ThmDex – An index of mathematical definitions, results, and conjectures.
P2608
Since $x^T A x \in \mathbb{R}^{1 \times 1}$, then $x^T A x$ is symmetric due to R3987: 1-by-1 matrices are always symmetric. That is, $(x^T A x)^T = x^T A x$. Applying R3747: Transpose of finite product of real matrices, we then have \begin{equation} x^T A^T x = (x^T A x)^T = x^T A x \end{equation} Subtracting $x^T A^T x $ from each side, we get $x^T A x - x^T A^T x = 0$. Thus \begin{equation} x^T \left( \frac{A - A^T}{2} \right) x = \frac{1}{2} \left( x^T A x - x^T A^T x \right) = \frac{1}{2} \cdot 0 = 0 \end{equation} $\square$