Affine Transformation - Mathematical Definition

Mathematical Definition

An affine map between two affine spaces is a map on the points that acts linearly on the vectors (that is, the vectors between points of the space). In symbols, f determines a linear transformation φ such that, for any pair of points :

or

.

We can interpret this definition in a few other ways, as follows.

If an origin is chosen, and denotes its image, then this means that for any vector :

If an origin is also chosen, this can be decomposed as an affine transformation that sends, namely

followed by the translation by a vector .

The conclusion is that, intuitively, consists of a translation and a linear map.

Read more about this topic:  Affine Transformation

Famous quotes containing the words mathematical and/or definition:

    “The circumstances of human society are too complicated to be submitted to the rigour of mathematical calculation.”
    —Marquis De Custine (1790–1857)

    “It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.””
    —Jane Adams (20th century)