UNIT 14

INNER PRODUCT SPACES

Structure
Page Nos.

14.1 Introduction 5
Objective
14.2 Inner Product 6
14.3 Norm of a Vector 10
14.4 Orthogonality 13
14.5 Summary 19
14.6 Solution/Answers 19

14.1 INTRODUCTION
So far you have studied many interesting vector spaces over various field. In
this unit, and the following onces, we will only consider real and complex
vector spaces. In Unit 2 you studied geometrical notions like the length of a
vector, the angle between two vectors and the dot product in ℝ2 or ℝ3 . In this
unit we carry these concepts over to a more general setting. We will define a
certain special class of vector spaces which open up new and interesting vistas
for investigations in mathematics and physics. Hence their study is extremely
fruitful as far as the applications of the theory to problems are concerned. This
fact will become clear in Units 16 and 17.

Before going further we suggest that you refer to Unit 2 for the definitions and
properties of the length and the scalar product of vectors of ℝ2 or ℝ3 .

Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• define and give examples of inner product spaces;

• define the norm of a vector and discuss its properties;

• define orthogonal vectors and discuss some properties of sets of orthogonal

vectors;

• obtain an orthonormal basis from a given basis of a finite-dimensional inner

product space.
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14.2 INNER RODUCT

In this section we start with defining a concept which is the generalisation of the
scalar product that we have learned before. Recall that if (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and
(y1 , y2 , y3 ) are two vectors in ℝ3 , then their scalar product is

(x1 , x2 , x3 ) ⋅ (y1 , y2 , y3 ) = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 .

We also remind you that given any complex number z = a + ib, where a, b ∈ ℝ, its
complex conjugate is z = a − ib.

Further, zz = |z|2 = a2 + b2 , and z = z.

Now we ready to define an inner product.

Definition 1: Let V be a vector space over the field 𝔽. A map ⟨ , ⟩ ∶ V × V → 𝔽

such that ⟨ , ⟩ (x, y) = ⟨x, y⟩ is called an inner product (or scalar product) over V
𝔽 = ℝ or ℂ if it satisfies the following conditions:

IP1) ⟨x, x⟩ ≥ 0 ∀ x ∈ V.

IP2) ⟨x, x⟩ = 0 iff x = 0.

IP3) ⟨x + y, z⟩ = ⟨x, z⟩ + ⟨y, z⟩ for all x, y, z ∈ V

IP4) ⟨𝛼x, y⟩ = 𝛼⟨x, y⟩ for 𝛼 ∈ 𝔽 and x, y ∈ V

IP5) ⟨y, x⟩ = ⟨x, y⟩ for all x, y ∈ V. (Here ⟨x, y⟩ denotes the complex conjugate of
the number ⟨x, y⟩.)

The scalar ⟨x, y⟩ is called inner product (or scalar product) of the vector x
with the vector y.

A vector space V over which an inner product has been defined is called an
inner product space, and is denoted by (V, ⟨ , ⟩).

We mark a remark here.

Remark 1: Let 𝛼 ∈ 𝔽. Then 𝛼 = 𝛼 iff 𝛼 ∈ ℝ. So IP5 implies the following

statements.

a) ⟨x, x⟩ ∈ ℝ ∀ x ∈ V, since ⟨x, x⟩ = ⟨x, x⟩.

b) If 𝔽 = ℝ, then ⟨x, y⟩ = ⟨y, x⟩ ∀ x, y ∈ V.

Now, let us examine a familiar example.

Example 1: Show that ℝ3 is an inner product space.

Solution: We need to define an inner product on ℝ3 . For this define

⟨u, v⟩ = u ⋅ v ∀u, v ∈ ℝ3 (‘.’ denoting the dot product). Then, for u = (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and
v = (y1 , y2 , y3 ) , ⟨u, v⟩ = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 . We want to check if ⟨ , ⟩ satisfies IP1-IP5.

6 i) IP1 is satisfied because ⟨u, u⟩ = x21 + x22 + x23 , which is always non-negative.
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ii) Now, ⟨u, u⟩ = 0 ⇒ x21 + x22 + x23 = 0 ⇒ x1 = 0, x2 = 0, x3 = 0 since the sum of
positive real number is zero if and only if each of them is zero. ∴, u = 0.
Also, if u = 0, then x1 = 0 = x2 = x3 . ∴⟨u, u⟩ = 0.
So, we have shown that IP2 is satisfied by ⟨ , ⟩.

iii) IP3 is satisfied because

⟨u + v, w⟩ = (x1 + y1 ) z1 + (x2 + y2 ) z3 + (x3 + y3 ) z3 , where w = (z1 , z2 , z3 .)

= (x1 z1 + x2 z2 + x3 z3 ) + (y1 z1 + y2 z2 + y3 z3 ) = ⟨u, w⟩ + ⟨v, w⟩.
∗∗∗

We suggest that you verify IP4 and IP5. That’s what E1 says!

In ℝn , the usual or standard inner product is defined by

⟨u, v⟩ = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + ⋯ + xn yn ∀ u, v ∈ ℝn .

Example 2: What is the value of the standard inner product of u = (5, −1, 2) and
v = (−1, 0, 1)?

Solution: ⟨u, v⟩ = (5) (−1) + (−1) (0) + (2) (1) = −3.

∗∗∗

E1) Check that the inner product on ℝ3 in Example 1 satisfies IP4 and IP5.

The inner product that have been given in Example 1 can be generalised to the
inner product ⟨ , ⟩ on ℝn , defined by ⟨(x1 , … , xn ) , (y1 , … , yn )⟩ = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + ⋯ + xn yn .
This is called the standard inner product on ℝn .

Let us consider another example now.

Example 3: Take 𝔽 = ℂ and, for x, y ∈ ℂ, define ⟨x, y⟩ = xy. Show that the map
⟨ , ⟩ ∶ ℂ × ℂ → ℂ is an inner product.

