Linear Algebra ReSupply Date IV. Direct Sum vs Dimension.

在上一份 ReSupply Date 我們證明了 Replacement Theorem，而這個定理可以讓 vector space

的 linear independent subset 擴展成一個 vector space 的 basis，有了這個定理我們可以證明很多
有趣的理論。在此之前，我們初步的知道 subspace,linear,basis 等等概念，接下來的內容將會是整
個 Linear Algebra 最重要也最不可或確的地方。我們先稍為複習一下前面所學的，再來去討論接
下來的概念。

Review. Replacement Theorem vs Dimension

(a) Replacement Theorem Let V be a vectoe space over F with a basis β and |β| = n. If
S = {y1 , ..., ym } ⊆ V be a linear independent with m ≤ n. then there exists S1 ⊆ β with
|S1 | = n − m such that span(S ∪ S1 ) = V (and S ∪ S1 is linear independent).

(b) Dimension Let V be vector space with basis β, then we defined the dimension of V by |β|,
denoted by dim(V ).

在 Introduction to Mathematic 我們學過 set 與 set 之間的許多關係，其中不乏有 set 的 sum，

而在 Linear Algebra 中 space 也有 sum，更精確地說是「subspace」的 sum，而這個 sum 也會是
一個 subspace。老實說，在 vector space 我們有很多 properties 都和 Set Theory 很像，在這裡希
望各位可以有這樣的聯想能力，未來在學 Abstract Algebra 會相當需要的。

Definition 1. Sum
Let V be vector space and W1 , W2 be subspace with dim(W1 ), dim(W2 ) < ∞, then we defined the
sum of W1 and W2 by
{w1 + w2 : w1 ∈ W1 , w2 ∈ W2 }

denoted by W1 + W2 .

Concept. Subspace
We have the relation of subspace of vector space V :

V
|
W1 + W2
 
W1 W2
 
W1 ∩ W2
|
{0V }

上述的概念圖告訴我們 subspace W1 , W2 的 intersection 與 sum 都是 vector space V 的 subspace，

那在這裡我把它寫成一個 lemma，然後我們再去看看這些 subspace 的 dimension。事實上這裡的
理論建構都跟前面一樣，認識了一個新的 subspace 再去討論它的 basis 以及 dimension，然後歸納
出一個理論。

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 Review. Subspace Criterion
Let V be a vector space over F , then we have W ⊆ V and W ̸= ϕ is a subspace of V if and only if

(a) x + y ∈ W for all x, y ∈ W .

(b) ax ∈ W for all x ∈ W, a ∈ F .

Lemma 1. Subspace vs Intersection vs Sum

Let V be vector space and W1 , W2 be subspace with dim(W1 ), dim(W2 ) < ∞, then W1 + W2 and
W1 ∩ W2 are the subspace of V .

Proof.
We show that the following:

(1) We show that W1 + W2 is the subspace of V .

(i) We show that W1 + W2 ̸= ϕ..

Since W1 , W2 are the subspac of V , then we know that 0V ∈ W1 and 0V ∈ W2 .
Thus, we know that 0V = 0V + 0V ∈ W1 + W2 implies that W1 + W2 ̸= ϕ.

(ii) We show that Subspace Criterion (a).

Let x, y ∈ W1 + W2 , then there exists x1 , y1 ∈ W1 , x2 , y2 ∈ W2 such that x = x1 + x2
and y = y1 + y2 .
Thus, we get x + y = (x1 + x2 ) + (y1 + y2 ) = (x1 + y1 ) + (x2 + y2 ) ∈ W1 + W2 .

(ii) We show that Subspace Criterion (b).

Let x ∈ W1 + W2 and c ∈ F , then there exists x1 ∈ W1 , x2 ∈ W2 such that x = x1 + x2 .
Thus, we get cx + y = c(x1 + x2 ) = cx1 + cx2 ∈ W1 + W2 .

By part(i)∼(iii), we show that W1 + W2 is the subspace of V by Subspace Criterion.

