Question: Exercises 12-17 develop properties of rank that are sometimes needed in applications. Assume the matrix \(A\) is \(m \times n\).
17. A submatrix of a matrix A is any matrix that results from deleting some (or no) rows and/or columns of A. It can be shown that A has rank \(r\) if and only if A contains an invertible \(r \times r\) submatrix and no longer square submatrix is invertible. Demonstrate part of this statement by explaining (a) why an \(m \times n\) matrix A of rank \(r\) has an \(m \times r\) submatrix \({A_1}\) of rank \(r\), and (b) why \({A_1}\) has an invertible \(r \times r\) submatrix \({A_2}\).
The concept of rank plays an important role in the design of engineering control systems, such as the space shuttle system mentioned in this chapter’s introductory example. A state-space model of a control system includes a difference equation of the form
\({{\mathop{\rm x}\nolimits} _{k + 1}} = A{{\mathop{\rm x}\nolimits} _k} + B{{\mathop{\rm u}\nolimits} _k}\)for \(k = 0,1,....\) (1)
Where \(A\) is \(n \times n\), \(B\) is \(n \times m\), \(\left\{ {{{\mathop{\rm x}\nolimits} _k}} \right\}\) is a sequence of “state vectors” in \({\mathbb{R}^n}\) that describe the state of the system at discrete times, and \(\left\{ {{{\mathop{\rm u}\nolimits} _k}} \right\}\) is a control, or input, sequence. The pair \(\left( {A,B} \right)\) is said to be controllable if
\({\mathop{\rm rank}\nolimits} \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}}B&{AB}&{{A^2}B}& \cdots &{{A^{n - 1}}B}\end{array}} \right) = n\) (2)
The matrix that appears in (2) is called the controllability matrix for the system. If \(\left( {A,B} \right)\) is controllable, then the system can be controlled, or driven from the state 0 to any specified state \({\mathop{\rm v}\nolimits} \) (in \({\mathbb{R}^n}\)) in at most \(n\) steps, simply by choosing an appropriate control sequence in \({\mathbb{R}^m}\). This fact is illustrated in Exercise 18 for \(n = 4\) and \(m = 2\). For a further discussion of controllability, see this text’s website (Case study for Chapter 4).
