Eigenvalue and Characteristic Polynomial Analysis

Questions focused on eigenvalues, characteristic polynomials, spectral radius, or spectral properties of matrices, including existence of eigenvalues and bounds on spectral radius.

grandes-ecoles 2016 QVI.C.1 View
Let $A \geqslant 0$ in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{R})$, an irreducible matrix. We denote $r$ its spectral radius. Let $p \geqslant 1$ be the coefficient of imprimitivity of $A$ (reminder: by convention, $p = 1$ if $A$ is primitive). Let $\chi_A(X) = X^n + c_{k_1}X^{n-k_1} + c_{k_1}X^{n-k_2} + \cdots + c_{k_s}X^{n-k_s}$ be its characteristic polynomial, written according to decreasing powers and showing only the nonzero coefficients $c_k$.
We recall that the spectrum of $A$ is invariant under the map $z \mapsto \omega z$, where $\omega = \exp(2\mathrm{i}\pi/p)$.
Deduce that, for all $k \in \{k_1, k_2, \ldots, k_s\}$, the integer $k$ is divisible by $p$. Think of the elementary symmetric functions of the $\lambda_i$.
grandes-ecoles 2016 QVI.C.2 View
Let $A \geqslant 0$ in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{R})$, an irreducible matrix. We denote $r$ its spectral radius. Let $p \geqslant 1$ be the coefficient of imprimitivity of $A$. Let $\chi_A(X) = X^n + c_{k_1}X^{n-k_1} + c_{k_1}X^{n-k_2} + \cdots + c_{k_s}X^{n-k_s}$ be its characteristic polynomial, written according to decreasing powers and showing only the nonzero coefficients $c_k$. We will show that $p$ is the gcd of the integers $k_1, k_2, \ldots, k_s$.
Conversely, we assume by contradiction that the $k_j$ are all divisible by $qp$, with $q \geqslant 2$. We set $\beta = \mathrm{e}^{2\mathrm{i}\pi/(qp)}$ (so $\beta^q = \omega$). Show that $\beta r$ is an eigenvalue of $A$ and conclude.
grandes-ecoles 2016 QVI.D View
Let $A \in \mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{R})$ be an irreducible matrix. For all $i$ in $\llbracket 1, n \rrbracket$, we denote $L_i = \{m \in \mathbb{N}^*, a_{i,i}^{(m)} > 0\}$ the (nonempty) set of lengths of circuits of $A$ passing through $i$, and we denote $d_i$ the gcd of the elements of $L_i$.
Establish that the coefficient of imprimitivity $p$ of $A$ is equal to $d_i$ for all $i$ in $\llbracket 1, n \rrbracket$ (this gcd does not depend on the index $i$).
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q6 View
Determine the spectral radius of the following matrices $$\left( \begin{array} { l l } 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \end{array} \right) , \quad \left( \begin{array} { l l } 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 \end{array} \right) , \quad \left( \begin{array} { l l } 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 \end{array} \right) , \quad \left( \begin{array} { c c } 0 & - 1 \\ 2 & 0 \end{array} \right) , \quad \left( \begin{array} { l l } 3 & 2 \\ 1 & 2 \end{array} \right)$$
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q14 View
Let $x , y \in \mathbb { C } ^ { n } , \lambda , \mu \in \mathbb { C }$. Show that if $\lambda \neq \mu$, then the following implication holds $$\left( A x = \lambda x \quad \text { and } \quad { } ^ { t } A y = \mu y \right) \Longrightarrow { } ^ { t } x y = 0 .$$
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q16 View
Throughout this part, $A$ is a strictly positive matrix in $M _ { n } ( \mathbb { R } )$. Let $\lambda$ be an eigenvalue of $A$ with modulus $\rho ( A )$ and let $x \in \mathbb { C } ^ { n } \backslash \{ 0 \}$ be an eigenvector of $A$ associated with $\lambda$. We define the positive non-zero vector $v _ { 0 }$ by $\left( v _ { 0 } \right) _ { i } = \left| x _ { i } \right|$ for $1 \leqslant i \leqslant n$. a) Show that $A v _ { 0 } \geqslant \rho ( A ) v _ { 0 }$, then that $$A v _ { 0 } = \rho ( A ) v _ { 0 }$$ b) Deduce that $\rho ( A ) > 0$ and $$\forall i \in \llbracket 1 , n \rrbracket , \left( v _ { 0 } \right) _ { i } > 0 .$$ c) Show that $x$ is collinear with $v _ { 0 }$. Deduce that $\lambda = \rho ( A )$.
