Solution SD.C20 Robert Beezer
Using a calculator, we find that $A$ has three distinct eigenvalues, $\lambda=3,\,2,\,-1$, with $\lambda=2$ having algebraic multiplicity two, $\algmult{A}{2}=2$. The eigenvalues $\lambda=3,\,-1$ have algebraic multiplicity one, and so by Theorem ME we can conclude that their geometric multiplicities are one as well. Together with the computation of the geometric multiplicity of $\lambda=2$ from Exercise EE.C20, we know \begin{align*} \geomult{A}{3}&=\algmult{A}{3}=1& \geomult{A}{2}&=\algmult{A}{2}=2& \geomult{A}{-1}&=\algmult{A}{-1}=1 \end{align*} This satisfies the hypotheses of Theorem DMFE, and so we can conclude that $A$ is diagonalizable.

A calculator will give us four eigenvectors of $A$, the two for $\lambda=2$ being linearly independent presumably. Or, by hand, we could find basis vectors for the three eigenspaces. For $\lambda=3,\,-1$ the eigenspaces have dimension one, and so any eigenvector for these eigenvalues will be multiples of the ones we use below. For $\lambda=2$ there are many different bases for the eigenspace, so your answer could vary. Our eigenvectors are the basis vectors we would have obtained if we had actually constructed a basis in Exercise EE.C20 rather than just computing the dimension.

By the construction in the proof of Theorem DC, the required matrix $S$ has columns that are four linearly independent eigenvectors of $A$ and the diagonal matrix has the eigenvalues on the diagonal (in the same order as the eigenvectors in $S$). Here are the pieces, “doing” the diagonalization, \begin{equation*} \inverse{ \begin{bmatrix} -1 & 0 & -3 & 6\\ -2 & -1 & -1 & 0\\ 0 & 0 & 1 & -3\\ 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} } \begin{bmatrix} 18 & -15 & 33 & -15\\ -4 & 8 & -6 & 6\\ -9 & 9 & -16 & 9\\ 5 & -6 & 9 & -4 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} -1 & 0 & -3 & 6\\ -2 & -1 & -1 & 0\\ 0 & 0 & 1 & -3\\ 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 3 & 0 & 0 & 0\\ 0 & 2 & 0 & 0\\ 0 & 0 & 2 & 0\\ 0 & 0 & 0 & -1 \end{bmatrix} \end{equation*}