Leibniz formula for determinants

Expresses the determinant of a square matrix as a sum over all permutations of its indices, each term being the sign of the permutation times a product of matrix entries. It is the basic definition of the determinant and is used in theoretical proofs and small explicit calculations.

\det(A) = \sum_{\sigma \in S_n} \mathrm{sgn}(\sigma) \prod_{i=1}^{n} a_{\sigma(i), i}

What the symbols mean

a square matrix of size n \times n
the size (number of rows and columns) of the matrix A
a permutation belonging to the symmetric group S_n of all permutations of {1, ..., n}
the sign of the permutation \sigma, equal to +1 for even permutations and -1 for odd ones
the index running over 1, ..., n (the column index of the entry in the product)
the entry of A in row i and column j

About this formula

  • FieldMathematics
  • TopicLinear algebra
  • LevelUniversity
  • Also calleddeterminant permutation expansion, determinant sum over permutations, big formula for determinant, determinant definition, Leibniz determinant formula, signed permutation determinant
  • SourceWikidata Q538557

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