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q17 View
Throughout this part, $A$ is a strictly positive matrix in $M _ { n } ( \mathbb { R } )$. By applying the previous results to the matrix ${ } ^ { t } A$, we obtain the existence of $w _ { 0 } \in \mathbb { R } ^ { n }$, whose all components are strictly positive, such that ${ } ^ { t } A w _ { 0 } = \rho ( A ) w _ { 0 }$. We set $$F = \left\{ x \in \mathbb { C } ^ { n } \mid { } ^ { t } x w _ { 0 } = 0 \right\}$$ a) Show that $F$ is a vector subspace of $\mathbb { C } ^ { n }$ stable by $\varphi _ { A }$, and that $$\mathbb { C } ^ { n } = F \oplus \mathbb { C } v _ { 0 }$$ b) Show that if $v$ is an eigenvector of $A$ associated with an eigenvalue $\mu \neq \rho ( A )$, then $v \in F$. Deduce property (iii): if $v$ is an eigenvector of $A$ whose all components are positive, then $v \in \operatorname { ker } ( A - \rho ( A ) I _ { n } )$.
grandes-ecoles 2017 QI.B.2 View
We consider $A \in \mathcal{M}_{n}(\mathbb{R})$. For every real eigenvalue $\lambda$ of $A$, show that $\min \operatorname{sp}_{\mathbb{R}}(A_{s}) \leqslant \lambda \leqslant \max \operatorname{sp}_{\mathbb{R}}(A_{s})$.
Deduce that if $A_{s} \in \mathcal{S}_{n}^{++}(\mathbb{R})$ then $A$ is invertible.
grandes-ecoles 2017 QI.C.1 View
Let $A \in \mathrm{O}_{n}(\mathbb{R})$. Show that the eigenvalues of $A_{s}$ are in $[-1,1]$.
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q14 View
We fix two symplectic forms $\omega$ and $\omega _ { 1 }$ on $E$, and let $u \in \mathrm{GL}(E)$ be the unique automorphism such that $\omega_1(x,y) = \omega(u(x),y)$ for all $(x,y) \in E^2$. We assume that $E$ is of dimension 4. Let $\mathcal { B }$ be a basis of $E$ such that $\operatorname { Mat } _ { \mathcal { B } } ( \omega ) = J _ { 4 }$. Let $U \in \mathcal { M } _ { 4 } ( \mathbb { R } )$ be the matrix of $u$ in the basis $\mathcal { B }$.
(a) What relation is there between the matrices $J _ { 4 }$ and $U$ ?
(b) Show that there exist $N \in \mathcal { M } _ { 2 } ( \mathbb { R } )$ and $\alpha , \beta \in \mathbb { R }$ such that $$U = \left( \begin{array} { c c } N & \alpha J _ { 2 } \\ \beta J _ { 2 } & { } ^ { t } N \end{array} \right)$$
(c) Determine, as a function of $N , \alpha$ and $\beta$, the coefficients of the polynomial $T$ defined by $T ( X ) = \operatorname { det } \left( N - X I _ { 2 } \right) + \alpha \beta$. Show that $T$ is an annihilating polynomial of $U$.
grandes-ecoles 2017 Q25 View
We fix two symplectic forms $\omega$ and $\omega _ { 1 }$ on $E$. Let $\mathcal { S }$ be the set defined in question 13: $$\mathcal { S } = \left\{ u \in \mathrm { GL } ( E ) : \forall ( x , y ) \in E ^ { 2 } , \omega ( x , u ( y ) ) = \omega ( u ( x ) , y ) \right\}$$ Show that the set of elements of $\mathcal { S }$ whose characteristic polynomial $P$ has roots of multiplicity at most 2 in $\mathbb { C }$ is dense in $\mathcal { S }$.
Hint: You may use $r \left( P ^ { \prime } \right)$ where the map $r$ is defined in question 11.
grandes-ecoles 2018 Q3 View
Let $A = \left(\begin{array}{cc} a & b \\ c & a \end{array}\right)$ be a Toeplitz matrix of size $2 \times 2$, where $(a, b, c)$ are complex numbers. Give the characteristic polynomial of $A$.
