Inner Product

1 min read Updated Fri Apr 24 2026 03:19:45 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Suppose VV be a vector space over FF.

Inner product is an operation x,y\langle x,y\rangle satisfying:

  • x,y:V×VF\langle x,y\rangle: V\times V \rightarrow F is a function
  • x+y,z=x,z+x,z\langle x + y,z\rangle = \langle x,z\rangle + \langle x,z\rangle
  • x,y=y,x\langle x,y\rangle = \overline{\langle y,x\rangle} (complex conjucate)
  • ax,y=ax,y\langle ax,y\rangle = \overline{a}\langle x,y \rangle
  • x,y0\langle x,y\rangle \ge 0 and x,x=0    x=0\langle x,x\rangle = 0 \iff x = \underline{0}

Properties

  • x,y+z=x,y+x,z\langle x,y+z\rangle = \langle x,y\rangle + \langle x,z\rangle
    Invert it. Use the plus expansion on first operand. Invert it back.
  • x,ay=ax,y\langle x,ay\rangle = a\langle x,y \rangle
    Invert it. Extract aa. Invert it back.

Inner Product Space

A vector space equipped with an inner product.