Positive definiteness of difference of inverse matrices












6














Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n times n$ symmetric and positive definite matrices.



If $A prec B$, then is it true that $B^{-1} prec A^{-1}$?



Here, $A prec B$ means that $B-A$ is positive definite.










share|cite|improve this question





























    6














    Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n times n$ symmetric and positive definite matrices.



    If $A prec B$, then is it true that $B^{-1} prec A^{-1}$?



    Here, $A prec B$ means that $B-A$ is positive definite.










    share|cite|improve this question



























      6












      6








      6


      2





      Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n times n$ symmetric and positive definite matrices.



      If $A prec B$, then is it true that $B^{-1} prec A^{-1}$?



      Here, $A prec B$ means that $B-A$ is positive definite.










      share|cite|improve this question















      Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n times n$ symmetric and positive definite matrices.



      If $A prec B$, then is it true that $B^{-1} prec A^{-1}$?



      Here, $A prec B$ means that $B-A$ is positive definite.







      linear-algebra matrices inverse positive-definite






      share|cite|improve this question















      share|cite|improve this question













      share|cite|improve this question




      share|cite|improve this question








      edited Aug 22 '17 at 17:47









      Rodrigo de Azevedo

      12.8k41855




      12.8k41855










      asked Aug 22 '17 at 16:36









      Sudipta RoySudipta Roy

      29518




      29518






















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          1














          HINT:



          Try proving that if $A$ is positive definite and $B-A$ is non-negative definite, then $det(B-lambda A)=0$ has all its roots $lambdage 1$ and conversely if $lambdage1$, then $B-A$ is non-negative definite. (it's an exercise from a book by the way)



          Then, $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$



          $Rightarrow det Bdet(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})det Age0$ $quad($ as $A$ and $B$ are both p.d., $det A,det B>0)$



          $Rightarrow det(B-mu A)=0$



          So the roots of $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$ are the same as the roots of $det(B-mu A)=0$.



          As $B-A$ is n.n.d. we have $muge1$, which in turn makes $A^{-1}-B^{-1}$ n.n.d. (by the claim above)






          share|cite|improve this answer





















          • exercise from what book?
            – becko
            Jun 4 '18 at 15:56






          • 1




            @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
            – StubbornAtom
            Jun 4 '18 at 16:03










          • I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
            – StubbornAtom
            Sep 15 '18 at 7:01



















          0














          For ease of notation I'll use $ge$ instead of $succeq$ and so on.



          Lemma 1: $A le B Rightarrow C^T A C le C^T B C$ for any conformable matrix $C.$



          Proof. We have $x^TC^T(B-A)C x = (Cx)^T(B-A)C x ge 0$ for any conformable vector $x$ so that $C^T(B-A)C ge 0.$



          Lemma 2: $I preceq B Rightarrow$ $B$ is invertible and $B^{-1} preceq I.$



          Proof.




          • Since $B$ is symmetric we can find an orthogonal matrix $G$ and a diagonal matrix $D$ such that $B=GDG^T.$ Hence $I = G^T I G le G^T B G = D.$ Thus all eigenvalues of $B$ are $ge 1 >0,$ hence $B$ is invertible.

          • Now write $B^{-1} = B^{-1/2}IB^{-1/2} le B^{-1/2}BB^{-1/2} = I,$ where $B^alpha := GD^{alpha}G^T.$


          Proposition: $0 < A le B Rightarrow$ $B$ invertible and $B^{-1} le A^{-1}.$



          Proof.
          begin{align*}
          Ale B &Rightarrow B-A ge 0 \
          &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}(B-A)A^{-1/2} ge 0\
          &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}BA^{-1/2} ge I\
          &Rightarrow A^{1/2}B^{-1}A^{1/2} le I,\
          end{align*}

          hence
          begin{align*}
          B^{-1} &= A^{-1/2}A^{1/2}BA^{1/2}A^{-1/2}\
          &= A^{-1/2}(A^{-1/2}B^{-1}A^{-1/2})^{-1}A^{-1/2}\
          &le A^{-1/2}IA^{-1/2}\
          &= A^{-1}.
          end{align*}






          share|cite|improve this answer





















            Your Answer





            StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
            return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
            StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
            StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
            });
            });
            }, "mathjax-editing");

