Question: positive definite matrices how to determine?
Answer: A matrix is positive definite if it's symmetric and all its pivots are positive. where Ak is the upper left k x k submatrix. All the pivots will be pos itive if and only if det(Ak) > 0 for all 1 k n. So, if all upper left k x k determinants of a symmetric matrix are positive, the matrix is positive definite.