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6.3 Orthogonal and Orthonormal Vectors

The document defines orthogonal and orthonormal vectors. It then provides examples of sets of vectors that are mutually orthogonal and orthonormal. The Gram-Schmidt process is introduced as a way to convert a set of linearly independent vectors into an orthonormal set. The process involves iteratively projecting vectors onto the span of previous vectors and normalizing the results. An example applies the Gram-Schmidt process to a set of three vectors.

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41 views4 pages

6.3 Orthogonal and Orthonormal Vectors

The document defines orthogonal and orthonormal vectors. It then provides examples of sets of vectors that are mutually orthogonal and orthonormal. The Gram-Schmidt process is introduced as a way to convert a set of linearly independent vectors into an orthonormal set. The process involves iteratively projecting vectors onto the span of previous vectors and normalizing the results. An example applies the Gram-Schmidt process to a set of three vectors.

Uploaded by

Doms
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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6.

Orthogonal and orthonormal vectors

Definition. We say that 2 vectors are orthogonal if they are perpendicular


to each other. i.e. the dot product of the two vectors is zero.
Definition. We say that a set of vectors {~v1 , ~v2 , ..., ~vn } are mutually orthogonal if every pair of vectors is orthogonal. i.e.
~vi .~vj = 0, for all i 6= j.

1
1
1

Example. The set of vectors 0 , 2 , 2 is mutually


1
1
1
orthogonal.

(1, 0, 1).(1, 2, 1) = 0

(1, 0, 1).(1, 2, 1) = 0

(1, 2, 1).(1, 2, 1) = 0
Definition. A set of vectors S is orthonormal if every vector in S has
magnitude 1 and the set of vectors are mutually orthogonal.
Example. We just checked that the

1
~v1 = 0 , ~v2 =
1

vectors

1
1

2 , ~v3 = 2
1
1

are mutually orthogonal. The vectors however are not normalized (this term
is sometimes used to say that the vectors are not of magnitude 1). Let


1
1/ 2
~v1
1
0
~u1 =
= 0 =
|~v1 |
2
1
1/ 2

1
1/2

~v2
1
= 2 = 2/2
~u2 =
|~v2 |
2
1
1/2

1
1/2

~v3
1
~u3 =
= 2 = 2/2
|~v3 |
2
1
1/2
The set of vectors {~u1 , ~u2 , ~u3 } is orthonormal.
Proposition An orthogonal set of non-zero vectors is linearly independent.

6.4

Gram-Schmidt Process

Given a set of linearly independent vectors, it is often useful to convert them


into an orthonormal set of vectors. We first define the projection operator.
Definition. Let ~u and ~v be two vectors. The projection of the vector ~v on
~u is defined as folows:
(~v .~u)
~u.
Proj~u~v =
|~u|2
 
 
1
1
Example. Consider the two vectors ~v =
and ~u =
.
1
0
These two vectors are linearly independent.
However they are not orthogonal to each other. We create an orthogonal
vector in the following manner:
~v1 = ~v (Proj~u~v )
 
 
(1)(1) + (1)(0) 1
1

Proj~u~v =
= (1)
2
2
2
0
0
( 1 +0 )
 
   
1
1
0
~v1 =
(1)
=
1
0
1
~v1 thus constructed is orthogonal to ~u.
The Gram-Schmidt Algorithm:
Let v1 , v2 , ..., vn be a set of n linearly independent vectors in Rn . Then we
can construct an orthonormal set of vectors as follows:
Step 1. Let ~u1 = ~v1 .

~e1 =

~
u1
.
|~
u1 |

Step 2. Let ~u2 = ~v2 Proj~u1 ~v2 .

~e2 =

~
u2
.
|~
u2 |

Step 3. Let ~u3 = ~v3 Proj~u1 ~v3 Proj~u2 ~v3 .

~e3 =

~
u3
.
|~
u3 |

Step 4. Let ~u4 = ~v4 Proj~u1 ~v4 Proj~u2 ~v4 Proj~u3 ~v4 .

~e4 =

~
u4
|~
u4 |

Example. We will apply the Gram-Schmidt algorithm to orthonormalize


the set of vectors

1
1
1

1 .
0 , ~v3 =
1 , ~v2 =
~v1 =
2
1
1
To apply the Gram-Schmidt, we first need to check that the set of vectors
are linearly independent.


1 1 1


1 0 1 = 1(0 1) 1((1)(2) (1)(1)) + 1((1)(1) 0) = 1 6= 0.


1 1 2
Therefore the vectors are linearly independent.
Gram-Schmidt algorithm:
Step 1. Let

~u1

~e1

1
= ~v1 = 1
1

1
~u1
1
=
= 1 .
|~u1 |
3
1

Step 2. Let
~u2 = ~v2 Proj~u1 ~v2

Proj~u1 ~v2 =

~u2 =

~e2 =

1
1
(1, 0, 1).(1, 1, 1)
= 2 1
1
12 + (1)2 + 12
3
1
1

1
1
0 2 1
3
1
1

1/3
2/3
1/3

1/3
~u2
3
= 2/3 .
|~u2 |
6
1/3

Step 3. Let
~u3 = ~v3 Proj~u1 ~v3 Proj~u2 ~v3

1
1
2
(1, 1, 2).(1, 1, 1)
1 = 1
Proj~u1 ~v3 =
2
2
1
1 + (1) + 1
3
1
1

1/3
1/3
5
(1, 1, 2).(1/3, 2/3, 1/3)
2/3 = 2/3
Proj~u2 ~v3 =
(1/3)2 + (2/3)2 + (1/3)2
2
1/3
1/3

1
1
1/3
2
5
~u3 = 1 1 2/3
3
2
2
1
1/3

1/2
= 0
1/2

1/2

~u3
= 2 0 .
~e3 =
|~u3 |
1/2
Example. Consider the vectors {[3, 0, 4], [1, 0, 7], [2, 9, 11]} Check that the
vectors are linearly independent and use the Gram-Schmidt process to find
orthogonal vectors.
Ans. {[3, 0, 4], [4, 0, 3], [0, 9, 0]} Check that the vectors are mutually orthogonal.

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