Solution: IP1 and IP2 are satisfied because, for any complex number
x, xx ≥ 0. Also, xx = 0 if and only if x = 0.

∗∗∗

To compute the solution you can try E2.

E2) Show that IP4 and IP5 are true for Example 3.

E3) Find the standard inner product of

a) u = (2, −1), v = (1, 2)

b) u = (1, 2, 3), v = (2, 1, 3)

In fact, Example 2 can be generalised to ℂn , for any n > 0. We can define the
inner product of two arbitrary vectors x = (x1 , … , xn ) and y = (y1 , … , yn ) ∈ ℂn by
n
⟨x, y⟩ = ∑ xi yi . This inner product is called the standard inner product on ℂn .
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The next example deals with a general complex vector space.

Example 4: Let V be a complex vector space of dimension n. Let B = {e1 , … , en }

be a basis of V. Given x, y ∈ V ∃ unique scalars a1 , … , an , b1 , … , bn ∈ ℂ such that
n n
x = ∑ ai ei , y = ∑ bi ei .
i=1 i=1
n
Define ⟨ x, y⟩ = ∑ ai bi .
i=1
Verify that ⟨ , ⟩ is an inner product.
n n n
Solution: Let x = ∑ ai ei , y = ∑ bi ei , z = ∑ ci ei ,
i=1 i=1 i=1

where ai , bi , ci ∈ ℂ ∀ i = 1, … , n. Then
n
⟨x, x⟩ = ∑ ai ai ≥ 0. Also, ⟨x, x⟩ = 0 ⇔ ai = 0 ∀ i = 1, 2, … , n ⇔ x = 0
i=1
n n n
⟨ x + y, z⟩ = ∑ (ai + bi ) ci = ∑ ai ci + ∑ bi ci = ⟨x, z⟩ + ⟨y, z⟩
i=1 i=1 i=1
n n
ab = a b ∀ a, b ∈ ℂ. Also, for any 𝛼 ∈ ℂ, ⟨𝛼x, y⟩ = ∑ 𝛼ai bi = 𝛼 ∑ ai bi = 𝛼⟨x, y⟩
i=1 i=1

n n n
Finally, ⟨y, x⟩ = ∑ bi ai = ∑ bi ai = ∑ ai bi = ⟨x, y⟩
i=1 i=1 i=1

Thus, IP1-IP5 are satisfied. This proves that ⟨ , ⟩ is an inner product on V.

∗∗∗
Note that, in Example 4, the inner product depended on the basis of V that we
chose. This suggests that an inner product can be defined on any
finite-dimensional vector space. In fact, many such products can be defined by
choosing different bases in the same vector space.

You may like to try the following exercise now.

E4) Let X = {x1 , … , xn } be a set and V be the set of all functions from X to C.
Then, with respect to pointwise addition and scalar multiplication, V is a
vector space over ℂ. Now, for any f, g ∈ V, define
n
⟨f, g⟩ = ∑ f(xi ) g(xi ).
i=1

Show that (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space.

E5) Find the standard inner product of

a) u = (2, −i), v = (i, 2)

b) u = (1 + i, i, 1 − i), v = (i, 1 − i, 1 + i)

Example 5: Show that C[a, b], where ‘C[a, b]’ denotes the set of all continuous
real-valued functions defined on the closed interval [a, b], is an inner product
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Solution: We need to define an inner product on c[a, b]. For this, we define a
simple inner product
b
⟨f1 , f2 ⟩ = ∫ f1 (x) f2 (x) dx ∀ f1 , f2 ∈ c[a, b].
a

We want to check if ⟨ , ⟩ satisfies IP1-IP5.

b
i) IP1 is satisfied because ⟨f1 , f1 ⟩ = ∫ f21 (x) dx, which is always non-negative.
a
b
ii) Now ⟨f1 , f1 ⟩ = 0 ⇒ ∫ f21 (x) dx = 0, which is possible if and only if the
a
function f is identically zero.
So, we shown that IP2 is satisfied by ⟨ , ⟩.

iii) IP3 is satisfied because

b
⟨ f1 + f2 , f3 ⟩ = ∫ (f1 (x) + f2 (x)) f3 (x) dx
a
b b
= ∫ f1 (x) f3 (x) dx + ∫ f2 (x) f3 (x) dx
a a
= ⟨f1 , f3 ⟩ + ⟨f2 , f3 ⟩.

∗∗∗

We suggest that you verify IP4 and IP5. That’s what E6 says!

We now state some properties of inner products that immediately follow from
IP1-IP5.

Theorem 1: Let (V, ⟨ , ⟩) be an inner product space. Then, for any x, y, z ∈ V and
𝛼, 𝜇 ∈ ℂ,
a) ⟨𝛼x + 𝜇y, z⟩ = 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ + 𝜇⟨y, z⟩

b) ⟨x, 𝛼y + 𝜇z⟩ = 𝛼⟨x, y⟩ + 𝜇⟨x, z⟩

c) ⟨0, x⟩ = ⟨x, 0⟩ = 0

d) ⟨x − y, z⟩ = ⟨x, z⟩ − ⟨y, z⟩

e) ⟨x, z⟩ = ⟨y, z⟩ ∀ z ∈ V ⇒ x = y.

Proof: We will prove (a) and (c), and leave the rest to you.
a) ⟨𝛼x + 𝜇y, z⟩ = ⟨𝛼x, z⟩ + ⟨𝜇y, z⟩ (by IP3)
= 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ + 𝜇⟨y, z⟩ (by IP4)
b) The vector 0 ∈ V can be written as 0 = 0 ⋅ y for some y ∈ V.
Thus, ⟨0, x⟩ = ⟨0 ⋅ y, x⟩ = 0⟨y, x⟩ = 0.
Then, ⟨x, 0⟩ = ⟨0, x⟩ = 0 = 0.
■

The proof of this theorem will be complete once you solve E7.
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E6) Show that IP4 and IP5 are true for Example 5.