            StackExchange.ready(function() {
            var channelOptions = {
            tags: "".split(" "),
            id: "69"
            };
            initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
            // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
            if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
            createEditor();
            });
            }
            else {
            createEditor();
            }
            });

            function createEditor() {
            StackExchange.prepareEditor({
            heartbeatType: 'answer',
            autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
            convertImagesToLinks: true,
            noModals: true,
            showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
            reputationToPostImages: 10,
            bindNavPrevention: true,
            postfix: "",
            imageUploader: {
            brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
            contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
            allowUrls: true
            },
            noCode: true, onDemand: true,
            discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
            ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
            });


            }
            });














            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f2402563%2fpositive-definiteness-of-difference-of-inverse-matrices%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown

























            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            1














            HINT:



            Try proving that if $A$ is positive definite and $B-A$ is non-negative definite, then $det(B-lambda A)=0$ has all its roots $lambdage 1$ and conversely if $lambdage1$, then $B-A$ is non-negative definite. (it's an exercise from a book by the way)



            Then, $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$



            $Rightarrow det Bdet(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})det Age0$ $quad($ as $A$ and $B$ are both p.d., $det A,det B>0)$



            $Rightarrow det(B-mu A)=0$



            So the roots of $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$ are the same as the roots of $det(B-mu A)=0$.



            As $B-A$ is n.n.d. we have $muge1$, which in turn makes $A^{-1}-B^{-1}$ n.n.d. (by the claim above)






            share|cite|improve this answer





















            • exercise from what book?
              – becko
              Jun 4 '18 at 15:56






            • 1




              @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
              – StubbornAtom
              Jun 4 '18 at 16:03










            • I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
              – StubbornAtom
              Sep 15 '18 at 7:01
















            1














            HINT:



            Try proving that if $A$ is positive definite and $B-A$ is non-negative definite, then $det(B-lambda A)=0$ has all its roots $lambdage 1$ and conversely if $lambdage1$, then $B-A$ is non-negative definite. (it's an exercise from a book by the way)



            Then, $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$



            $Rightarrow det Bdet(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})det Age0$ $quad($ as $A$ and $B$ are both p.d., $det A,det B>0)$



            $Rightarrow det(B-mu A)=0$



            So the roots of $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$ are the same as the roots of $det(B-mu A)=0$.



            As $B-A$ is n.n.d. we have $muge1$, which in turn makes $A^{-1}-B^{-1}$ n.n.d. (by the claim above)






            share|cite|improve this answer





















            • exercise from what book?
              – becko
              Jun 4 '18 at 15:56






            • 1




              @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
              – StubbornAtom
              Jun 4 '18 at 16:03










            • I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
              – StubbornAtom
              Sep 15 '18 at 7:01














            1












            1








            1






            HINT:



            Try proving that if $A$ is positive definite and $B-A$ is non-negative definite, then $det(B-lambda A)=0$ has all its roots $lambdage 1$ and conversely if $lambdage1$, then $B-A$ is non-negative definite. (it's an exercise from a book by the way)



            Then, $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$



            $Rightarrow det Bdet(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})det Age0$ $quad($ as $A$ and $B$ are both p.d., $det A,det B>0)$



            $Rightarrow det(B-mu A)=0$



            So the roots of $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$ are the same as the roots of $det(B-mu A)=0$.



            As $B-A$ is n.n.d. we have $muge1$, which in turn makes $A^{-1}-B^{-1}$ n.n.d. (by the claim above)






            share|cite|improve this answer












            HINT:



            Try proving that if $A$ is positive definite and $B-A$ is non-negative definite, then $det(B-lambda A)=0$ has all its roots $lambdage 1$ and conversely if $lambdage1$, then $B-A$ is non-negative definite. (it's an exercise from a book by the way)



            Then, $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$



            $Rightarrow det Bdet(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})det Age0$ $quad($ as $A$ and $B$ are both p.d., $det A,det B>0)$



            $Rightarrow det(B-mu A)=0$



            So the roots of $det(A^{-1}-mu B^{-1})=0$ are the same as the roots of $det(B-mu A)=0$.



