The function vec
implements the operator that stacks a matrix
as a column vector, to be more precise in a matrix with one column.
\(vec(X) = (X_{11}, X_{21}, ..., X_{N1}, X_{12}, X_{22}, ..., X_{NN})\).
The function vech
implements the operator that stacks the lower
triangle of a NxN matrix as an N(N+1)/2x1 vector:
\(vech(X) =(X_{11}, X_{21}, X_{22}, X_{31}, ..., X_{NN})\),
to be more precise in a matrix with one row.