E7) Prove (b),(d) and (e) of Theorem 1.

We will now discuss the concept of the length of a vector.

14.3 NORM OF A VECTOR

In previous unit we defined the length of a vector v in ℝ2 or ℝ3 to be √v ⋅ v. We
will extend this definition to the length of a vector in any inner product space.

Definition 2: If (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space and x ∈ V, then the norm (or
length) of the vector x is defined to be √⟨x, x⟩. It is denoted by ‖x‖.
Hence, ‖x‖ = √⟨x, x⟩.

We make some pertinent remark here.

Remark 2: a) By IP1, ⟨ x, x⟩ ≥ 0 ∀ x ∈ V. Thus ‖x‖ ≥ 0.

Also, by IP2, ‖x‖ = 0 iff x = 0.

b) For any 𝛼 ∈ ℂ, we get ‖𝛼x‖ = |𝛼| ‖x‖,

because

‖𝛼x‖ = √⟨ 𝛼x, 𝛼x⟩ = √𝛼𝛼⟨ x, x⟩ = √|𝛼|2 ⟨ x, x⟩

= |𝛼|√⟨ x, x⟩ = |𝛼| ‖x‖.

We call x ∈ V a unit vector if ‖x‖ = 1.

Example 6: Calculate the norm of

a) u = (2, 1, −1), using the standard inner product in ℝ3 .

b) u = (1, i, −i), using the standard inner product in ℂ3 .

c) f(x) = x2 , using the simple inner product defined in C[0, 1].

Solution:

a) ‖u‖ = √⟨u, u⟩ = √42 + 1 + 1 = 3√2

b) ‖u‖ = √⟨u, u⟩ = √12 + (i) (−i) + (−i) (i)

= √1 − 2i2 = √3

1
1/2
c) ‖f‖ = ⟨f, f⟩ = √∫ x2 x2 dx
0

x5 1 1
= √[ ] =
5 0 √5

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E8) Show that for any x ∈ V, x ≠ 0, ‖xx‖ is a unit vector.

E9) Calculate the norm of

a) u = (1, −1, 3), using the standard inner product in ℝ3 .

b) u = (1, −1, 1 − i), using the standard inner product in ℂ3 .

Observe that in E8, x is any vector of V and V is also any vector space. So, ‖xx‖
is a special form of any non-zero vector. It also implies that we can create a unit
vector by using any non-zero vector. So, E8 leads us to the following definition.

Definition 3: Given any vector x ∈ V, x ≠ 0, ‖xx‖ is the normalised form of x.

E8 tells us that the normalised from of a vector is always a unit vector.

We will now prove some results involving norms. The first one is the
Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. It is very simple, but very important because it
allows us to prove many other useful statements.

This inequality was discovered independently by the French mathematician

Cauchy, the German mathematician Schwarz and the Russian mathematician
Bunyakowski. However, in most of the literature available in English it is
ascribed only to Cauchy and Schwarz.

Theorem 2: Let (V, ⟨, ⟩) be an inner product space and x, y ∈ V.

Then |⟨x, y⟩| ≤ ‖x‖ ‖y‖.

Proof: If x = 0 or y = 0, then |⟨x, y⟩| = 0 = ‖x‖ ‖y‖.

So, let us assume that x ≠ 0 and y ≠ 0. Hence, ‖y‖ > 0.
y
Let z = ‖y‖ . Then z ∈ V, and ‖z‖ = 1. Now, for any 𝛼 ∈ F, consider the norm of
the vector x − 𝛼z ∈ V.

‖x − 𝛼z‖2 = ⟨x − 𝛼z, x − 𝛼z⟩

= ⟨x, x⟩ − 𝛼⟨z, x⟩ − 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ + 𝛼𝛼⟨z, z⟩, using Theorem 1.
= ‖x‖2 − 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ + 𝛼𝛼, since ⟨z, z⟩ = 1.

Adding and subtracting ⟨x, z⟩⟨x, z⟩, we get

‖x − 𝛼z‖2 = ‖x‖2 − 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼𝛼 + ⟨x, z⟩⟨x, z⟩ − ⟨x, z⟩⟨x, z⟩

= ‖x‖2 − |⟨x, z⟩|2 + {⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼} {⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼}
= ‖x‖2 − |⟨x, z⟩|2 + |⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼|2

Now ‖x − 𝛼z‖2 ≥ 0. This means that ‖x‖2 − |⟨x, z⟩|2 + |⟨x, z⟩ − 𝛼|2 ≥ 0 ∀𝛼 ∈ F.
In particular, if we choose 𝛼 = ⟨ x, z⟩, we get 0 ≤ ‖x‖2 − |⟨x, z⟩|2 . Hence,
|⟨x, z⟩| ≤ ‖x‖, that is,
y 1
|⟨x, ⟩| ≤ ‖x‖ ⇔ |⟨ x, y⟩| ≤ ‖x‖ ⇔ |⟨x, y⟩| ≤ ‖x‖ ‖y‖.
‖y‖ ‖y‖

which is the required inequality. ■ 11

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Let us see what the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality looks like in some cases.

Example 7: Write the expression for the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for the
vector space given in E4.
n
2
Solution: For any f ∈ V, ‖f‖2 = ⟨f, f⟩ = ∑|f(xi )| . Thus, Theorem 2 says that
i=1

n n n
2 2
2 vectors x and y are |∑ f(xi )g(xi )| ≤ √∑|f(xi )| √∑ |g(xi )| ∀ f, g ∈ V.
i=1 i=1 i=1
called proportional if
∃ 𝛼 ∈ F, 𝛼 ≠ 0, with x = 𝛼y.
∗∗∗
Do try these exercise now.

E10) Write down the expressions for the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for the
spaces given in Example 1, 3 and 4.

E11) If y = 𝛼x, show that |⟨x, y⟩| = ‖x‖ ‖y‖.

