antisymmetric

English

Etymology

From anti- +‎ symmetric.

Adjective

antisymmetric (not comparable)

1. (set theory, order theory, of a binary relation R on a set S) Having the property that, for any two distinct elements of S, at least one is not related to the other via R; equivalently, having the property that, for any x, y ∈ S, if both xRy and yRx then x=y.
   • 1987, David C. Buchthal, Douglas E. Cameron, Modern Abstract Algebra, Prindle, Weber & Schmidt, page 479,

     The standard example for an antisymmetric relation is the relation less than or equal to on the real number system.

   • 2006, S. C. Sharma, Metric Space, Discovery Publishing House, page 73:

     (i) The identity relation on a set A is an antisymmetric relation.
     (ii) Let R be a relation on the set N of natural numbers defined by
        x R y $\Leftrightarrow$ 'x divides y' for all x, y ∈ N.
     This relation is an antisymmetric relation on N.

2. (linear algebra, of certain mathematical objects) Whose sign changes on the application of a matrix transpose or some generalisation thereof:
   1. (of a matrix) Whose transpose equals its negative (i.e., M^T = −M);
      • 1974, Robert McCredie May, Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems, Princeton University Press, page 193:

        The eigenvalues of an antisymmetric matrix are all purely imaginary numbers, and occur as conjugate pairs, $+iw$ and $-iw$. As a corollary it follows that an antisymmetric matrix of odd order necessarily has one eigenvalue equal to zero; antisymmetric matrices of odd order are singular.

   2. (of a tensor) That changes sign when any two indices are interchanged (e.g., T_ijk = -T_jik);
      • 1986, Millard F. Beatty Jr., Principles of Engineering Mechanics, Volume 1: Kinematics - The Geometry of Motion, Plenum Press, page 163:

        Notice that the tensors defined by:
            $\textstyle T_{S}\equiv {\frac {1}{2}}(T+T^{T})$,     $\textstyle T_{A}\equiv {\frac {1}{2}}(T-T^{T}),$     (3.47)
        are the symmetric and antisymmetric parts, respectively; they are known as the symmetric and antisymmetric parts of T.

   3. (of a bilinear form) For which B(w,v) = -B(v,w).
      • 2012, Stephanie Frank Singer, Symmetry in Mechanics: A Gentle, Modern Introduction, Springer, page 28:

        Antisymmetric bilinear forms and wedge products are defined exactly as above, only now they are functions from $\mathbb {R} ^{n}\times \mathbb {R} ^{n}$ to $\mathbb {R}$. […]
        Exercise 21 Show that every antisymmetric bilinear form on $\mathbb {R} ^{3}$ is a wedge product of two covectors.

Synonyms

• (linear algebra): skew-symmetric

Derived terms

• antisymmetrically
• antisymmetricity

 

Related terms

• antisymmetry
• symmetric

Translations

(order theory; of a binary relation on a set)

• Czech: antisymetrický
• Esperanto: malsimetria, antisimetria
• Finnish: antisymmetrinen
• French: antisymétrique (fr)
• German: antisymmetrisch (de)
• Icelandic: andsamhverfur m
• Japanese: 反対称的 (はんたいしょうてき, han-taishō-teki)
• Polish: antysymetryczny
• Portuguese: antissimétrico
• Romanian: antisimetric
• Russian: антисимметри́чный (ru) (antisimmetríčnyj)
• Spanish: antisimétrico
• Swedish: antisymmetrisk (sv)

(linear algebra)

• Finnish: antisymmetrinen
• German: antisymmetrisch (de)
• Polish: antysymetryczny
• Romanian: antisimetric
• Spanish: antisimétrico

See also

• anticommutative
• skew-symmetric

Further reading

• Antisymmetric relation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Asymmetric relation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Symmetric relation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Antisymmetric matrix on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Antisymmetric tensor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia