  We construct coefficient matrices of size 2^l by 2^{n-l} associated with pure
n-qubit states and prove the invariance of the ranks of the coefficient
matrices under stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC).
The ranks give rise to a simple way of partitioning pure n-qubit states into
inequivalent families and distinguishing degenerate families from one another
under SLOCC. Moreover, the classification scheme via the ranks of coefficient
matrices can be combined with other schemes to build a more refined
classification scheme. To exemplify we classify the nine families of four
qubits introduced by Verstraete et al. [Phys. Rev. A 65, 052112 (2002)] further
into inequivalent subfamilies via the ranks of coefficient matrices, and as a
result, we find 28 genuinely entangled families and all the degenerate classes
can be distinguished up to permutations of the four qubits. We also discuss the
completeness of the classification of four qubits into nine families.