We come to the next theorem now, which is generalisation of well-known

results of Euclidean geometry.

Theorem 3: If (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space and x, y ∈ V, then

a) ‖x + y‖ ≤ ‖x‖ + ‖y‖ (Triangle inequality)

If z = a + ib ∈ ℂ, then
b) ‖x + y‖2 + ‖x − y‖2 = 2 (‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2 ) (Parallelogram law)
a) the real part of z is a,
and is denoted by Re (z), Proof: a) Now
b) z + z = 2Re(z)
c) Re(z) ≤ |z| ‖x + y‖2 = ⟨x + y, x + y⟩ = ‖x‖2 + ⟨x, y⟩ + ⟨y, z⟩ + ‖y‖2 .
= ‖x‖2 + ⟨x, y⟩ + ⟨x, y⟩ + ‖y‖2 .
= ‖x‖2 + 2Re⟨x, y⟩ + ‖y‖2 .
≤ ‖x‖2 + 2|⟨x, y⟩| + ‖y‖2 , since Re ⟨x, y⟩ ≤ |⟨x, y⟩|.
≤ ‖x‖2 + 2‖x‖ ‖y‖ + ‖y‖2 (by Theorem 2)
= (‖x‖ + ‖y‖)2

Hence, ‖x + y‖2 ≤ (‖x‖ + ‖y‖)2 . Taking square roots of both sides we obtain

‖x + y‖ ≤ ‖x‖ + ‖y‖.

b) To prove the parallelogram law we expand ‖x + y‖2 + ‖x − y‖2 to get

⟨x, x⟩ + ⟨x, y⟩ + ⟨y, x⟩ + ⟨y, y⟩ + ⟨x, x⟩ − ⟨x, y⟩ − ⟨y, x⟩ + ⟨y, y⟩ = 2 (‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2 )
Fig. 1: ‖x + y‖ ≤ ‖x‖ + ‖y‖

Thus, (b) is also proved. ■

The reason (a) is called the triangle inequality is that for any triangle the sum of
12 the lengths of any sides is greater than or equal to the length of the third side.
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So, if we consider a triangle in any Euclidean space, two of whose sides are
the vectors x and y, then the third side is x + y (see Fig. 1,) and hence,
‖x‖ + ‖y‖ ≥ ‖x + y‖.

Similarly, (b) is called the parallelogram law because it generalises the fact that
the sum of the squares of the length of the diagonals of a parallelogram in
Euclidean space is always equal to the double of the sum of the squares of its
sides (Fig 2).

E12) Show that |‖x‖ − ‖y‖| ≤ ‖x − y‖ for x, y ∈ (V, ⟨ , ⟩) . Fig. 2: ‖x + y‖2 + ‖x − y‖2 =
(Hint: Use the triangle inequality for y and (x − y) .) 2 (‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2 )

Let us now discuss a general version of what we already discussed about

orthogonality in previous block.

14.4 ORTHOGONALITY
|⟨x,y⟩|
In Theorem 2 we showed that ‖x‖ ‖y‖
≤ 1 for any x, y ∈ V. We knew that, for
2 3 |⟨x,y⟩|
non-zero vectors x and y (in ℝ or ℝ ), ‖x‖ ‖y‖ is equal to the magnitude of the
cosine of the angle between them. We generalise this concept now.
|⟨x,y⟩|
For any inner product space V and for any non-zero x, y ∈ V, we take ‖x‖ ‖y‖ to
be the magnitude of the cosine of the angle between the two vectors x
and y.

So what happens if x and y are perpendicular to each other? We find that

⟨x, y⟩ = 0. This leads us to the following definition.

Definition 4: If (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space and x, y ∈ V, then x is said to

be orthogonal (or perpendicular) to y if ⟨x, y⟩ = 0. This is denoted by x ⟂ y.

For example, i = (1, 0) is orthogonal to j = (0, 1) with respect to the standard

inner product in ℝ2 .
We now give some properties involving orthogonality. Their proof is left as an
exercise for you.

E13) Using the definitions of inner product and orthogonality, prove the
following results for an inner product space V.
a) 0 ⟂ x ∀ x ∈ V.
b) ‘ x ⟂ x iff x = 0, where x ∈ V.
c) x ⟂ y ⇒ y ⟂ x, for x ∈ V.
d) x ⟂ y ⇒ 𝛼x ⟂ y for any 𝛼 ∈ F, where x, y ∈ V.

Let us consider some examples now. 13

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Example 8: Consider V = ℝn . If x = (x1 , … , xn ) and y = (y1 , … , yn ) are any two
vectors of V, we define the inner product of x with y by
n
⟨x, y⟩ = ∑ x1 yi
i=1

Let B = {e1 , … , en } be the stranded basis of V. Show that ei ⟂ ej when

i ≠ j, i, j = 1, … , n. What happens when i = j?

Solution: Consider e1 = (1, 0, 0, … , 0) and e2 = (0, 1, 0, … , 0) . We find that

⟨e1 , e2 ⟩ = 1.0 + 0.1 + 0 + ⋯ + 0 = 0. Hence, e1 ⟂ e2 . In a similar way, we can show
that ei ⟂ ej , for i ≠ j, i, j = 1, … , n.

Now let us see what ⟨ei , ei ⟩ is ∀ i = 1, … , n.

⟨e1 , e1 ⟩ = 1.1 + 0 + ⋯ + 0 = 1.
⟨e2 , e2 ⟩ = 0 + 1 + 0 + ⋯ + 0 = 1.

Similarly, ⟨ei , ei ⟩ = 1 ∀ i = 1, … , n.
Thus, ‖ei ‖ = 1 ∀ i = 1, … , n.
On the lines of Example 8, we can also show that the elements of the standard
basis of ℂn are mutually orthogonal and of unit length with respect to the
standard inner product.

∗∗∗

Try the following exercises now.

E14) For x, y ∈ (V, ⟨ , ⟩) such that x ⟂ y, show that

‖x + y‖2 = ‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2 .

