Let A, B.C, D be (not necessarily) real matrices such that AT=BCD;BT=CDA;CT=DAB and DT=ABC for the matrix S = ABCD, the least value of k such that Sk = S is
S=ABCD=A(BCD)=AAT∴ S3=(ABCD)(ABCD)(ABCD)=(ABC)(DAB)(CDA)(BCD)=DTCTBTAT=(BCD)TAT=ATTAT=AAT=S⇒ S3=S
Hence, least value of k is 3.