Mathematical Typesetting

How to Write Matrices in LaTeX

LaTeX provides several matrix environments with different bracket styles. You'll need the amsmath package.

Matrix Types

Different environments give different brackets:

\usepackage{amsmath}

% No brackets
$\begin{matrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{matrix}$

% Parentheses ()
$\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{pmatrix}$

% Square brackets []
$\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{bmatrix}$

% Curly braces {}
$\begin{Bmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{Bmatrix}$

% Vertical bars |
$\begin{vmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{vmatrix}$

3x3 Matrix Example

Larger matrices work the same way:

$\begin{bmatrix}
  1 & 0 & 0 \\
  0 & 1 & 0 \\
  0 & 0 & 1
\end{bmatrix}$

Matrix with Dots

For large matrices, use dots:

$\begin{pmatrix}
  a_{11} & \cdots & a_{1n} \\
  \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\
  a_{m1} & \cdots & a_{mn}
\end{pmatrix}$

💡 Tips

•Use & to separate columns, \\\\ to separate rows
•\cdots for horizontal dots, \vdots for vertical, \ddots for diagonal
•For augmented matrices, use the array environment with | in column spec

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