LU Factorization Calculator

Input Matrix A (3×3)

Enter each row on a new line, with values separated by commas

Understanding LU Factorization

LU Factorization (or LU Decomposition) expresses a matrix A as the product of a lower triangular matrix L and an upper triangular matrix U.

A = LU or PA = LU (with pivoting)

Matrix L

  • Lower triangular (zeros above diagonal)
  • Ones on the diagonal
  • Stores elimination multipliers

Matrix U

  • Upper triangular (zeros below diagonal)
  • Result of Gaussian elimination
  • Diagonal gives determinant info

Why Use Pivoting?

Partial pivoting exchanges rows to ensure the pivot element (diagonal entry used for elimination) has the largest absolute value in its column.

  • Prevents division by zero
  • Improves numerical stability
  • Reduces round-off errors
  • Required when diagonal elements are zero

Applications

Solving Ax = b

Solve Ly = b (forward substitution), then Ux = y (back substitution)

Determinant

det(A) = det(L) × det(U) = product of U's diagonal

Matrix Inverse

Solve AX = I column by column using LU

Algorithm Complexity

LU Factorization has time complexity O(n³) for an n×n matrix. However, once computed, solving Ax = b for new right-hand sides b only requires O(n²) operations (forward and back substitution).

About LU Factorization Calculator - Matrix Decomposition

Compute LU factorization of matrices with partial pivoting. Decompose into lower and upper triangular matrices with step-by-step solutions.

Our **LU Factorization Calculator** decomposes square matrices into the product of lower (L) and upper (U) triangular matrices. Uses Gaussian elimination with optional partial pivoting (PA = LU). Essential for solving linear systems efficiently.

LU factorization is the matrix version of Gaussian elimination stored in reusable form. Once computed, you can solve Ax = b for multiple right-hand sides b efficiently using forward and back substitution.

The calculator shows each elimination step, multiplier computation, and row operation. Understand how L stores the elimination multipliers while U becomes the row-echelon form. Compute determinants as the product of U's diagonal.

Key Features

Step-by-step elimination
Partial pivoting option
Permutation matrix P
Multiplier calculation
Determinant computation
Matrix verification

Why Use This Tool?

Solve linear systems
Compute determinants
Matrix inverse preparation
Numerical stability
Educational explanations

Common Use Cases

Linear Systems: Solve Ax = b efficiently.

Determinants: det(A) = product of U diagonal.

Matrix Inverse: Solve AX = I column by column.

Numerical Analysis: Stable matrix computations.

Related Tools

How to Use

1

Enter matrix size

2

Input matrix elements

3

Enable/disable partial pivoting

4

Click Compute

5

View L, U, and P matrices

Frequently Asked Questions

Comments & Feedback

Share your experience with this tool

Please solve the math problem to verify you're human