(This is the Pythagoras Theorem when V = ℝ2 (see Fig.3).)

We will now define a set of orthogonal vectors.

Fig. 3:
‖x + y‖ = ‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2
2 Definition 5: A set A ⊂ V is called orthogonal if x ⟂ y ∀ x, y ∈ A such that x ≠ y.
An orthogonal set A is called orthonormal if ‖x‖ = 1 ∀ x ∈ A.
For example, the set B in Example 8 is orthogonal and orthonormal.

By definition, every orthonormal set is orthogonal. But the converse is not true,
as the following example tells us.

Example 9: Consider the standard basis B = {e1 , … , en } of ℝn . Show that the

set ℂ = {2e1 , 2e2 , … , 2en } is orthogonal but not orthonormal with respect to the
standard inner product.

Solution: For i ≠ j, ⟨2ei , 2ej ⟩ = 4⟨ei , ej ⟩ = 0. Thus, ℂ is an orthogonal set.

But ‖2ei ‖ = √4⟨ei , ei ⟩ = 2 ∀ i = 1, … , n.
∴, C is not an orthogonal set.

14 ∗∗∗
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Try the following exercise now.

E15) Let Pn be the real vector space of all polynomials of degree ≤ n. We define
an inner product on Pn by
n n n
⟨∑ ai xi , ∑ bi xi ⟩ = ∑ ai bi .
i=0 i=0 i=0

Show that the basis {1, x, x2 , … , xn } of Pn is an orthonormal set.

In the next two theorems we present some properties of an orthogonal set,

related to the linear combination of its vectors.

Theorem 4: Let (V, ⟨ , ⟩) be an inner product space and x, y1 , … , yn ∈ V such that

x ⟂ yi ∀ i = 1, … , n. Then x is orthogonal to every linear combination of the
vectors y1 , … , yn .

n
Proof: Let y = ∑ ai yi , where ai ∈ F ∀ i = 1, … , n.
i=1
n n
Then, y ∈ V and ⟨x, y⟩ = ⟨x, ∑ ai yi ⟩ = ∑ ai ⟨x, yi ⟩ = 0, because ⟨x, yi ⟩ = 0 ∀ i. This
i=1 i=1
shows that x ⟂ y. ■

Theorem 5: Let (V, ⟨, ⟩) be an inner product space and A = {x1 , … , xn } ⊆ V be an

orthogonal set. Then, for any ai ∈ F (i = 1, … , n) , we have
n 2 n
2
‖∑ ai xi ‖ = ∑|ai | ‖xi ‖2 .
i=1 i=1

n
Proof: Our hypothesis says that ⟨xi , xj ⟩ = 0 if i ≠ j. Consider y = ∑ ai xi .
i=1
n n n n n n
‖y‖2 = ⟨y, y⟩ = ⟨∑ ai xi , ∑ aj xj ⟩ = ∑ ∑⟨ai xi , aj xj ⟩ = ∑ ∑ ai aj ⟨xi , xj ⟩
i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1
n
= ∑ ai ai ⟨xi , xi ⟩ since ⟨xi , xj ⟩ = 0 for i ≠ j
i=1
n
2
= ∑|ai | ‖xi ‖2 . This proves the result.
i=1

Note: If ai = 1 ∀ i, in Theorem 5, we get

n 2 n
‖∑ xi ‖ = ∑‖xi ‖2
i=1 i=1

This is a generated form of what we gave in E14.

We now give an important result, which is actually a corollary to Theorem 5.

Theorem 6: Let A be an orthogonal set of non-zero vector of an inner product

space V. Then A is a linearly independent set. 15
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Proof: To show that A is linearly independent we will have to prove that any
finite subset {x1 , … , xn } of vectors of A is linearly independent. For this, assume
n
that y = ∑ ai xi = 0.
i=1

Then
n
2 2
‖y‖2 = 0 ⇒ ∑|ai | ‖xi ‖2 = 0 ⇒ |ai | ‖xi ‖2 = 0 ∀ i.
i=1

2
⇒ |ai | = 0 for i = 1, … , n, since ‖xi ‖2 ≠ 0 for any i.
⇒ ai = 0 for i = 1, … , n.
Thus, {x1 , … , xn } is linearly independent. Hence, A is linearly independent. ■

We have just proved that any orthogonal set is linearly independent. Therefore,
any orthogonal set in a vector space V of dimension n must have a maximum
of n elements. So, for example, any orthogonal subset of ℝ3 can have 3
elements, at the most.

We shall use Theorem 6 as a stepping stone towards showing that any inner
product space has an orthonormal set as a basis. But first, some definitions
and remarks.

Definition 6: A basis of an inner product space is called an orthonormal basis

if its elements form an orthonormal set.

For example, the standard basis of ℝn is an orthonormal basis (Example 8).

Now, a small exercise.

E16) Let {e1 , … , en } be an orthonormal basis for a real inner product space V.
n n n
Let x = ∑ xi ei and y = ∑ yi ei be elements of V. Show that ⟨x, y⟩ = ∑ xi yi .
i=1 i=1 i=1

We make a few observations now.

Remark 3: a) If A ⊆ V is orthogonal, then the set B = { ‖xx‖ | x ∈ A and x ≠ 0} is

orthonormal. For example, consider ℝ2 , with the dot product. Let v = (1, 1)
and w = (1, −1). Then v.w = 1 − 1 = 0. Thus, v ⟂ w. Therefore,

v w 1 1 1 −1
{ , } = {( , )( , )}
‖v‖ ‖w‖ √2 √2 √2 √2

is an orthonormal set in ℝ2 . In fact, this is a basis of ℝ2 , since {v, w} is a

linearly independent set and dimR ℝ2 = 2.

b) For any 0 ≠ x ∈ V, { ‖xx‖ } can be regarded as an orthonormal set in V.