            As $B-A$ is n.n.d. we have $muge1$, which in turn makes $A^{-1}-B^{-1}$ n.n.d. (by the claim above)







            share|cite|improve this answer












            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer










            answered Aug 23 '17 at 15:43









            StubbornAtomStubbornAtom

            5,39411138




            5,39411138












            • exercise from what book?
              – becko
              Jun 4 '18 at 15:56






            • 1




              @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
              – StubbornAtom
              Jun 4 '18 at 16:03










            • I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
              – StubbornAtom
              Sep 15 '18 at 7:01


















            • exercise from what book?
              – becko
              Jun 4 '18 at 15:56






            • 1




              @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
              – StubbornAtom
              Jun 4 '18 at 16:03










            • I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
              – StubbornAtom
              Sep 15 '18 at 7:01
















            exercise from what book?
            – becko
            Jun 4 '18 at 15:56




            exercise from what book?
            – becko
            Jun 4 '18 at 15:56




            1




            1




            @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
            – StubbornAtom
            Jun 4 '18 at 16:03




            @becko Linear Statistical Inference and it's Applications by C.R. Rao (not a linear algebra book).
            – StubbornAtom
            Jun 4 '18 at 16:03












            I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
            – StubbornAtom
            Sep 15 '18 at 7:01




            I had asked a question on the proof of the claim made here: math.stackexchange.com/q/2671111/321264
            – StubbornAtom
            Sep 15 '18 at 7:01











            0














            For ease of notation I'll use $ge$ instead of $succeq$ and so on.



            Lemma 1: $A le B Rightarrow C^T A C le C^T B C$ for any conformable matrix $C.$



            Proof. We have $x^TC^T(B-A)C x = (Cx)^T(B-A)C x ge 0$ for any conformable vector $x$ so that $C^T(B-A)C ge 0.$



            Lemma 2: $I preceq B Rightarrow$ $B$ is invertible and $B^{-1} preceq I.$



            Proof.




            • Since $B$ is symmetric we can find an orthogonal matrix $G$ and a diagonal matrix $D$ such that $B=GDG^T.$ Hence $I = G^T I G le G^T B G = D.$ Thus all eigenvalues of $B$ are $ge 1 >0,$ hence $B$ is invertible.

            • Now write $B^{-1} = B^{-1/2}IB^{-1/2} le B^{-1/2}BB^{-1/2} = I,$ where $B^alpha := GD^{alpha}G^T.$


            Proposition: $0 < A le B Rightarrow$ $B$ invertible and $B^{-1} le A^{-1}.$



            Proof.
            begin{align*}
            Ale B &Rightarrow B-A ge 0 \
            &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}(B-A)A^{-1/2} ge 0\
            &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}BA^{-1/2} ge I\
            &Rightarrow A^{1/2}B^{-1}A^{1/2} le I,\
            end{align*}

            hence
            begin{align*}
            B^{-1} &= A^{-1/2}A^{1/2}BA^{1/2}A^{-1/2}\
            &= A^{-1/2}(A^{-1/2}B^{-1}A^{-1/2})^{-1}A^{-1/2}\
            &le A^{-1/2}IA^{-1/2}\
            &= A^{-1}.
            end{align*}






            share|cite|improve this answer


























              0














              For ease of notation I'll use $ge$ instead of $succeq$ and so on.



              Lemma 1: $A le B Rightarrow C^T A C le C^T B C$ for any conformable matrix $C.$



              Proof. We have $x^TC^T(B-A)C x = (Cx)^T(B-A)C x ge 0$ for any conformable vector $x$ so that $C^T(B-A)C ge 0.$



              Lemma 2: $I preceq B Rightarrow$ $B$ is invertible and $B^{-1} preceq I.$



              Proof.




              • Since $B$ is symmetric we can find an orthogonal matrix $G$ and a diagonal matrix $D$ such that $B=GDG^T.$ Hence $I = G^T I G le G^T B G = D.$ Thus all eigenvalues of $B$ are $ge 1 >0,$ hence $B$ is invertible.

              • Now write $B^{-1} = B^{-1/2}IB^{-1/2} le B^{-1/2}BB^{-1/2} = I,$ where $B^alpha := GD^{alpha}G^T.$


              Proposition: $0 < A le B Rightarrow$ $B$ invertible and $B^{-1} le A^{-1}.$



              Proof.
              begin{align*}
              Ale B &Rightarrow B-A ge 0 \
              &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}(B-A)A^{-1/2} ge 0\
              &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}BA^{-1/2} ge I\
              &Rightarrow A^{1/2}B^{-1}A^{1/2} le I,\
              end{align*}

              hence
              begin{align*}
              B^{-1} &= A^{-1/2}A^{1/2}BA^{1/2}A^{-1/2}\
              &= A^{-1/2}(A^{-1/2}B^{-1}A^{-1/2})^{-1}A^{-1/2}\
              &le A^{-1/2}IA^{-1/2}\
              &= A^{-1}.
              end{align*}






              share|cite|improve this answer
























                0












                0








                0






                For ease of notation I'll use $ge$ instead of $succeq$ and so on.



