Problem

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Tags: linear algebra



Let $n \ge 2$ and $ a_1, a_2, \ldots , a_n $, nonzero real numbers not necessarily distinct. We define matrix $A = (a_{ij})_{1 \le i,j \le n} \in M_n( \mathbb{R} )$ , $a_{i,j} = max \{ a_i, a_j \}$, $\forall i,j \in \{ 1,2 , \ldots , n \} $. Show that $\mathbf{rank}(A) $= $\mathbf{card} $ $\{ a_k | k = 1,2, \ldots n \} $