We now state the theorem that tells us of the existence of an orthonormal

basis. Its proof consists of a method called the Gram-Schmidt
16 orthogonalisation process.
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Theorem 7: Let (V, ⟨ , ⟩) be a non-zero inner product space of dimension n.
Then V has an orthonormal basis.

Proof: We shall first show that it has an orthogonal basis, and then obtain an
orthonormal basis.
Let {v1 , … , vn } be a basis of V. From this basis we shall obtain an orthogonal
basis {w1 , w2 , … , wn } of V in the following way.
⟨v2 ,w1 ⟩ ⟨v2 ,v1 ⟩
Take w1 = v1 . Define w2 = v2 − ⟨w1 ,w1 ⟩
w1 . Then w2 = v2 − v ,
⟨v1 ,v1 ⟩ 1
and

⟨v2 , v1 ⟩
⟨w2 , v1 ⟩ = ⟨v2 , v1 ⟩ − ⟨v1 , v1 ⟩ = 0.
⟨v1 , v1 ⟩
⟨v2 ,w1 ⟩
That is, ⟨w2 , w1 ⟩ = 0. Further, v2 = c1 v1 + w2 , where c1 = ⟨w1 ,w1 ⟩
∈ F.

⟨v3 ,w2 ⟩ ⟨v3 ,w1 ⟩

Define w3 = v3 − ⟨w2 ,w2 ⟩
w2 − ⟨w1 ,w1 ⟩
w1 . Then ⟨w3 , w2 ⟩ = 0 = ⟨w3 , w1 ⟩.

Also, v3 = c1 w1 + c2 w2 + w3 , where c1 , c2 ∈ F. Continuing in this manner, we can

define
⟨vm+1 , wi ⟩
wm+1 = vm+1 − c1 w1 − c2 w2 − ⋯ − cm wm , where ci = ∈ F.
⟨wi , wi ⟩

⇒ vm+1 = c1 w1 + c2 w2 + ⋯ + cm wm + wm+1 , for m = 0, … , n − 1.

This way we obtain an orthogonal set vectors {w1 , w2 , … , wn } , such that the v′i s
are a linear combination of the w′i s. By Theorem 6 this set is linearly
independent, and hence form a basis of V. ■

From this basis, we immediately obtain an orthonormal basis of V by using

w w
Remark 3. Thus, { ‖w1‖ , ⋯ , ‖wn‖ } is an orthonormal basis of V.
1 n

Note: The same process can be used to show that:

If (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space and Y = {y1 , … , yn } a set of linearly

independent vectors of V, then an orthonormal set X = {x1 , x2 , … , xn } can be
obtained from Y such that the linear spans of X and Y coincide.

Let us set how the Gram-Schmidt process work in a few case.

Example 10: Obtain an orthonormal basis for P2 , the space of all real
polynomials of degree at most 2, the inner product being defined by
1
⟨p1 , p2 ⟩ = ∫ p1 (t)p2 (t)dt.
0

Solution: {1, t, t2 } is a basis for P2 . From this we will obtain an orthogonal

1
basis {w1 , w2 , w3 } . Now w1 = 1 and ⟨w1 , w1 ⟩ = ∫ dt = 1.
0

1
⟨t,w1 ⟩ 1 t2 1 1
w2 = t − ⟨w1 ,w1
w . Now ⟨t, w1 ⟩ = ∫ t dt =
⟩ 1
| = . Therefore, w2 = t − 2
0 2 0 2
1 1 2 1
∴, ⟨w2 , w2 ⟩ = ∫ (t − ) dt = .
0 2 12 17
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⟨t2 , w2 ⟩ ⟨t2 , w1 ⟩
w3 = t2 − w2 − w1
⟨w2 , w2 ⟩ ⟨w1 , w1 ⟩
1 1 1 1
= t2 − 12 { (t − )} − = t2 − t + .
2 12 3 6
1 1 2 1
Also ⟨w3 , w3 ⟩ = ∫ (t2 − t + ) dt = .
0 6 180
Thus, the orthonormal basis is
w1 w2 w3 1 1
{ , , } = {1, √12 (t − ) , √180 (t2 − t + )} .
‖w1 ‖ ‖w2 ‖ ‖w3 ‖ 2 6

∗∗∗

Here’s an exercise.

E17) Obtain an orthonormal basis with respect to the standard inner product,
for
a) the subspace of ℝ3 generated by (1, 0, 3) and (2, 1, 1)
b) the subspace of ℝ4 generated by (1, 0, 2, 0) and (1, 2, 3, 1).

We will now prove a theorem that leads us to an important inequality, which is

used for studying Fourier coefficients.

Theorem 8: Let (V, ⟨ , ⟩) be an inner product space and A = {x1 , … , xn } be an

orthonormal set in V. Then, for any y ∈ V,
n 2 n
2
‖y − ∑⟨y, xi ⟩xi ‖ = ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩|
i=1 i=1

n
Proof: Let x = ∑ ai xi (ai ∈ F) be any linear combination of the elements of A.
i=1
Then

‖y − x‖2 = ⟨y − x, y − x⟩ = ‖y‖2 − ⟨y, x⟩ − ⟨x, y⟩ + ‖x‖2

n n
= ‖y‖2 − ⟨y, ∑ ai xi ⟩ − ⟨∑ ai xi , y⟩ + ‖x‖2
i=1 i=1
n n n
2
= ‖y‖2 − ⟨y, ∑ ai xi ⟩ − ∑⟨ai xi , y⟩ + ∑|ai | ‖xi ‖2 , since ⟨xi , xj ⟩ = 0 for i ≠ j.
i=1 i=1 i=1

