Characteristic polynomial

In linear algebra, the characteristic polynomial of a square matrix is a polynomial which is invariant under matrix similarity and has the eigenvalues as roots. It has the determinant and the trace of the matrix among its coefficients. The characteristic polynomial of an endomorphism of a finite-dimensional vector space is the characteristic polynomial of the matrix of that endomorphism over any base (that is, the characteristic polynomial does not depend on the choice of a basis). The characteristic equation, also known as the determinantal equation, is the equation obtained by equating the characteristic polynomial to zero.

This article is about the characteristic polynomial of a matrix or of an endomorphism of vector spaces. For the characteristic polynomial of a matroid, see Matroid. For that of a graded poset, see Graded poset.

In spectral graph theory, the characteristic polynomial of a graph is the characteristic polynomial of its adjacency matrix.

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