Linear preservers for matrix inequalities and partial orderings (Q5943027)

Let \(M_{n}(F)\) denote the algebra of \(n\times n\) matrices over the field \(F\). The author calls a linear transformation \(T\) of \(M_{n}(F)\) into itself of ``standard form'' if \(T\) either has the form \(X\mapsto AXB\) or the form \(X\mapsto AX^{T}B\) for some fixed invertible matrices \(A\) and \(B\). There have been many papers by a series of authors in which it has been shown that transformations \(T\) which preserve a wide variety of properties of \(M_{n}(F)\) are necessarily of standard form [see, for example, \textit{C.-K. Li} and \textit{N.-K. Tsing}, Linear Algebra Appl. 162-164, 217-235 (1992; Zbl 0762.15016)]. In the present paper the author considers the partial ordering \(\preceq\) on \(M_{n}(F)\) defined by \(A\preceq B\) when \(rank(B-A)=rank(B)-rank(A).\) (This is called the rank-subtractivity ordering and is equivalent to the minus ordering). He shows that, provided \(\left|F\right|>n\), every invertible linear transformation \(T\) of \(M_{n}(F)\) which preserves \(\preceq\) is of standard form, and also proves a number of related results.