identity matrix

noun

, Mathematics.

1. a matrix that has 1 in each position on the main diagonal and 0 in all other positions.

Word History and Origins

Origin of identity matrix¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

When k bits are encoded as n bits, ‘systematic form’ means that the first k physical bits are exactly the k logical bits, so the first k × k submatrix of the generator matrix is the identity matrix, which need not be transmitted.

From Nature