(2) We show that W1 ∩ W2 is the subspace of V .

(i) We show that W1 ∩ W2 ̸= ϕ..

Since W1 , W2 are the subspac of V , then we know that 0V ∈ W1 ∩ W2 .
Thus, we know that W1 ∩ W2 ̸= ϕ.

(ii) We show that Subspace Criterion (a).

Let x, y ∈ W1 ∩ W2 , then we know that x, y ∈ W1 and x, y ∈ W2 .
Thus, we get x + y ∈ W1 and x + y ∈ W2 , and hence x + y ∈ W1 ∩ W2 .

(ii) We show that Subspace Criterion (b).

Let x ∈ W1 ∩ W2 and c ∈ F , then we know that x ∈ W1 and x ∈ W2 .
Thus, we get cx ∈ W1 and cx ∈ W2 , and hence cx ∈ W1 ∩ W2 .

By part(i)∼(iii), we show that W1 ∩ W2 is the subspace of V by Subspace Criterion.

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 現在我們知道 subspace W1 , W2 的 intersection 與 sum 都是 vector space V 的 subspace 了，
那麼它們的 dimension 又會是如何呢? 在這裡我們嘗試用一個很粗略的估計方法來判斷它們的
dimension 大小，在這裡我們寫成一個 theorem。(底下的 theorem 我會把在 Reference Material(2)
的詳細敘述題號標上去。)

Theorem 1. (§1.6 Exercises 31)

Let V be vector space and W1 , W2 be subspace with dim(W1 ) = n ≤ m = dim(W2 ), then we have

(a) dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) ≤ n.

(b) dim(W1 + W2 ) ≤ m + n.

Proof.
We show that the following:

(a) Since W1 ∩ W2 ⊆ W1 and W1 ∩ W2 ⊆ W2 .

Then we have dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) ≤ m and dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) ≤ n.
Since m ≥ n, then we get dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) ≤ m.

(b) By theorem 2, we have dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 ).

Thus, we get dim(W1 + W2 ) = m + n − dim(W1 ∩ W2 ).
Since dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) < n, then we get dim(W1 + W2 ) < m + n.

從上述的證明可以看到 (a) 是很 clear 利用 set 的概念，而 (b) 則是有寫和沒寫一樣，如果你想

證明的話你可以用 Inclusion–Exclusion Principle 的思維去解釋他，那說白了兩個 space 有可能會
存在 intersection，因此我的 dimension 可能會被重複計算 (i.e. m + n 可能有點太大，但是他一定
會是最好的「粗略估計」之一)，我們舉一些高中的例子看看:

Example. 空間向量
We consider that V = R3 , then we see the following:

(a) If W1 = xy-plane and W2 = yz-plane, then we have W1 ∩ W2 = y-axis.

Q1:dim(W1 ) =?, dim(W2 ) =?, dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) =?
Q2:dim(W1 + W2 ) =?
Q3:Does the statement dim(W1 + W2 ) ≤ dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) hold??

(b) If W1 = xy-plane and W2 = z-axis, then we have W1 ∩ W2 = O = (0, 0, 0).

Q1:dim(W1 ) =?, dim(W2 ) =?, dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) =?
Q2:dim(W1 + W2 ) =?
Q3:Does the statement dim(W1 + W2 ) ≤ dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) hold??

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 事實上，(b) 要告訴我們有這個關係「dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 )」，
這個 formula 在未來跟 replacement theroem 一樣對於 Linear Algebra 的建構有很大的推力，在這
裡還請各位務必牢記，通常我會稱 Sum-Space Dimension Theorem 啦，因為我真的找不到它叫什
麼名稱 (有些教授會稱 Inclusion–Exclusion Principle for Subspace)。

Theorem 2. Sum-Space Dimension Theorem (§1.6 Exercises 29(a))

If W1 and W2 are subspace of vector space V with dim(W1 ), dim(W2 ) < ∞, then the subspace
W1 + W2 is finite-dimensional and

dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 )

Proof.
We show that the following:

(1) Let dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) = k, dim(W1 ) = p and dim(W2 ) = q and let β = {s1 , ..., sk } is a basis of
W1 + W2 .
By corollary to replacement theorem, we know that β ∪ {u1 , ..., up−k } is the basis for W1
and β ∪ {v1 , ..., vq−k } is the basis of W2 .