                Lemma 1: $A le B Rightarrow C^T A C le C^T B C$ for any conformable matrix $C.$



                Proof. We have $x^TC^T(B-A)C x = (Cx)^T(B-A)C x ge 0$ for any conformable vector $x$ so that $C^T(B-A)C ge 0.$



                Lemma 2: $I preceq B Rightarrow$ $B$ is invertible and $B^{-1} preceq I.$



                Proof.




                • Since $B$ is symmetric we can find an orthogonal matrix $G$ and a diagonal matrix $D$ such that $B=GDG^T.$ Hence $I = G^T I G le G^T B G = D.$ Thus all eigenvalues of $B$ are $ge 1 >0,$ hence $B$ is invertible.

                • Now write $B^{-1} = B^{-1/2}IB^{-1/2} le B^{-1/2}BB^{-1/2} = I,$ where $B^alpha := GD^{alpha}G^T.$


                Proposition: $0 < A le B Rightarrow$ $B$ invertible and $B^{-1} le A^{-1}.$



                Proof.
                begin{align*}
                Ale B &Rightarrow B-A ge 0 \
                &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}(B-A)A^{-1/2} ge 0\
                &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}BA^{-1/2} ge I\
                &Rightarrow A^{1/2}B^{-1}A^{1/2} le I,\
                end{align*}

                hence
                begin{align*}
                B^{-1} &= A^{-1/2}A^{1/2}BA^{1/2}A^{-1/2}\
                &= A^{-1/2}(A^{-1/2}B^{-1}A^{-1/2})^{-1}A^{-1/2}\
                &le A^{-1/2}IA^{-1/2}\
                &= A^{-1}.
                end{align*}






                share|cite|improve this answer












                For ease of notation I'll use $ge$ instead of $succeq$ and so on.



                Lemma 1: $A le B Rightarrow C^T A C le C^T B C$ for any conformable matrix $C.$



                Proof. We have $x^TC^T(B-A)C x = (Cx)^T(B-A)C x ge 0$ for any conformable vector $x$ so that $C^T(B-A)C ge 0.$



                Lemma 2: $I preceq B Rightarrow$ $B$ is invertible and $B^{-1} preceq I.$



                Proof.




                • Since $B$ is symmetric we can find an orthogonal matrix $G$ and a diagonal matrix $D$ such that $B=GDG^T.$ Hence $I = G^T I G le G^T B G = D.$ Thus all eigenvalues of $B$ are $ge 1 >0,$ hence $B$ is invertible.

                • Now write $B^{-1} = B^{-1/2}IB^{-1/2} le B^{-1/2}BB^{-1/2} = I,$ where $B^alpha := GD^{alpha}G^T.$


                Proposition: $0 < A le B Rightarrow$ $B$ invertible and $B^{-1} le A^{-1}.$



                Proof.
                begin{align*}
                Ale B &Rightarrow B-A ge 0 \
                &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}(B-A)A^{-1/2} ge 0\
                &Rightarrow A^{-1/2}BA^{-1/2} ge I\
                &Rightarrow A^{1/2}B^{-1}A^{1/2} le I,\
                end{align*}

                hence
                begin{align*}
                B^{-1} &= A^{-1/2}A^{1/2}BA^{1/2}A^{-1/2}\
                &= A^{-1/2}(A^{-1/2}B^{-1}A^{-1/2})^{-1}A^{-1/2}\
                &le A^{-1/2}IA^{-1/2}\
                &= A^{-1}.
                end{align*}







                share|cite|improve this answer












                share|cite|improve this answer



                share|cite|improve this answer










                answered Nov 29 '18 at 14:09









                EpiousiosEpiousios

                1,545622




                1,545622






























                    draft saved

                    draft discarded




















































                    Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid



                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                    Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                    Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                    Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid



                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                    draft saved


                    draft discarded














                    StackExchange.ready(
                    function () {
                    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f2402563%2fpositive-definiteness-of-difference-of-inverse-matrices%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                    }
                    );

                    Post as a guest















                    Required, but never shown





















































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown

































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown







                    Popular posts from this blog

                    Ellipse (mathématiques)

                    Quarter-circle Tiles

                    Mont Emei