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Exercise 907Linear algebra › DeterminantsL1Added 3 Nov 2026

Determinant of the transpose

#transpose#determinant#proof

Statement

Show that det⁡(AT)=det⁡(A)\det(A^T)=\det(A) for every square matrix AA.

Hint

Use the Leibniz formula on both sides and reindex the permutations.

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Solution

Leibniz formula.
det⁡A=∑σ∈Snε(σ)∏i=1naσ(i),i.\det A = \sum_{\sigma\in S_n}\varepsilon(\sigma)\prod_{i=1}^n a_{\sigma(i),i}.

Transpose. The entry (i,j)(i,j) of ATA^T is ajia_{ji}. So
det⁡(AT)=∑σ∈Snε(σ)∏i=1nai,σ(i).\det(A^T) = \sum_{\sigma\in S_n}\varepsilon(\sigma)\prod_{i=1}^n a_{i,\sigma(i)}.
Since ∏i=1nai,σ(i)=∏j=1naσ−1(j),j\prod_{i=1}^n a_{i,\sigma(i)}=\prod_{j=1}^n a_{\sigma^{-1}(j),j} (reindexing j=σ(i)j=\sigma(i)), and ε(σ−1)=ε(σ)\varepsilon(\sigma^{-1})=\varepsilon(\sigma) (since ε\varepsilon is a group homomorphism and σσ−1=e\sigma\sigma^{-1}=e), we can rewrite:
det⁡(AT)=∑σε(σ−1)∏jaσ−1(j),j=∑τε(τ)∏jaτ(j),j=det⁡A,\det(A^T) = \sum_{\sigma}\varepsilon(\sigma^{-1})\prod_j a_{\sigma^{-1}(j),j} = \sum_{\tau}\varepsilon(\tau)\prod_j a_{\tau(j),j} = \det A,
where the last change of variables is τ=σ−1\tau=\sigma^{-1}.

Conclusion. det⁡(AT)=det⁡A\det(A^T)=\det A. In particular, properties of columns hold for rows too.