Description: Define the characteristic polynomial of a square matrix. According to
Wikipedia ("Characteristic polynomial", 31-Jul-2019,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characteristic_polynomial ): "The
characteristic polynomial of [an n x n matrix] A, denoted by p_A(t), is
the polynomial defined by p_A ( t ) = det ( t I - A ) where I denotes
the n-by-n identity matrix.". In addition, however, the underlying ring
must be commutative, see definition in Lang, p. 561: " Let k be a
commutative ring ... Let M be any n x n matrix in k ... We define the
characteristic polynomial P_M(t) to be the determinant det ( t I_n - M )
where I_n is the unit n x n matrix." To be more precise, the matrices A
and I on the right hand side are matrices with coefficients of a
polynomial ring. Therefore, the original matrix A over a given
commutative ring must be transformed into corresponding matrices over
the polynomial ring over the given ring. (Contributed by AV, 2-Aug-2019)