As ‖xi ‖2 = 1 ∀ i, it follows that

n n n
‖y − x‖2 = ‖y‖2 − ∑ ai ⟨y, xi ⟩ − ∑ ai ⟨xi , y⟩ + ∑ ai ai
i=1 i=1 i=1
n n n n n
2 2
= ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| + ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| − ∑ ai ⟨y, xi ⟩ − ∑ ai ⟨xi , y⟩ + ∑ ai ai
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
n n n n n
2
= ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| + ∑⟨y, xi ⟩⟨y, xi ⟩ − ∑ ai ⟨y, xi ⟩ − ∑ ai ⟨y, xi ⟩ + ∑ ai ai
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
n n n
2
= ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| + ∑⟨y, xi ⟩ {⟨y, xi ⟩ − ai } − ∑ ai {⟨y, xi ⟩ − ai }
18 i=1 i=1 i=1
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n n
2
= ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| + ∑ {⟨y, xi ⟩ − ai } {⟨y, xi ⟩ − ai }
i=1 i=1
n n
2 2
= ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| + ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩ − ai |
i=1 i=1

This is true for any ai ∈ F. Now choose ai = ⟨y, xi ⟩ ∀ i, … , n. Then we get

n 2 n
2
‖y − ∑⟨y, xi ⟩xi ‖ = ‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| , which is the desired result.
i=1 i=1
■

And now we come to a corollary of Theorem 8, known as Bessel’s inequality.

It is named after the German astronomer, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel
(1784-1846).

Corollary 1: Let A = {x1 , … , xn } be any orthonormal set (V, ⟨ , ⟩) . Then, for any
y ∈ V,
n
2 2
∑|⟨y, xi ⟩ | ≤ ‖y‖ .
i=1

E18) Prove the corollary given above.

We end the unit by summarising what we have covered in it.

14.5 SUMMARY
In this unit we have discussed the following points. We have

1. defined and given examples of inner product spaces.

2. defined the norm of a vector.

3. proved the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality.

4. defined an orthogonal and an orthonormal set of vectors.

5. shown that every finite-dimensional inner product space has an

orthonormal basis, using the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalisation process.

6. proved Bessel’s inequality.

14.6 SOLUTIONS/ANSWERS

E1) For 𝛼 ∈ ℝ and (x1 , x2 , x3 ) , (y1 , y2 , y3 ) ∈ ℝ3 ,

⟨𝛼 (x1 , x2 , x3 ) , (y1 , y2 , y3 )⟩ = (𝛼x1 , 𝛼x2 , 𝛼x3 ) (y1 , y2 , y3 )

= 𝛼x1 y1 + 𝛼x2 y2 + 𝛼x3 y3 = 𝛼 (x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 )
= 𝛼⟨(x1 , x2 , x3 ) , (y1 , y2 , y3 )⟩.
19
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∴ IP4 is satisfied.
Also, for any x = (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and y = (y1 , y2 , y3 ) in ℝ3 ,

⟨x, y⟩ = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 = y1 x1 + y2 x2 + y3 x3 = ⟨y, x⟩.

∴ IP5 is satisfied.

E2) For x, y, z ∈ ℂ and 𝛼 ∈ ℂ we have

⟨x + y, z⟩ = (x + y) z = xz + yz = ⟨x, z⟩ + ⟨y, z⟩,

⟨𝛼x, y⟩ = (𝛼x) y = 𝛼(xy) = 𝛼⟨x, y⟩,
⟨x, y⟩ = xy = xy = yx = ⟨y, x⟩.

∴ ⟨ , ⟩ satisfies IP3, IP4 and IP5.

E3) a) ⟨u, v⟩ = 2 − 2 = 0
b) ⟨u, v⟩ = 2 + 2 + 9 = 13
E4) Let f, g, h ∈ V and 𝛼 ∈ ℂ. Then
n n
2
⟨f, f⟩ = ∑ f(xi )f(xi ) = ∑|f(xi )| ≥ 0.
i=1 i=1
⟨f, f⟩ = 0 ⇔ f(xi ) = 0 ∀ i = 1, … , n
⇔ f is the zero function.
n
⟨f + g, h⟩ = ∑ (f + g) (xi )h(xi )
i=1
n
= ∑ {f(xi ) + g(xi )} h(xi )
i=1
n n
= ∑ f(xi )h(xi ) + ∑ g(xi )h(xi )
i=1 i=1
= ⟨f, h⟩ + ⟨g, h⟩.
n n
⟨𝛼f, g⟩ = ∑(𝛼f)(xi )g(xi ) = ∑ 𝛼f(xi )g(xi )
i=1 i=1
n
= 𝛼 ∑ f(xi )g(xi ) = 𝛼⟨f, g⟩
i=1
n n
⟨f, g⟩ = ∑ f(xi )g(xi ) = ∑ f(xi )g(xi )
i=1 i=1
n
= ∑ g(xi )f(xi ) = ⟨g, f⟩.
i=1

∴ (V, ⟨ , ⟩) is an inner product space.

E5) a) ⟨u, v⟩ = (2) (−i) + (−i) (2) = −4i

b) ⟨u, v⟩ = (1 + i) (−i) + i(1 + i) + (1 − i) (1 − i) = −2i
b b
E6) ⟨𝛼f1 , f2 ⟩ = ∫ (k f1 (x)) f2 (x) dn = k ∫ f1 (x) f2 (x) dx
a a
= k⟨f1 , f2 ⟩
∴ IP4 satisfied.
Also for any f1 , f2 ∈ C[a, b]
b b
⟨f1 , f2 ⟩ = ∫ f1 (x) f2 (x) dx = ∫ f2 (x) f1 (x) dx = ⟨f2 , f1 ⟩
a a

20 ∴ IP5 satisfied.
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E7) b) ⟨x, 𝛼y + 𝜇z⟩ = ⟨𝛼y + 𝜇z, x⟩, by IP5

= 𝛼⟨y, x⟩ + 𝜇⟨z, x⟩, by Theorem 1(a).
= 𝛼 ⟨y, x⟩ + 𝜇 ⟨z, x⟩
= 𝛼 ⟨x, y⟩ + 𝜇⟨x, z⟩, by IP5.
∴ (b) is proved.

d) ⟨x − y, z⟩ = ⟨x + (−1)y, z⟩ = ⟨x, z⟩ + (−1)⟨y, z⟩, by Theorem 1(a).

