> [!summary]
The identity matrix is a special $m\times n$ matrix whose values on the diagonal are 1
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# Definition
The identity matrix is a $m \times n$ [[Square Matrix|square matrix]] where the entries on the [[Diagonal Matrix|diagonal]] are 1. Any values off the diagonal are zero. Any matrix times the respective $m\times n$ return the same matrix. Similarly to how $3 \times 1=3$. In general, the identity matrix ($I$) is as follows
$
I_n =
\begin{bmatrix}
1 & 0 & 0 & \cdots & 0 \\
0 & 1 & 0 & \cdots & 0 \\
0 & 0 & 1 & \cdots & 0 \\
\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\
0 & 0 & 0 & \cdots & 1
\end{bmatrix}
$
The identity matrix can also be written using [[Diagonal Matrix|diagonal notation]] as $I = \text{diag}(1,1,\dots, 1)$
# Resources
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