(2) Claim that the β ′ = β ∪ {u1 , ..., up−k } ∪ {v1 , ..., vq−k } is the basis for W1 + W2 .

(i) Show
∑that β ′ is ∑
linear independent.
∑q−k
Let i=1 ri si + p−k
k
i=1 t i u i + i=1 hi vi = 0, then we have

∑
k ∑
p−k
∑
q−k
ri si + t i ui = − h i vi
i=1 i=1 i=1

for some r1 , ..., rk , t1 , ..., tp−k , h1 , ..., hq−k ∈ F .

∑ ∑ ∑q−k
Since ki=1 ri si + p−k i=1 ti ui ∈ W1 and i=1 hi vi ∈ W2 , then we have

∑
k ∑
p−k
∑
q−k
r i si + t i ui = − hi vi ∈ W1 ∩ W2 = span(β)
i=1 i=1 i=1

∑q−k ∑k ∑k ∑p−k
Now, we let − i=1 h i vi = i=1 ai s i = i=1 ri si + i=1 ti ui , then we have

∑
k ∑
q−k
∑
k ∑
p−k
ai s i + h i vi = 0 & (ri − ai )si + t i ui = 0
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1

(ii) Since β ∪ {u1 , ..., up−k } and β ∪ {v1 , ..., vq−k } is linaer independent.
Then we get ai = hi = ri = ti = 0 for all i, and hence β is linear independent.

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 Proof.
Wee show that the following:

(3) Show that span(β ′ ) = W1 + W2 .

∑k ∑p−k
(i) Since β ∪ {u1 , .., up−k } is a basis for W1 , then we get u = i=1 ri si + i=1 ai ui for all
u ∈ W1 .

∑k ∑q−k
(ii) Since β ∪ {v1 , .., vq−k } is a basis for W2 , then we get u = i=1 ti si + i=1 bi vi for all
v ∈ W2 .

(iii) Since for all w ∈ W1 + W2 , there exists u ∈ W1 , v ∈ W2 such that w = u + v, then we

have
∑k ∑
p−k
∑
q−k
w= (ri + ti ) + ai u i + bi vi
i=1 i=1 i=1
′ ′
Thus, we have w ∈ span(β ), and hence span(β ) = W1 + W2 .
Finally, β ′ is a basis for W1 + W2 .

(4) Since dim(W1 + W2 ) = |β ′ | = |β| + (p − k) + (q − k), then we have

dim(W1 + W2 ) = k + p − k + q − k = p + q − k

Thus, we have

dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 )

剛剛在上面的 example(b) 有個特例 intersection 是 zero vector，這種 subspace 的關係我們通

常會把它拿出來討論，我稱之為 direct sum。

Definition 2. Direct Sum

Let V be vector space with dim(V ) < ∞ and W1 , W2 ⊆ V be subspace of V , then the space V is
called the direct sum of W1 and W2 if it satisfies the following:

(a) W1 ∩ W2 = {0V }.

(b) W1 + W2 = V .

denoted by W1 ⊕ W2 .

那至於 direct sum 的意義就是告訴我們一個 space 可以被分解成一些 subspace 的分解，而且

可以說這些 subspace 之間是「independent」的，在未來我們會學到 invariant subspace，如果我們
可以將一個 vector space 寫成 invariant subspace 的 direct sum，那我們就可以透過這些 invariant
subspace 選出特定的 basis 然後建構出 matrix，而這個矩陣我稱之為 canonical form。當然到那裏
為止中間還有很多理論需要各位好好的去學習。接著我把 Sum-Space Dimension Theorem 做進一
步的探討，以下 theorem 我稱之為 DirectSum-Space Dimension Theorem。

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Corollary. Direct-Sum-Space Dimension Theorem (§1.6 Exercises 29(b))
If W1 and W2 are subspace of vector space V with dim(V ) < ∞ , then we have

V = W1 ⊕ W2 if and only if dim(V ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 )

Proof. 1
We show that necessary and sufficient conditions:

(⇒) Since V = W1 ⊕ W2 , then we have W1 ∪ W2 = {0} by definition.

Thus, we have dim(W1 ∪ W2 ) = 0. By theorem 2, we have dim(V ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ).

(⇐) Since dim(V ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) and V = W1 + W2

and dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 ).
Then we have

dim(V ) = dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 )

Thus, we have dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) = 0 i.e. W1 ∩ W2 = {0}, and hence V = W1 ⊕ W2 .

Theorem 3. (§1.6 Exercises 33)

Let V be vector space with dim(V ) < ∞ and W1 , W2 ⊆ V be subspace of V .
If β1 is the basis for W1 and β2 is the basis for W2 , then we have

V = W1 ⊕ W2 if and only if β1 ∩ β2 = ϕ and β1 ∪ β2 is the basis for V

Proof.
We show that necessary conditions:
Let β1 = {u1 , ..., up } and β2 = {v1 , ..., vq }, then we prove that the following:

(⇒) (i) Since β1 ∩ β2 ⊆ W1 ∩ W2 = {0} and 0 ∈

/ β1 ∩ β2 .
Then we have β1 ∩ β2 = ϕ.

(ii) Show∑that β1 ∪ β∑
2 is linear independent.
Let i=1 ai ui + qi=1 bi vi = 0 for some ai , bi ∈ F .
p

Since β1 and β2 are linear independent, then ai = bi = 0 for all i.

Thus, we get β1 ∪ β2 is linear independent.

(iii) Since β1 ∪ β2 is linear independent and |β1 | = p and |β2 | = q, then we have
|β1 ∪ β2 | = p + q = dim(β1 ) + dim(β2 ).
Since V = W1 ⊕ W2 ,then we have |β1 ∪ β2 | = dim(V ) by theorem 1.
Thus, we have β1 ∪ β2 is the basis for V by corollary to replacement theorem.

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 Proof.
We show that sufficient conditions:

(⇐) (i) Since V = span(β1 ∪ β2 ) ⊆ span(β1 ) + span(β2 ) = W1 + W2 and W1 + W2 ⊆ V is

clearly, then we have V = W1 + W2 .

(ii) By theorem 1, we have dim(W1 + W2 ) = dim(W1 ) + dim(W2 ) − dim(W1 ∩ W2 ), then we

have

|β1 ∪β2 | = |β1 |+|β2 | = dim(V ) = dim(W1 +W2 ) = dim(W1 )+dim(W2 )−dim(W1 ∩W2 )

Thus, we get dim(W1 ∩ W2 ) = 0 and W1 ∩ W2 = {0}. Finally, we know V = W1 ⊕ W2

Corollary. (§1.6 Exercises 34)

Let V be vector space with dim(V ) < ∞ and W1 ⊆ V be subspace of V .
Then there exists a subspace W2 of V such that V = W1 ⊕ W2 .

Proof.
Let β1 = {v1 , ..., vk } be a basis for W1 , then there exists a linear independent β2 = {vk+1 , ..., vn } ⊆
V such that β1 ∪ β2 is a basis for V by replacement theorem.
Since β1 ∪ β2 is linear independent, then we get β1 ∩ β2 = ϕ. Thus, we choose span(β2 r β1 ) is the
subspace V such that V = W1 ⊕ W2 by theorem 3.

Notation. Reference Material

(1) Edition. NTNU Math113 Jun-Wei,Zhang - Date. 2021-12-17.

(2) Linear Algebra (4th Edition 2003) - Stephen H.Friedberg, Arnold J. Insel, Lawrence E. Spence.

(3) Linear Algebra (2nd Edition 1971) - Kenneth M Hoffman, Ray Kunze.

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