grandes-ecoles 2018 Q25 View
Let $(a_0, \ldots, a_{n-1}) \in \mathbb{C}^n$. If $\lambda$ is a root of the polynomial identified in Q24, determine the eigenspace of $C(a_0, \ldots, a_{n-1})$ associated with the eigenvalue $\lambda$ and specify its dimension.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q1 View
Let $M \in \mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{K})$. Show that $M$ and $M^{\top}$ have the same spectrum.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q3 View
Let $\left(a_0, a_1, \ldots, a_{n-1}\right) \in \mathbb{K}^n$ and $Q(X) = X^n + a_{n-1}X^{n-1} + \cdots + a_0$. We consider the matrix
$$C_Q = \left(\begin{array}{cccccc} 0 & \cdots & \cdots & \cdots & 0 & -a_0 \\ 1 & 0 & \cdots & \cdots & 0 & -a_1 \\ 0 & 1 & \ddots & & \vdots & -a_2 \\ \vdots & \ddots & \ddots & \ddots & \vdots & \vdots \\ \vdots & & \ddots & 1 & 0 & -a_{n-2} \\ 0 & \cdots & \cdots & 0 & 1 & -a_{n-1} \end{array}\right).$$
Determine as a function of $Q$ the characteristic polynomial of $C_Q$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q35 View
In this part, we assume that $\mathbb{K} = \mathbb{R}$ and that $E$ is a Euclidean space. The inner product of two vectors $x, y$ of $E$ is denoted $(x \mid y)$ and we denote by $\mathrm{O}(E)$ the group of vector isometries of $E$. We say that an endomorphism $f$ of $E$ is orthocyclic if there exists an orthonormal basis of $E$ in which the matrix of $f$ is of the form $C_Q$ (companion matrix).
Let $f \in \mathrm{O}(E)$. Deduce that $f$ is orthocyclic if and only if $\chi_f = X^n - 1$ or $\chi_f = X^n + 1$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q6 View
We assume that $n = 2$. Let $u$ be an endomorphism of $E$ nilpotent of index $p \geqslant 2$.
Deduce that the nilpotent matrices in $\mathcal{M}_2(\mathbb{C})$ are exactly the matrices with zero trace and zero determinant.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q12 View
Let $A$ denote a matrix in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{C})$.
Show that, if $A$ is nilpotent, then 0 is the unique eigenvalue of $A$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q14 View
Let $A$ denote a matrix in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{C})$.
Show that a matrix is nilpotent if, and only if, its characteristic polynomial is equal to $X^n$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q15 View
Let $A$ denote a matrix in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{C})$.
Show the converse of question 12: if 0 is the unique eigenvalue of $A$, then $A$ is nilpotent.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q18 View
Let $A$ denote a matrix in $\mathcal{M}_n(\mathbb{C})$. Assume that $P$ is an annihilating polynomial of $A$ nilpotent.
Prove that 0 is a root of $P$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q43 View
Using the result of question 15, prove that if $M$ and $2M$ are similar, then $M$ is nilpotent.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q16 View
In this part, we assume $n \geqslant 2$. Let $J \in \mathcal{M}_{n}(\mathbb{R})$ be the matrix canonically associated with the endomorphism $\varphi \in \mathcal{L}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ defined by $\varphi: e_{j} \mapsto e_{j+1}$ if $j \in \{1, \ldots, n-1\}$ and $\varphi(e_{n}) = e_{1}$, where $(e_{1}, \ldots, e_{n})$ is the canonical basis of $\mathbb{R}^{n}$.
Determine the characteristic polynomial of $J$.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q19 View
In this part, we assume $n \geqslant 2$. Let $J \in \mathcal{M}_{n}(\mathbb{R})$ be the matrix canonically associated with the endomorphism $\varphi \in \mathcal{L}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ defined by $\varphi: e_{j} \mapsto e_{j+1}$ if $j \in \{1, \ldots, n-1\}$ and $\varphi(e_{n}) = e_{1}$, where $(e_{1}, \ldots, e_{n})$ is the canonical basis of $\mathbb{R}^{n}$.
Determine the complex eigenvalues of $J$ and the associated eigenspaces.
grandes-ecoles 2019 Q22 View
In this part, we assume $n \geqslant 2$. For all $(a_{0}, \ldots, a_{n-1}) \in \mathbb{R}^{n}$, we set $$J(a_{0}, \ldots, a_{n-1}) = \left( \begin{array}{cccc} a_{0} & a_{n-1} & \cdots & a_{1} \\ a_{1} & a_{0} & \cdots & a_{2} \\ \vdots & \vdots & & \vdots \\ a_{n-1} & a_{n-2} & \cdots & a_{0} \end{array} \right)$$ Let $(a_{0}, \ldots, a_{n-1}) \in \mathbb{R}^{n}$. We denote by $Q \in \mathbb{R}[X]$ the polynomial $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1} a_{k} X^{k}$.
What are the complex eigenvalues of the matrix $J(a_{0}, \ldots, a_{n-1})$?