12-01-2025

Problem: Suppose $V$ is finite-dimensional with $\dim V \geq 2$. Prove that there exist $S, T \in \mathcal{L} (V,V)$ such that $ST \neq TS$, where $\mathcal{L} (V,V) $ is the set of all linear maps from $V$ to $V$.
Solution: Let $\dim V = n\geq 2$. Let $\mathcal{B} = \left\{ v_1, v_2, \ldots, v_n \right\} $ be a basis for $V$. Define $S, T \in \mathcal{L} (V,V)$ by \[ S(v_i) = \begin{cases} v_1 & i = 1 \\ 0 & \text{ otherwise}, \end{cases} \] and \[ T(v_i) = \begin{cases} v_2, & i = 1 ;\\ 0, & \text{ otherwise}. \end{cases} \] Then, \[ ST(v_1) = S(v_2) = 0 \quad TS(v_1) = T(v_1) = v_2. \] Thus, \[ ST \neq TS. \]