μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS FOR LINEAR
PERTURBATION CLASSES DEFINED BY A SCALAR PRODUCT*
MICHAEL KAROW†
Abstract. We study the variation of the spectrum of matrices under perturbations which are self- or
skew-adjoint with respect to a scalar product. Computable formulas are given for the associated μ-values. The
results can be used to calculate spectral value sets for the perturbation classes under consideration. We discuss
the special case of complex Hamiltonian perturbations of a Hamiltonian matrix in detail.
Key words. linear systems, eigenvalues, perturbations, spectral value sets, μ-values
AMS subject classifications. 15A18, 15A57, 15A63, 93C05, 93C73
DOI. 10.1137/090774896
1. Introduction. μ-values are well established tools in stability analysis of uncer-
tain systems and in eigenvalue perturbation theory [5], [8], [10], [20], [25]. They can be
used to characterize several important quantities including stability radii and structured
eigenvalue condition numbers [11],[15]. The relationship of spectral value sets (also
known as structured pseudospectra) with μ-values will be shown below. There is a vast
literature on the problem of calculating μ-values with respect to various perturbation
classes [1], [2], [4], [6], [12], [14], [22], [23], [24]. In this paper we give computable formulas
for μif the underlying perturbation class is a set of self-adjoint or skew-adjoint matrices
with respect to a scalar product. The scalar product is assumed to be defined by a uni-
tary matrix; see section 4. It will be shown that in this case the associated μ-values can
be obtained by minimizing a univariate and unimodular function. The formulas pre-
sented in this paper have been applied in the software package Structured EigTool1
in order to compute structured pseudospectra with respect to skew-symmetric, Hermi-
tian, and Hamiltonian perturbations; see [13].
We use the following notation. The symbols Rand Crepresent the sets of real and
complex numbers, respectively. By Cn×mwe denote the set of nby mmatrices with
entries in C. Furthermore, Cn¼Cn×1is the set of column vectors of length n. The con-
jugate, the transpose, and the conjugate transpose of A∈Cn×mwill be written ¯
A,A⊤,
and A.IfAis square, then σðAÞand ρðAÞ¼C\σðAÞdenote its spectrum and its re-
solvent set. The identity matrix of size nwill be denoted by In. We drop the index nif
the size is clear from the context. The real and the imaginary part of z∈Care written as
ℜzand ℑz, respectively.
By a perturbation class Δwe mean a nonempty closed subset of Cl×qwhich is star
shaped with respect to 0∈Cl×q; i.e., if Δ∈Δ, then tΔ∈Δfor 0≤t≤1. We now give
the definition of μ-values.
DEFINITION 1.1. Let Δ⊆Cl×qbe a perturbation class, and let k·kbe a norm on Cl×q.
(i) The μ-value of M∈Cq×lwith respect to Δand k·kis
μΔðMÞ≔ðinffkΔk;Δ∈Δ;1∈σðΔMÞgÞ−1:ð1:1Þ
*Received by the editors October 26, 2009; accepted for publication (in revised form) by N. J. Higham May
25, 2011; published electronically September 6, 2011.
http://www.siam.org/journals/simax/32-3/77489.html
†Mathematics Institute, Berlin University of Technology, D-10623 Berlin, Germany, (karow@math.
TU-Berlin.de).
1Available from http://www.sam.math.ethz.ch/NLAgroup/software.html.
845
SIAM J. MATRIX ANAL.&APPL.
Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 845–865
© 2011 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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Thus, μΔðMÞis the inverse of the smallest norm of a Δ∈Δsuch that 1is an
eigenvalue of the matrix product ΔM. If there is no such Δ∈Δ,
then μΔðMÞ¼0.
(ii) If l¼q, then the μ-value of Mof second kind is defined as
~
μΔðMÞ≔inffkΔk;Δ∈Δ;detðM−ΔÞ¼0g:ð1:2Þ
Thus, ~
μΔðMÞis the structured distance of Mto the set of singular matrices.
We have ~
μΔðMÞ¼0iff Mis singular and ~
μΔðMÞ¼∞iff there is no Δ∈Δ
such that detðM−ΔÞ¼0.
It is easy to see that ~
μΔðMÞ¼μΔðM−1Þ−1if Mis nonsingular. Furthermore, if the
underlying norm is the spectral norm, then
μCl×qðMÞ¼σmaxðMÞfor all M∈Cl×q;
~
μCn×nðMÞ¼σminðMÞfor all M∈Cn×n;ð1:3Þ
where σmaxð·Þand σminð·Þdenote the maximum and the minimum singular value,
respectively.
We now briefly discuss the relationship of μ-values with the perturbation analysis of
eigenvalues. Consider matrix perturbations of the form
A⇝AΔ¼AþBΔC; Δ∈Δ;kΔk<δ;ð1:4Þ
where A∈Cn×n,B∈Cn×l,C∈Cq×nare fixed matrices. The set of all eigenvalues of all
matrices AΔgiven by (1.4) is called a spectral value set (stuctured pseudospectrum). It is
denoted by
σΔðA; B; C; δÞ≔[
Δ∈Δ;kΔk<δ
σðAþBΔCÞ
¼fs∈C;∃Δ∈Δ∶kΔk<δ;and detðsI −ðAþBΔCÞÞ ¼ 0g:ð1:5Þ
Let GðsÞ≔CðsI −AÞ−1B,s∈ρðAÞ, be the transfer function of the triple ðA; B; CÞ.
From the well known equivalence [7, Proposition 2.3]
s∈σðAþBΔCÞ⇔1∈σðΔGðsÞÞð1:6Þ
it follows that
μΔðGðsÞÞ ¼ ðinffkΔk;Δ∈Δ;s∈σðAþBΔCÞgÞ−1;s∈ρðAÞ:ð1:7Þ
This in turn yields
σΔðA; B; C; δÞ¼σðAÞ∪fs∈ρðAÞ;μΔðGðsÞÞ >δ−1g;δ>0:ð1:8Þ
For the cases B¼C¼Iand Δ⊆Cn×nwe simplify notation and denote the associated
spectral value sets by
σΔðA; δÞ≔σΔðA; I; I; δÞ¼ [
Δ∈Δ;kΔk<δ
σðAþΔÞ:ð1:9Þ
From the definition of ~
μit is immediate that, for A∈Cn×n,
846 MICHAEL KAROW
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~
μΔðsI −AÞ¼inffkΔkjΔ∈Δ;s∈σðAþΔÞg;s∈C;ð1:10Þ
σΔðA; δÞ¼fs∈C;~
μΔðsI −AÞ<δg;δ>0:ð1:11Þ
The statements (1.8) and (1.11) yield that spectral value sets can be calculated by eval-
uating the functions s↦μΔðGðsÞÞ and s↦~
μΔðsI −AÞ, respectively.
The organization of this paper is as follows. In section 2 we provide useful charac-
terizations for μwith respect to Hermitian, complex symmetric, and complex skew-
symmetric perturbations. In particular we show that the μ-value and the ~
μ-value
for symmetric perturbations coincide with the μ-value and the ~
μ-value for unstructured
perturbations, i.e., with the maximum and the minimum singular value. Therefore, sym-
metric perturbations are not considered in the following sections. Section 3 contains the
main results of this paper. Here, we show how μ-values with respect to Hermitian and
skew-symmetric perturbations can be computed by maximizing or minimizing a certain
eigenvalue of a Hermitian pencil. The technical proofs of the main results are given in
section 6. In section 4 we treat μ-values for perturbation classes of self- and skew-adjoint
matrices with respect to a scalar product. Section 5 deals with a special case: μ-values
and spectral value sets for Hamiltonian perturbations of Hamiltonian matrices.
Throughout the rest of this paper the underlying norm k·kis the spectral norm.
2. Hermitian, symmetric, and skew-symmetric perturbations. In this sec-
tion we derive basic characterizations for μ-values with respect to the perturbation
classes
Δ∈fHermðnÞ;SymðnÞ;SkewðnÞg;
where
HermðnÞ≔fΔ∈Cn×n;Δ¼Δg;
SymðnÞ≔fΔ∈Cn×n;Δ⊤¼Δg;
SkewðnÞ≔fΔ∈Cn×n;Δ⊤¼−Δg:ð2:1Þ
THEOREM 2.1. Let M∈Cn×n. Then the following statements hold.
(a) If the Hermitian matrix Mh¼iðM−MÞis positive or negative definite,
then detðM−ΔÞ≠0and detðΔM−IÞ≠0for all Δ∈HermðnÞ. Hence,
~
μHermðMÞ¼∞and μHermðMÞ¼0.IfMhis not definite, then
μHermðMÞ¼maxfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
Mhv¼0g;
~
μHermðMÞ¼minfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
Mhv¼0g:ð2:2Þ
(b) Let Ms¼MþM⊤. Then, for n≥2,
μSkewðMÞ¼maxfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
⊤Msv¼0g;
~
μSkewðMÞ¼minfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
⊤Msv¼0g:ð2:3Þ
(c) We always have
μSymðMÞ¼maxfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1g¼σmaxðMÞ;
~
μSymðMÞ¼minfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1g¼σminðMÞ;
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 847
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where σmaxð·Þand σminð·Þdenote the maximum and the minimum singular
values.
Note that the μ-values for the symmetric case coincide with the μ-values for the
unstructured case Δ¼Cn×n(see relation (1.3)).
Proof. For Δ⊆Cn×nand x; y ∈Cnlet νΔðx; yÞ≔inffkΔk;Δ∈Δ;Δx¼yg:The
relation Δx¼yimplies kΔkkxk≥kyk. Thus, for all x≠0,
νΔðx; yÞ≥kyk∕kxk:ð2:4Þ
From the equivalences
1∈σðΔMÞ⇔ΔðMvÞ¼vfor some vwith kvk¼1;
detðM−ΔÞ¼0⇔Δv¼Mvfor some vwith kvk¼1;
1∈σðΔMÞ⇔ΔðMvÞ¼vfor some vwith kvk¼1;
detðM−ΔÞ¼0⇔Δv¼Mvfor some vwith kvk¼1;
it follows that
μΔðMÞ¼ðinffνΔðMv;vÞ;v∈Cn;kvk¼1gÞ−1;
~
μΔðMÞ¼inffνΔðv; MvÞ;v∈Cn;kvk¼1g:ð2:5Þ
Let Δ∈HermðnÞ. Then the relation Δx¼yimplies that ℑðxyÞ¼ℑðxΔxÞ¼0.
Suppose that ℑðxyÞ¼0and x≠0. Then by [18, Theorem A.2] there exists
Δ∈HermðnÞwith Δx¼yand kΔk¼kyk∕kxk. This combined with (2.4) yields that,
for any x; y ∈Cn,x≠0,
νHermðx; yÞ¼8
<
:
kyk∕kxkif x≠0 and ℑðxyÞ¼0;
0ifx¼y¼0;
∞otherwise.
ð2:6Þ
For any v∈Cn, we have that ℑðvðMvÞÞ ¼ ð1∕2iÞðvðMvÞ−ðMvÞvÞ¼
−ð1∕2ÞvMhv. Hence, (2.5) combined with (2.6) yields
μHermðMÞ¼supfkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
Mhv¼0g;
~
μHermðMÞ¼inffkMvk;v∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
Mhv¼0g:
Suppose that Mhis definite. Then vMhv≠0for all v≠0. Hence, μHermðMÞ¼0and
~
μHermðMÞ¼∞. Suppose Mhis not definite. Then the set of unit vectors vsatisfying
vMhv¼0is nonempty and closed. This concludes the proof of claim (a).
Let Δ∈SkewðnÞ. Then the relation Δx¼yimplies that x⊤y¼x⊤Δx¼0. Suppose
that x⊤y¼0and x≠0. Then by [18, Theorem A.2] there exists Δ∈SkewðnÞwith
Δx¼yand kΔk¼kyk∕kxk. This combined with (2.4) yields that, for any x; y ∈Cn,
x≠0,
νSkewðx; yÞ¼8
<
:
kyk∕kxkif x≠0andyTx¼0;
0ifx¼y¼0;
∞otherwise:
ð2:7Þ
848 MICHAEL KAROW
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We have, for any v∈Cn, that ðMvÞ⊤v¼ð1∕2ÞððMvÞ⊤vþv⊤ðMvÞÞ ¼ ð1∕2Þv⊤Msv.
Furthermore, if n≥2, then by Lemma 6.2 there exists a unit vector vwith
v⊤Msv¼0. Hence, (2.7) combined with (2.5) yields claim (b).
If x≠0, then by [18, Theorem A.2] there exists Δ∈SymðnÞsuch that Δx¼yand
kΔk¼kyk∕kxk. Hence, we have
νSymðx; yÞ¼8
<
:
kyk∕kxkif x≠0;
0ifx¼y¼0;
∞otherwise:
ð2:8Þ
Now (2.5) yields claim (c). ▯
3. Computation of μfor the Hermitian and the skew-symmetric case.
Based on the identities (2.2) and (2.3) one can derive the following two theorems. They
provide computable formulas for the μ-values with respect to Hermitian and skew-
symmetric perturbations. In order not to disturb the flow of exposition, the proofs
are given in section 6.
THEOREM 3.1. Let M∈Cn×n,Mh¼iðM−MÞ, and
ϕðtÞ¼λmaxðMMþtMhÞ;
~
ϕðtÞ¼λminðMMþtMhÞ;t∈R;
where λmax and λmin denote the largest and the smallest eigenvalue, respectively. Then the
function ϕis convex and the function ~
ϕis concave. Suppose that Mhis not definite. Then
μHermðMÞ¼ðinft∈RϕðtÞÞ1∕2;~
μHermðMÞ¼ðsupt∈R~
ϕðtÞÞ1∕2:
Furthermore, the following statements hold.
(i) If Mhis indefinite, then the infimum is attained in the interval ½t1;t
2and the
supremum is attained in the interval ½−t2;−t1, where
t1¼σ2
maxðMÞ−σ2
minðMÞ
λminðMhÞ;t
2¼σ2
maxðMÞ−σ2
minðMÞ
λmaxðMhÞ:ð3:1Þ
(ii) Suppose Mhis positive (negative) semidefinite but not definite. Then the
functions ϕ∶R→Rand ~
ϕ∶R→Rare both increasing (both decreasing).
Moreover, we have
μHermðMÞ¼σmaxðMVÞ
¼(ðlimt→−∞ ϕðtÞÞ1∕2if Mhis positive semidefinite;
ðlimt→∞ϕðtÞÞ1∕2if Mhis negative semidefinite;
~
μHermðMÞ¼σminðMVÞ
¼(ðlimt→∞~
ϕðtÞÞ1∕2if Mhis positive semidefinite;
ðlimt→−∞ ~
ϕðtÞÞ1∕2if Mhis negative semidefinite;
where Vis any matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of ker Mh.
Remark 3.2. For any M∈Cn×nand any t∈R,
MMþtMh¼ðM−itIÞðM−itI Þ−t2I:
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 849
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Hence, the objective functions in Theorem 3.1 can be written as
ϕðtÞ¼σ2
maxðM−itI Þ−t2;~
ϕðtÞ¼σ2
minðM−itIÞ−t2:
Let I⊆Rbe an interval. A function f∶I→Ris said to be unimodal2if each local
extremum of fattained in the interior of Iequals the global minimum of f. The global
minimum of a continuous unimodal function on a compact interval Ican reliably be
found by golden section search [21, section 2.1] or by any other locally minimizing
algorithm. The functions ϕand −~
ϕ, being convex, are unimodal. In [13] we proposed
a bisection method using the derivative of ϕto compute μHermðMÞ¼mint∈½t1;t2ϕðtÞin
the case that Mhis indefinite.
Next, we consider skew-symmetric perturbations.
THEOREM 3.3. Let M∈Cn×n,n≥2, and let Ms¼MþM⊤. For t∈½0;∞Þ, let
FðtÞ¼MMt
¯
Ms
tMsMM∈Hermð2nÞ
and
ψðtÞ¼λ2ðFðtÞÞ;~
ψðtÞ¼λ2n−1ðFðtÞÞ;
where λ2and λ2n−1denote the second largest and the second smallest eigenvalue, respec-
tively. Then the functions ψð·Þand −~
ψð·Þare both unimodal on ½0;∞Þ, and
μSkewðMÞ¼ðinft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞÞ1∕2;
~
μSkewðMÞ¼ðsupt∈½0;∞Þ~
ψðtÞÞ1∕2:
Furthermore, the following statements hold.
(i) If rankðMsÞ≥2, then both the infimum and the supremum are attained in the
interval ½0;t
1, where t1¼2σ2
maxðMÞ∕σ2ðMsÞand σ2ð·Þdenotes the second
largest singular value.
(ii) Suppose rankðMsÞ¼1. Then the function ψ∶½0;∞Þ→Ris decreasing, the
function ~
ψ∶½0;∞Þ→Ris increasing, and
μSkewðMÞ¼σmaxðMVÞ¼limt→∞ψðtÞ;
~
μSkewðMÞ¼σminðMVÞ¼limt→∞~
ψðtÞ;
where Vis any matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of ker Ms.
(iii) If Ms¼0, then the functions ψð·Þand ~
ψð·Þare both constant, and
μSkewðMÞ¼σmaxðMÞ¼ψð0Þ;
~
μSkewðMÞ¼σminðMÞ¼ ~
ψð0Þ:
Remark 3.4. The pencil FðtÞin Theorem 3.3 satisfies
FðtÞ¼MtI
tI ¯
MMtI
tI ¯
M−t2I:
2The definition of unimodality is not unique in the literature. By our definition strictly monotone functions
as well as constant functions are unimodal.
850 MICHAEL KAROW
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Thus, the objective functions in Theorem 3.3 can be written as
ψðtÞ¼σ2
2MtI
tI ¯
M−t2;~
ψðtÞ¼σ2
2n−1MtI
tI ¯
M−t2;ð3:2Þ
where σ2and σ2n−1denote the second largest and the second smallest singular value,
respectively. For the computation of ψusing the representation (3.2), see [13]. ▯
Example 3.5. We compute μSkewðMÞand ~
μSkewðMÞfor M¼iI −A, where
A¼2
4
0100
−10 0 0
000
3
5:ð3:3Þ
In this case the pencil FðtÞsatisfies
FðtÞ¼MMt
¯
Ms
tMsMM¼H−2itI
2itI ¯
H;H≔MM¼2
4
101 20i0
−20i101 0
001
3
5:
For λ∈C\σðHÞ, we have λI−FðtÞ¼TGðλÞT, where
GðλÞ¼λI−H0
0ðλI−¯
HÞ−4t2ðλI−HÞ−1;T¼I0
2itðλI−HÞ−1I:
Thus, the characteristic polynomial of FðtÞis
detðλI−FðtÞÞ ¼ detðGðλÞÞ
¼detððλI−HÞðλI−¯
HÞ−4t2IÞ
¼ðλ2−2λþ1−4t2Þðλ2−202λþ9801 −4t2Þ2:
Hence, the six eigenvalues of FðtÞ(denoted by lkðtÞ)are
l1ðtÞ¼1þ2t;
l2ðtÞ¼1−2t;
l3ðtÞ¼l4ðtÞ¼101 þ2ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
100 þt2
p;
l5ðtÞ¼l6ðtÞ¼101 −2ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
100 þt2
p:
The eigenvalue curves lkð·Þare displayed in Figure 3.1. The second largest eigenvalue of
FðtÞis ψðtÞ¼λ2ðFðtÞÞ ¼ l3ðtÞ¼l4ðtÞ:The function ψðtÞattains its minimum at t¼0.
Thus, μSkewðMÞ¼ ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ψð0Þ
p¼11. The second smallest eigenvalue of FðtÞis ~
ψðtÞ¼
λ5ðFðtÞÞ ¼ minfl1ðtÞ;l5ðtÞg:The function ~
ψðtÞattains its maximum at t¼24, where
the curves l1ð·Þand l5ð·Þmeet. Thus, ~
μSkewðMÞ¼ ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
~
ψð24Þ
q¼7. The skew-symmetric
spectral value sets
σSkewðA; δÞ¼ [
Δ∈Skewð3Þ;kΔk<δ
σðAþΔÞ¼fs∈C;~
μSkewðsI −AÞ<δg;δ∈f4;7;9g;
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 851
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are depicted in the upper row of Figure 3.2. The lower row shows the unstructured spec-
tral value sets
σC3×3ðA; δÞ¼ [
Δ∈C3×3;kΔk<δ
σðAþΔÞ¼fs∈C;σminðsI −AÞ<δg;δ∈f4;7;9g:
The crosses mark the eigenvalues of A. Observe that the eigenvalue 0 is an isolated point
of σSkewðA; δÞ,δ¼4;7. This can be explained as follows. Let Dbe a disk about 0 that
does not contain an eigenvalue of Adifferent from 0. Let Δ∈Skewð3Þ.Ifδ>0is suffi-
ciently small and kΔk<δ, then by continuity only one eigenvalue of AþΔis contained
in D. This eigenvalue is 0 since AþΔis a skew-symmetric matrix of odd dimension.
FIG. 3.1. The eigenvalue curves lkð·Þ,ψð·Þ, and ~
ψð·Þfrom Example 3.5.
FIG. 3.2. The sets σSkewðA; δÞ(upper row) and σC3×3ðA; δÞ(lower row) for Adefined in (3.3).
852 MICHAEL KAROW
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4. Self- and skew-adjoint matrices. We now treat μ-values with respect to lin-
ear subspaces which are induced by a scalar product on Cn. Specifically we show that
these μ-values are closely related to the μ-values with respect to Hermitian, symmetric,
and skew-symmetric perturbations. For nonsingular Π∈Cn×n, we consider the scalar
products
hx; yiΠ¼x⋆Πy; x; y ∈Cn;⋆∈f;⊤g:
Depending on whether ⋆¼⊤or ⋆¼the scalar product is a bilinear form or a sesqui-
linear form. We assume that Πsatisfies a symmetry relation of the form
Π⋆¼ϵ0Π;with ϵ0¼−1orϵ0¼1:ð4:1Þ
A matrix Δ∈Cn×nis said to be self-adjoint (skew-adjoint) with respect to the scalar
product h·;·iΠif
hΔx; yiΠ¼ϵhx; ΔyiΠfor all x; y ∈Cn
ð4:2Þ
and ϵ¼1(ϵ¼−1). It is easy to see that the relation (4.2) is equivalent to
ðΠΔÞ⋆¼ϵ0ϵΠΔ. We denote the sets of self- and skew-adjoint matrices by
structðΠ;⋆;ϵÞ≔fΔ∈Cn×n;ðΠΔÞ⋆¼ϵ0ϵΠΔg:
Thus,
Δ∈structðΠ;⋆;ϵÞ⇔8
>
>
<
>
>
:
ΠΔ ∈HermðnÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼;
ΠΔ ∈SymðnÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼⊤;
ΠΔ ∈SkewðnÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼⊤;
iΠΔ ∈HermðnÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼.
ð4:3Þ
In many applications Πis unitary. The most common examples are Π∈fdiagðIk;
−In−kÞ;En;Jng, where
Jn≔0In
−In0∈C2n×2n;E
n≔2
4
1
..
.
13
5∈Cn×n:ð4:4Þ
For unitary Πthe μ-values of the associated self- and skew-adjoint classes can be ex-
pressed in terms of the μ-values for HermðnÞ,SymðnÞ, and SkewðnÞ.
PROPOSITION 4.1. Suppose Π∈Cn×nis unitary and satisfies Π⋆¼ϵ0Πwith ϵ0¼−1
or ϵ0¼1. Let struct ¼structðΠ;⋆;ϵÞ. Then for any M∈Cn×n,
μstructðMÞ¼8
>
>
<
>
>
:
μHermðMΠÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼;
μSymðMΠÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼⊤;
μSkewðMΠÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼⊤;
μHermðiMΠÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼;
ð4:5Þ
and
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 853
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~
μstructðMÞ¼8
>
>
<
>
>
:
~
μHermðΠMÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼;
~
μSymðΠMÞif ϵ0ϵ¼1;⋆¼⊤;
~
μSkewðΠMÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼⊤;
~
μHermðiΠMÞif ϵ0ϵ¼−1;⋆¼.
ð4:6Þ
Proof. Since Πis unitary we have
μstructðMÞ¼ðinffkΔk;Δ∈struct;1∈σðΔMÞgÞ−1
¼ðinffkΠΔk;Δ∈struct;1∈σððΠΔÞðMΠÞÞgÞ−1;ð4:7Þ
~
μstructðMÞ¼inffkΔk;Δ∈struct;detðM−ΔÞ¼0g
¼inffkΠΔk;Δ∈struct;detðΠM−ΠΔÞ¼0g:ð4:8Þ
Thus, the first three identities in (4.5) and (4.6) are consequences of the first three equiv-
alences of (4.3). On replacing in (4.7) and (4.8) Πby iΠone obtains the fourth identity
in (4.5) and (4.6) from the fourth equivalence of (4.3). ▯
5. Application: Spectral value sets for Hamiltonian matrices. A matrix
which is skew-adjoint with respect to the sesquilinear form induced by Jnis called
Hamiltonian. Let HamðnÞ≔fΔ∈C2n×2n;ΔJn¼−JnΔgdenote the set of complex
Hamiltonian matrices. Each H∈HamðnÞhas block structure
H¼AC
B−Awith A∈Cn×nand B;C ∈HermðnÞ:
The spectral value sets of Hwith respect to Hamiltonian perturbations are by (1.11)
σHamðH;δÞ¼ [
Δ∈HamðnÞ;kΔk<δ
σðHþΔÞ¼fs∈C;fðsÞ<δg;δ>0;ð5:1Þ
where fðsÞ≔~
μHamðsI −HÞ,s∈C. Let ΦðsÞ≔JnðsI −HÞ¼h−BsIþA
−sI þAC
i
and ΦhðsÞ≔iðΦðsÞ−ΦðsÞÞ¼2iðℜsÞJn. Then by Corollary 4.1 and Theorem 2.1
fðsÞ¼ ~
μHermðΦðsÞÞ
¼minfkΦðsÞvk;v∈C2n;kvk¼1;v
ΦhðsÞv¼0g
¼σminðsI −HÞif s∈iR;
minfkðsI −HÞvk;v∈C2n;kvk¼1;v
Jnv¼0gotherwise:
ð5:2Þ
The latter equation holds since ΦðsÞ¼0iff s∈iR, and kΦðsÞvk¼kðsI −HÞvkfor all
v∈C2n. Since ~
μC2n×2nðsI −HÞ¼σminðsI −HÞ, (5.2) implies
σHamðHÞ∩ðiRÞ¼σC2n×2nðHÞ∩ðiRÞ:
Let s∈C\ðiRÞ. Then ΦhðsÞis indefinite since λmaxðΦhðsÞÞ ¼ −λminðΦhðsÞÞ ¼ 2jℜsj.
Thus, by Theorem 3.1
854 MICHAEL KAROW
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fðsÞ¼maxt∈½−t0
2jℜsj;t0
2jℜsjλminðΦðsÞΦðsÞþtΦhðsÞÞ1
2
¼maxτ∈½−t0;t0λminððsI −HÞðsI −HÞþτiJnÞ1
2;ð5:3Þ
where t0¼σ2
maxðsI −HÞ−σ2
minðsI −HÞ. Formula (5.3) and the upper equation in (5.2)
have been used to compute the spectral value sets σHamðHγ;1Þin the upper row of
Figure 5.1. Here,
Hγ¼0−γ−1B
γB0;B¼diagð1;6;−6Þ;γ∈f1;1.3;5;6g:
The lower row in the figure shows the sets σC6×6ðHγ;1Þfor comparison. The crosses mark
the eigenvalues of Hγ. The pictures illustrate the fact that spectral value sets of
Hamiltonian matrices with respect to Hamiltonian perturbations are not necessarily
open. The proposition below states basic topological facts about these sets.
PROPOSITION 5.1. Let H∈HamðnÞand δ>0. Then
(a) σHamðH;δÞ∩ðiRÞis an open subset of iR.
(b) σHamðH;δÞ\ðiRÞis an open subset of C.
Let s0∈iRbe a purely imaginary eigenvalue of H, and let Edenote the associated
eigenspace.
(c) If there exists a v∈E\f0gsuch that vJnv¼0, then s0is an interior point
of σHamðH;δÞ.
(d) Suppose that vJnv≠0for all v∈E\f0g. Then there exists a δ0>0and a disk
Dwith center s0such that σHamðH;δÞ∩D⊂iRfor all δ<δ0.
FIG. 5.1. The sets σHamðHγ;1Þ(upper row) and σC6×6ðHγ;1Þ(lower row).
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 855
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Proof. For s∈C, let f1ðsÞ¼σminðsI −HÞand f2ðsÞ¼mins∈KkðsI −HÞvk, where
K¼fv∈C2n;kvk¼1;v
Jnv¼0g. Then f1and f2are continuous at all s∈C. (The
continuity of f2follows from the continuity of the map ðs; vÞ↦kðsI −HÞvkand the
compactness of K.) Furthermore, by (5.2)
σHamðH;δÞ∩ðiRÞ¼fs∈iR;f1ðsÞ<δg;
σHamðH;δÞ\ðiRÞ¼fs∈C\iR;f2ðsÞ<δg:ð5:4Þ
Hence, σHamðH;δÞ∩ðiRÞis an open subset of iRand σHamðH;δÞ\ðiRÞis an open subset
of C. Now let s0∈iRbe a purely imaginary eigenvalue of H. Then f1ðs0Þ¼0. Suppose
there exists an eigenvector v≠0with vJnv¼0. Then f2ðs0Þ¼0. From (5.4) it then
follows that s0is an interior point of σHamðH;δÞ. Assume there is no eigenvector such
that vJnv¼0. Then f2ðs0Þ>0. Let δ0¼f2ðs0Þ∕2. Then by continuity there is a disk
Dwith center s0such that f2ðsÞ≥δ0for s∈D. Thus, by (5.4)
ðσHamðH;δÞ\ðiRÞÞ ∩D¼∅for δ<δ0:▯
6. Proofs of Theorems 3.1 and 3.3. In what follows λmaxðHÞ¼λ1ðHÞ≥λ2ðHÞ≥
::: ≥λnðHÞ¼λminðHÞdenote the eigenvalues of H∈HermðnÞin decreasing order. The
corresponding eigenspaces are denoted by EkðHÞ,k¼1; :::;n. Recall that
λnþ1−kðHÞ¼−λkð−HÞð6:1Þ
and
λkðHÞþλminðGÞ≤λkðHþGÞ≤λkðHÞþλmaxðGÞð6:2Þ
for all H;G ∈HermðnÞ,k¼1; :::;n. The proofs of Theorem 3.1 and 3.3 use the same
technique as in [9], [17], [19], [22]. We need the following preliminary result on the ei-
genvalues and eigenvectors of a Hermitian pencil.
PROPOSITION 6.1. Let H0;H1∈HermðnÞand HðtÞ¼H0þtH1,t∈R, and
k∈f1; :::;ng.
(a) Suppose the function t↦λkðHðtÞÞ,t∈R, attains a local extremum at t0. Then
there exists a unit vector v∈EkðHðt0ÞÞ such that vH1v¼0. Suppose the ex-
tremum is a local minimum and we have k¼nor λkðHðt0ÞÞ >λkþ1ðHðt0ÞÞ.
Then vH1w¼0for all v; w ∈EkðHðt0ÞÞ.
(b) Suppose λkðH1Þ¼0and either k¼1or λk−1ðH1Þ>0. Then
limt→∞λkðHðtÞÞ ¼ λmaxðVH0VÞ;ð6:3Þ
where V∈Cn×pis a matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis
of ker H1.
Proof. By [16, Thm. II.1.10 and subsec. II.4.5] there exist analytic functions
lj∶R→R,vj∶R→Rn,j¼1; :::;n, such that HðtÞvjðtÞ¼ljðtÞvjðtÞand
viðtÞvjðtÞ¼1ifi¼j;
0 otherwise
ð6:4Þ
for i; j ∈f1; :::;ngand t∈R. Hence, the vectors vjðtÞform an othonormal basis of
eigenvectors of HðtÞand the numbers ljðtÞare the corresponding eigenvalues not
necessarily ordered up to size. By differentiating the identity ljðtÞviðtÞvjðtÞ¼
viðtÞHðtÞvjðtÞ,t∈R, we obtain
856 MICHAEL KAROW
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d
dt ðljðtÞviðtÞvjðtÞÞ ¼ d
dt ðviðtÞHðtÞvjðtÞÞ
¼viðtÞH 0ðtÞvjðtÞþv 0
iðtÞHðtÞvjðtÞþviðtÞHðtÞv 0
jðtÞ
¼viðtÞH1vjðtÞþljðtÞv 0
iðtÞvjðtÞþliðtÞviðtÞv 0
jðtÞ
¼viðtÞH1vjðtÞ
þljðtÞd
dt ðviðtÞvjðtÞÞ þ ðliðtÞ−ljðtÞÞviðtÞv 0
jðtÞ:
This combined with (6.4) yields the following facts.
Fact 1.Let i≠jand t∈R.IfliðtÞ¼ljðtÞ, then viðtÞH1vjðtÞ¼0:
Fact 2.The derivative of ljð·Þat t∈Rsatisfies l 0
jðtÞ¼vjðtÞH1vjðtÞ,j¼1; :::;n.
Let JkðtÞ¼fj;ljðtÞ¼λkðHðtÞÞg. Then the vectors vjðtÞ,j∈JkðtÞ, form an ortho-
normal basis of the eigenspace EkðHðtÞÞ. For any pair of indices i,j, the analytic func-
tions t↦liðtÞ,t↦ljðtÞ, are either identical or their graphs meet in a discrete set of
points. Thus, for any t0∈R, there are an ϵ>0and indices j1;j
2∈Jkðt0Þsuch that
λkðHðtÞÞ ¼ lj1ðtÞfor t∈½t0;t
0þϵ;
lj2ðtÞfor t∈½t0−ϵ;t
0:
ð6:5Þ
Hence, if the function t↦λkðHðtÞÞ attains a local minimum at t0, then l 0
j1ðt0Þ¼
vj1ðt0ÞH1vj1ðt0Þ≥0and l 0
j2ðt0Þ¼vj2ðt0ÞH1vj2ðt0Þ≤0. Clearly, if j1¼j2, then
vj1ðt0ÞH1vj1ðt0Þ¼0.Ifj1≠j2, then by continuity there exists a vector v∈EkðHðt0ÞÞ \
f0gof the form v¼cosðαÞvj1ðt0ÞþsinðαÞvj2ðt0Þ,α∈½0;π∕2, such that vH1v¼0.An
analogous argument holds if λkð·Þattains a local maximum. Thus, we have shown the
first statement of (a). To prove the second consider a t0∈Rsuch that λkðHðt0ÞÞ >
λkþ1ðHðt0ÞÞ. Then by continuity and the definition of Jkðt0Þthere exists an ϵ>0
such that
ljðtÞ>λkþ1ðHðtÞÞ for all j∈Jkðt0Þand all t∈½t0−ϵ;t
0þϵ:
Since each ljðtÞequals one of the eigenvalues of HðtÞit follows that
ljðtÞ≥λkðHðtÞÞ for all j∈Jkðt0Þand all t∈½t0−ϵ;t
0þϵ:ð6:6Þ
Note that the latter statement trivially holds for all t0∈Rif k¼n. Suppose now that λk
attains a local minimum at t0. Then (6.6) implies that the functions ljðtÞ,j∈Jkðt0Þ,
have a local minimum at t0, too. Thus, vjðt0ÞH1vjðt0Þ¼l 0
jðt0Þ¼0for all j∈Jkðt0Þ.
The latter combined with Fact 1 yields that viðt0ÞH1vjðt0Þ¼0for all i; j ∈Jkðt0Þ.
Hence, vH1w¼0for all v; w ∈EkðHðt0ÞÞ ¼ spanfvjðt0Þ;j∈Jkðt0Þg. This completes
the proof of (a).
In order to show (b) we consider the pencil ~
HðtÞ¼H1þtH0.Notethat
HðtÞ¼t~
Hð1∕tÞfor t≠0.Let~
vj∶R→Cn,~
lj∶R→Rbe analytic functions, such that
the vectors ~
vjðtÞform an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors of ~
HðtÞwith corresponding
eigenvalues ~
ljðtÞ.Letj1; :::;j
p∈f1; :::;ngdenote the indices jfor which ljð0Þ¼
λkð~
Hð0ÞÞ ¼ λkðH1Þ. Then the columns of the matrix V1≔½~
vj1ð0Þ; :::;~
vjpð0Þ form an
orthonormal basis of Ekð~
Hð0ÞÞ ¼ EkðH1Þ.Furthermore,byFacts1and2(appliedto
the pencil ~
HðtÞat t¼0) the matrix G1≔½~
vjαð0ÞH0~
vjβð0Þα;β¼1;:::;p ¼V
1H0V1is a
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diagonal matrix whose diagonal elements are the derivatives ~
l 0
j1ð0Þ; :::; ~
l 0
jpð0Þ.LetV∈
Cn×pbe another matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of EkðH1Þ.ThenV¼
V1Ufor some unitary matrix U∈Cp×p. Hence, the matrix G≔VH0V¼UG1Uis
similar to G1. Thus, the derivatives ~
l 0
j1ð0Þ; :::; ~
l 0
jpð0Þare the eigenvalues of G.Assume
now w.l.o.g. that ~
lj1ðtÞ¼maxf~
ljαðtÞ;α¼1; :::;pgfor t∈½0;ϵand some ϵ>0.Then
~
l 0
j1ð0Þ¼maxfl 0
jαð0Þ;α¼1; :::;pg¼λmaxðG1Þ¼λmaxðGÞ:Assume further that k¼1
or λk−1ðH1Þ>λkðH1Þ.Then~
lj1ðtÞ¼λkð~
HðtÞÞ for t∈½0;ϵ. If additionally λkðH1Þ¼0,
then
λkð~
HðtÞÞ ¼ ~
lj1ðtÞ¼ ~
l 0
j1ð0ÞtþoðtÞ¼λmaxðGÞtþoðtÞ;limt→0þ
oðtÞ
t¼0:
It follows that
limt→∞λkðHðtÞÞ ¼ limt→∞tλk~
H1
t¼limt→∞tλmaxðGÞ1
tþo1
t¼λmaxðGÞ:
This concludes the proof of (b). ▯
Some of the assertions of Proposition 6.1 were shown in [9]. The complete proof was
given here for the convenience of the reader.
We are now in a position to prove Theorem 3.1. To this end we introduce the
notation
mhðH0;H1Þ≔supfvH0v;v∈Cn;v
H1v¼0;kvk¼1g;
~
mhðH0;H1Þ≔inffvH0v;v∈Cn;v
H1v¼0;kvk¼1g;
where H0;H1∈HermðnÞ. Then Theorem 2.1 states that
μHermðMÞ¼ðmhðMM;MhÞÞ1∕2;~
μHermðMÞ¼ð~
mhðMM;MhÞÞ1∕2
for any M∈Cn×nfor which the matrix Mh¼iðM−MÞis not definite. Thus,
Theorem 3.1 is obtained by substituting MMfor H0and Mhfor H1in the following
general result.
THEOREM 6.2. Let H0;H1∈HermðnÞ, and
ϕðtÞ¼λmaxðH0þtH1Þ;
~
ϕðtÞ¼λminðH0þtH1Þ;t∈R:
Then the function ϕis convex, the function ~
ϕis concave, and
mhðH0;H1Þ¼inf
t∈RϕðtÞ;
~
mhðH0;H1Þ¼sup
t∈R
~
ϕðtÞ:ð6:7Þ
Furthermore, the following statements hold.
(i) If H1is indefinite, then the infimum is attained in the interval ½t1;t
2and the
supremum is attained in the interval ½−t2;−t1, where
858 MICHAEL KAROW
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t1¼λmaxðH0Þ−λminðH0Þ
λminðH1Þ;t
2¼λmaxðH0Þ−λminðH0Þ
λmaxðH1Þ:ð6:8Þ
(ii) Suppose H1is positive (negative) semidefinite but not definite. Then the func-
tions ϕð·Þand ~
ϕð·Þare both increasing (both decreasing). Moreover, we have
mhðH0;H1Þ¼λmaxðVH0VÞ
¼limt→−∞ ϕðtÞif H1is positive semidefinite;
limt→∞ϕðtÞif H1is negative semidefinite;
~
mhðH0;H1Þ¼λminðVH0VÞ
¼limt→∞~
ϕðtÞif H1is positive semidefinite;
limt→−∞ ~
ϕðtÞif H1is negative semidefinite;
where Vis any matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of ker H1.
(iii) Suppose H1is positive (negative) definite. Then the functions ϕð·Þand ~
ϕð·Þ
are both strictly increasing (both strictly decreasing). Moreover, we have
mhðH0;H1Þ¼−∞;
~
mhðH0;H1Þ¼∞:
Proof. It suffices to show the statements about ϕand mhðH0;H1Þ. The statements
about ~
ϕand ~
mhðH0;H1Þthen follow immediately using the facts that λminðHÞ¼
−λmaxð−HÞand ~
mhðH0;H1Þ¼−mhð−H0;−H1Þfor all H;H0;H1∈HermðnÞ.
The well-known convexity of the function H↦λmaxðHÞ;H ∈HermðnÞ[3,
Example 3.10] implies the convexity of ϕ. Furthermore, by (6.2) the following inequal-
ities hold:
λminðH0ÞþλmaxðtH1Þ≤ϕðtÞ≤λmaxðH0ÞþλmaxðtH1Þ;ð6:9Þ
ϕðtÞþλminðtH1Þ≤ϕðtþtÞ≤ϕðtÞþλmaxðtH1Þ;t;t
∈R:ð6:10Þ
Note that
λmaxðtH1Þ¼λmaxðH1Þtif t≥0;
λminðH1Þtif t≤0:
ð6:11Þ
The monotonicity statements about ϕin (ii) and (iii) follow from (6.10). Next we show
the identity (6.7). For any unit vector v∈Cnsatisfying vH1v¼0and any t∈Rwe
have by the Courant–Fischer theorem that vH0v¼vðH0þtH1Þv≤ϕðtÞ:This
implies
mhðH0;H1Þ≤inf
t∈RϕðtÞ:ð6:12Þ
In order to show the opposite inequality we now distinguish four cases.
Case 1.H1is indefinite and λminðH0Þ<λmaxðH0Þ.Lett1,t2be defined as in (6.8).
Then t1<0<t2, and (6.11) yields that ϕð0Þ¼λminðH0ÞþλmaxðtjH1Þ,j¼1,2.By
combining this with the left inequality in (6.9) we obtain ϕð0Þ≤ϕðtjÞ. Consequently,
the continuous function ϕð·Þattains a local minimum at some t0in the open interval
ðt1;t
2Þ. By claim (a) of Proposition 6.1 there exists a unit vector v0satisfying
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ðH0þt0H1Þv0¼ϕðt0Þv0and v
0H1v0¼0, whence v
0H0v0¼ϕðt0Þ. Thus, inft∈RϕðtÞ≤
ϕðt0Þ≤mhðH0;H1Þ. Thus, equality holds in (6.12).
Case 2.H1is indefinite and λminðH0Þ¼λmaxðH0Þ. In this case H0is a scalar multiple
of the identity matrix: H0¼cI with c∈R. Hence, ϕðtÞ¼cþλmaxðtH1Þ, and (6.11)
yields inft∈RϕðtÞ¼ϕð0Þ¼c. On the other hand we have vH0v¼cfor all unit vectors
v. Moreover, since H1is indefinite there exists a unit vector vsatisfying vH1v¼0.
Thus, mhðH0;H1Þ¼c.
Case 3.H1is semidefinite but not definite. Then vH1v¼0implies v∈
ker H1≠f0g. Let Vbe a matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of
ker H1. Then
mhðH0;H1Þ¼maxfvH0v;v∈ker H1;kvk¼1g¼λmaxðVH0VÞ:
On the other hand claim (b) of Proposition 6.1 yields
λmaxðVH0VÞ¼limt→∞ϕðtÞif H1is negative semidefinite;
limt→−∞ ϕðtÞif H1is positive semidefinite:
It follows that inft∈RϕðtÞ≤λmaxðVH0VÞ¼mhðH0;H1Þ:The latter inequality is actu-
ally an equality because of (6.12).
Case 4.H1is definite. Then mhðH0;H1Þ¼−∞ by definition. Moreover, (6.9)
yields that
−∞ ¼limt→−∞ ϕðtÞif H1is positive definite;
limt→∞ϕðtÞif H1is negative definite:
Thus, (6.7) holds in this case. ▯
Next, we prove Theorem 3.3. For H∈HermðnÞ;S∈SymðnÞ, we define
mhsðH;SÞ≔supfvHv;v∈Cn;v
⊤Sv ¼0;kvk¼1g;
~
mhsðH;SÞ≔inffvHv;v∈Cn;v
⊤Sv ¼0;kvk¼1g:
Then Theorem 2.1 states that for any M∈Cn×n,n≥2,
μSkewðMÞ¼ðmhsðMM;MsÞÞ1∕2;
~
μSkewðMÞ¼ð~
mhsðMM;MsÞÞ1∕2;
where Ms¼MþM⊤. Thus, Theorem 3.3 is obtained by substituting MMfor Hand
Msfor Sin the result below.
THEOREM 6.3. H∈HermðnÞ,S∈SymðnÞ. For t∈R, let
FðtÞ¼Ht
¯
S
tS ¯
H∈Hermð2nÞ
and
ψðtÞ¼λ2ðFðtÞÞ;~
ψðtÞ¼λ2n−1ðFðtÞÞ:
Then the functions ψð·Þand −~
ψð·Þare both unimodal on ½0;∞Þ, and
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mhsðH;SÞ¼ inf
t∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞ;
~
mhsðH;SÞ¼ sup
t∈½0;∞Þ
~
ψðtÞ:
Furthermore, the following statements hold.
(i) If rankðSÞ≥2, then both the infimum and the supremum are attained in the
interval ½0;t
1, where t1¼2kHk∕σ2ðSÞ.
(ii) Suppose rankðSÞ¼1. Then the function ψ∶½0;∞Þ→Ris decreasing, the
function ~
ψ∶½0;∞Þ→Ris increasing, and
mhsðH;SÞ¼limt→∞ψðtÞ¼λmaxðVHVÞ;
~
mhsðH;SÞ¼limt→∞~
ψðtÞ¼λminðVHVÞ;
where Vis any matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of ker S.
(iii) If S¼0, then the functions ψð·Þand ~
ψð·Þare both constant, and
mhsðH;SÞ¼λmaxðHÞ¼ψð0Þ;
~
mhsðH;SÞ¼λminðHÞ¼ ~
ψð0Þ:
It is enough to show the statements about mhsðH;SÞand ψ. The statements about
~
mhsðH;SÞand ~
ψthen follow immediately using the facts that ~
mhsðH;SÞ¼
−mhsð−H;−SÞand λ2n−1ðFÞ¼−λ2ð−FÞfor all H∈HermðnÞ,S∈SymðnÞ,F∈
Hermð2nÞ. We split the proof into several lemmas, which give some additional informa-
tion. First note that Fð−tÞ¼TFðtÞT−1, where T¼½
−I
0
0
I. Thus, ψðtÞ¼ψð−tÞfor
all t∈R.
LEMMA 6.1. ForanyH∈HermðnÞ;S∈SymðnÞ,wehavemhsðH;SÞ≤inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞ.
Proof. For a unit vector v∈Cn, let
Uv≔z1v
¯
z2v;z1;z
2∈C:ð6:15Þ
Note that Uvis a 2-dimensional subspace of C2n, and
z1v
¯
z2v
FðtÞz1v
¯
z2v¼ðjz1j2þjz2j2ÞvHvþ2tℜðz1z2v⊤SvÞ;z
1;z
2∈C:ð6:16Þ
Suppose now that v⊤Sv ¼0. Then by the Courant–Fischer max-min-principle
and (6.16)
ψðtÞ¼λ2ðFðtÞÞ ≥min
x∈Uv;kxk¼1xFðtÞx¼vHv for all t∈R:
Hence, ψðtÞ≥mhsðH;SÞ.▯
Next, we consider the case that ψattains its minimum at 0. To this end we need the
lemma below, which has already been used in the proof of Theorem 2.1.
LEMMA 6.2. Let Vbe a subspace of Cnof dimension dim V≥2. Then to any
S∈SymðnÞthere is a nonzero v∈Vsatisfying v⊤Sv ¼0.
Proof. For z1;z
2∈C, let vz1;z2¼z1v1þz2v2, where v1;v
2∈Vare linearly indepen-
dent vectors. The function ðz1;z
2Þ↦v⊤
z1;z2Svz1;z2is a homogeneous quadratic polynomial
and has a zero ðz1;z
2Þ≠ð0;0Þ.▯
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 861
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LEMMA 6.3. The following statements are equivalent.
(i) mhsðH;SÞ¼ψð0Þ¼λmaxðHÞ.
(ii) Either dim E1ðHÞ≥2,ordim E1ðHÞ¼1and v⊤Sv ¼0for v∈E1ðHÞ.
(iii) The function R∋t↦ψðtÞattains its minimum at t¼0.
Proof. Let v1; :::;v
dbe a basis of the eigenspace EkðHÞ. Then
E2k−1ðFð0ÞÞ ¼ E2kðFð0ÞÞ ¼ M
d
j¼1
Uvj;
where the subspaces Uvjare defined as in (6.15) and Ldenotes the direct sum. Hence,
the eigenspaces of Fð0Þhave even dimension, and λmaxðHÞ¼ψð0Þ.
ðiÞ⇔ðiiÞ. Let K¼fv∈Cn;kvk¼1;v
⊤Sv ¼0g. Then Kis compact and
mhsðH;SÞ¼maxv∈KvHv. Obviously, mhsðH;SÞ≤maxfvHv;v∈Cn;kvk¼1g¼
λmaxðHÞ. For any unit vector v, we have vHv ¼λmaxðHÞiff v∈E1. Thus, if
K∩E1ðHÞ¼∅, then vHv <λmaxðHÞfor all v∈K, whence mhsðH;SÞ<λmaxðHÞ.
On the other hand if K∩E1ðHÞ≠∅, then v⊤Sv ¼0and vHv ¼λmaxðHÞfor some unit
vector v, whence mhsðH;SÞ¼λmaxðHÞ. By Lemma 6.2 we have K∩E1ðHÞ≠∅ if
dim E1ðHÞ≥2. The implication ðiÞ⇒ðiiiÞfollows from Lemma 6.1. ðiiiÞ⇒ðiÞ. Since
ðiÞis satisfied if dim E1ðHÞ≥2, we may assume that dim E1ðHÞ¼1. Then E2ðFð0ÞÞ ¼
E1ðFð0ÞÞ ¼ Uvfor a unit vector v∈E1ðHÞ, and λ2ðFð0ÞÞ >λ3ðFð0ÞÞ. Hence, ðiiiÞand
claim (a) of Proposition 6.1 yield that x½0
S
¯
S
0x¼0for all x∈E2ðFð0ÞÞ. In other words
we have for all z1;z
2∈C,
0¼z1v
z2v0¯
S
S0z1v
z2v¼2ℜðz1z2v⊤SvÞ:
This implies v⊤Sv ¼0. Thus, mhsðH;SÞ¼vHv ¼ψð0Þ.▯
LEMMA 6.4. Suppose the function R∋t↦ψðtÞattains a local extremum at t0≠0.
Then there is a unit vector v∈Cnsatisfying vHv ¼ψðt0Þand v⊤Sv ¼0.
Proof. If the assumption of the lemma holds, then by Proposition 6.1 there is a
nonzero v0∈C2nsuch that
Fðt0Þv0¼ψðt0Þv0;ð6:17Þ
v
00¯
S
S0v0¼0:ð6:18Þ
Let
H0≔H−ψðt0ÞI; v0¼x
¯
y;x;y∈Cn:
Then (6.17) is equivalent to the equations
H0x¼−t0¯
Sy; H0y¼−t0Sx;ð6:19Þ
which imply
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xH0x¼−t0x⊤Sy ¼yH0y;
xH0y¼−t0x⊤Sx ¼−t0y⊤Sy:ð6:20Þ
Since t0≠0it follows that
x⊤Sy ∈R;ð6:21Þ
y⊤Sy ¼x⊤Sx:ð6:22Þ
Relation (6.18) states that 2ℜðx⊤SyÞ¼0. Thus, (6.21) yields
x⊤Sy ¼0:ð6:23Þ
Now let
β≔1ifxTSx ¼0;
ixTSx
jxTSxjotherwise:
Then we have
ðxβyÞ⊤SðxβyÞ¼xTSx þβ2y⊤Sy 2βx⊤Sy
¼x⊤Sx þβ2x⊤Sx
|fflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflffl}
¼−xTSx
2βx⊤Sy
|fflffl{zfflffl}
¼0
ðusing ð6.22Þand ð6.23ÞÞ
¼0;
and
ðxβyÞH0ðxβyÞ¼xH0xþjβj2yH0y2ℜðxH0yβÞ
¼−t0ðð1þjβj2Þx⊤Sy
|fflffl{zfflffl}
¼0
2ℜðx⊤SxβÞ
|fflfflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflfflffl}
¼0
Þ
ðusing ð6.20Þand ð6.23ÞÞ
¼0:
At least one of the vectors xβyis nonzero and can therefore be divided by its norm.
The resulting vector v∈Cnhas the required properties. ▯
COROLLARY 6.4. Suppose the function R∋t↦ψðtÞattains a local extremum at
t0>0. Then ψðt0Þ¼mhsðH;SÞ¼inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞ.
Proof. We have mhsðH;SÞ≤inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞ≤ψðt0Þ≤mhsðH;SÞ. The first of these
inequalities is Lemma 6.1. The third is a consequence of Lemma 6.4. ▯
Corollary 6.4 in particular states that the function ψð·Þis unimodal on ½0;∞Þ.
Now we treat the three cases rankðSÞ≥2,rankðSÞ¼1,andS¼0separately.
Case 1. rankðSÞ≥2. Let t1¼2kHk∕σ2ðSÞ. The eigenvalues of ½0
tS
t¯
S
0¼
½0
tS
tS
0are the singular values of Sand their negatives. In particular
λ20t¯
S
tS 0¼σ2ðtSÞ¼jtjσ2ðSÞ:
μ-VALUES AND SPECTRAL VALUE SETS 863
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We conclude that
ψðtÞ¼λ2Ht
¯
S
tS ¯
H≥λ20t¯
S
tS 0þλminH0
0¯
H≥jtjσ2ðSÞ−kHk:
Thus, if jtj>t
1, then ψðtÞ>kHk≥λmaxðHÞ¼ψð0Þ. Consequently, ψattains its mini-
mum at some t0∈Rwith jt0j≤t1. Since ψðtÞ¼ψð−tÞthere exists a minimizer t0≥0.
If t0¼0, then ψðt0Þ¼mhsðH;SÞ¼inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞby Lemma 6.3. If t0>0, then the lat-
ter chain of equalities holds by Corollary 6.4.
Case 2. rankðSÞ¼1. In this case Scan be written in the form S¼xx⊤for some
nonzero x∈Cn. Let Vbe a matrix whose columns form an orthonormal basis of
ker S¼fv∈Cn;x⊤v¼0g. Since v⊤Sv ¼ðx⊤vÞ2we have v⊤Sv ¼0ff v∈ker S¼
rangeðVÞ. This yields
mhsðH;SÞ¼maxfvHv;v∈rangeðVÞ;kvk¼1g¼λmaxðVHVÞ:ð6:24Þ
The columns of ½0
¯
V
V
0form an orthonormal basis of kerð½0
S
¯
S
0Þ. The nonzero eigenvalues
of ½0
S
¯
S
0are jxj2. Thus, λ2ð½0
S
¯
S
0Þ ¼ 0since we assume n≥2. Therefore, by claim (b) of
Proposition 6.1
limt→∞ψðtÞ¼λmax0V
¯
V0H0
0¯
H0V
0¯
V¼λmaxðVHVÞ:ð6:25Þ
By combining (6.24), (6.25), and Lemma 6.1 we find that mhsðH;SÞ¼inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞ¼
limt→∞ψðtÞ¼λmaxðVHVÞ. It remains to show that ψis decreasing. However, this is
immediate from the inequality ψð0Þ≥mhsðH;SÞ¼limt→∞ψðtÞand Corollary 6.4.
Case 3. S¼0. In this case the function ψis constant and the identities mhsðH;SÞ¼
λmaxðHÞ¼ψð0Þ¼inft∈½0;∞ÞψðtÞare obvious.
This concludes the proofs of Theorems 6.3 and 3.3. ▯
Acknowledgment. The author thanks the referees and Daniel Kressner for
valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.
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