im+AB)=det⁡(In+BA).\det(I_m + AB)=\det(I_n + BA).

Hint

Consider the block matrices (ImA−BIn)\begin{pmatrix} I_m & A \\ -B & I_n \end{pmatrix} and compute its determinant in two ways.

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Solution

Block matrix. Consider
M=(ImA−BIn).M = \begin{pmatrix} I_m & A \\ -B & I_n \end{pmatrix}.

First computation. Use the block determinant formula for (PQRS)\begin{pmatrix} P & Q \\ R & S \end{pmatrix} with PP invertible: det⁡M=det⁡P⋅det⁡(S−RP−1Q)\det M = \det P\cdot\det(S-RP^{-1}Q). Here P=ImP=I_m, so
det⁡M=det⁡(In−(−B)Im−1A)=det⁡(In+BA).\det M = \det(I_n - (-B)I_m^{-1}A) = \det(I_n + BA).

Second computation. Alternatively, use the formula with S=InS=I_n invertible: det⁡M=det⁡S⋅det⁡(P−QS−1R)=det⁡(Im−A(−B))=det⁡(Im+AB)\det M = \det S\cdot\det(P-QS^{-1}R) = \det(I_m - A(-B)) = \det(I_m + AB).

Conclusion. det⁡(Im+AB)=det⁡(In+BA)\det(I_m+AB)=\det(I_n+BA).