= ⟨x, z⟩ − ⟨y, z⟩.

e) ⟨x, z⟩ = ⟨y, z⟩ ∀ z ∈ V
⇒ ⟨x − y, z⟩ = 0 ∀ z ∈ V, by (d) above.
⇒ ⟨x − y, x − y⟩ = 0, taking z = x − y, in particular.
⇒ x − y = 0, by IP2.
⇒ x = y.

x
E8) Let u = ‖x‖
. Then ⟨u, u⟩ = ⟨ ‖xx‖ , ‖xx‖ ⟩ = 1
‖x‖2
⟨x, x⟩ = 1
‖x‖2
‖x‖2 = 1.

∴, ‖u‖ = √⟨u, u⟩ = 1.

E9) a) ‖u‖ = √⟨u, u⟩ = √1 + 1 + 9 = √11

b) ‖u‖ = √⟨u, u⟩ = √1(1) + (−1) (−1) + (1 − i) (1 + i)

= √1 + 1 + 12 − i2 = 2.
E10) In the situation of Example 1 we get
|u ⋅ v| ≤ ‖u‖ ‖v‖ for u, v ∈ ℝ3 . Thus,

2 2 2 2 2 2
|x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 | ≤ √x1 + x2 + x3 √y1 + y2 + y3 ∀ (x1 , x2 , x3 ) , (y1 , y2 , y3 ) ∈ ℝ3 .

In the situation of Example 3 we get

|xy| ≤ |x| |y| ∀x, y ∈ ℂ.

Theorem 2 and Example 4 gives us

n n n
2 2
|∑ ai bi | ≤ √∑|ai | √∑|bi | .
i=1 i=1 i=1
n n
where ∑ ai ei , ∑ bi ei are elements of V.
i=1 i=1

E11) ‖y‖ = √⟨𝛼x, 𝛼x⟩ = √|𝛼|2 ⟨x, x⟩ = |𝛼| ‖x‖.

∴ ‖x‖ ‖y‖ = |𝛼| ‖x‖2 = |𝛼|⟨x, x⟩ = |𝛼⟨x, x⟩| = |⟨x, 𝛼x⟩| = |⟨x, y⟩|.

E12) ‖y + (x − y)‖ ≤ ‖y‖ + ‖x − y‖

⇒‖x‖ ≤ ‖y‖ + ‖x − y‖
⇒‖x‖ − ‖y‖ ≤ ‖x − y‖

Similarly, ‖y‖ − ‖x‖ ≤ ‖y − x‖ = ‖x − y‖, since ‖x‖ = ‖−x‖.

∴ |‖x‖ − ‖y‖| ≤ ‖x − y‖, since |𝛼| = 𝛼 or −𝛼 for any 𝛼 ∈ ℝ.

E13) a) Use Theorem 1(c).

b) Since ⟨x, x⟩ = 0 ⇔ x = 0, (b) is true. 21
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. . . . . . Products
. . . . . . . . . . .and
. . . . .Quadratic
. . . . . . . . . . .Forms
......
c) x ⟂ y ⇒⟨x, y⟩ = 0 ⇒ ⟨y, x⟩ = 0 ⇒ ⟨y, x⟩ = 0
⇒ y ⟂ x.

d) x ⟂ y ⇒⟨x, y⟩ = 0 ⇒ 𝛼⟨x, y⟩ = 0 ∀𝛼 ∈ F
⇒ ⟨𝛼x, y⟩ = 0 ∀𝛼 ∈ F ⇒ 𝛼x ⟂ y ∀ 𝛼 ∈ F.
E14) If x ⟂ y, then ⟨x, y⟩ = 0. Hence,

‖x + y‖2 = ⟨x, x⟩ + ⟨y, y⟩ = ‖x‖2 + ‖y‖2 .

E15) For i ≠ j, ⟨xi , xj ⟩ = 1.0 + 0.1 = 0.

Also, ∀ i = 0, … , n, ⟨xi , xi ⟩ = 1.1 = 1.
∴, the given set is orthonormal.

E16) x⟨x, y⟩ = ⟨∑ xi ei , ∑ yj ej ⟩ = ∑ ∑ xi yj ⟨ei , ej ⟩

i j i j

= ∑ xi yi , since ⟨ei , ei ⟩ = 1 ∀i = 1, … , n and ⟨ei , ej ⟩ = 0 for i ≠ j.

i
E17) a) Here v1 = (1, 0, 3) , v2 = (2, 1, 1) .
w w
We want the set { ‖w1‖ , ‖w2‖ } , where w1 = v1 and
1 2
⟨v ,w ⟩
w2 = v2 − ⟨w2 ,w1 ⟩ w1
1 1
Now, ⟨v2 , w1 , ⟩ = ⟨v2 , v1 , ⟩ = 2 + 0 + 3 = 5.
Also ⟨w1 , w1 ⟩ = ⟨v1 , v1 ⟩ = 10, so that ‖w1 ‖ = √10.
∴ w2 = (2, 1, 1) − 105
(1, 0, 3) = ( 23 , 1, −21 )

∴ ‖w2 ‖ = √ 94 + 1 + 1
4
= √ 72

∴ { 1
(1, 0, 3) , √ 27 ( 32 , 1, −21 )} is the required orthonormal basis.
√10

b) w1 = (1, 0, 2, 0)
7 2 1
w2 = (1, 2, 3, 1) − (1, 0, 2, 0) = (− , 2, , 1) ,
5 5 5
‖w1 ‖ = √5, ‖w2 ‖ = √ 26
5
w w
Then { ‖w1‖ , ‖w2‖ } is the required basis.
1 2

E18) Theorem 8 says that

n
2
‖y‖2 − ∑|⟨y, xi ⟩| ≥ 0.
i=1

22