On the approximation numbers of large Toeplitz matrices (Q1355999)

Summary: The \(k\)th approximation number \(s_k^{(p)}(A_n)\) of a complex \(n\times n\) matrix \(A_n\) is defined as the distance of \(A_n\) to the \(n\times n\) matrices of rank at most \(n-k\). The distance is measured in the matrix norm associated with the \(l^p\) norm \((1<p<\infty)\) on \(\mathbb{C}^n\). In the case \(p=2\), the approximation numbers coincide with the singular values. We establish several properties of \(s_k^{(p)}(A_n)\) provided \(A_n\) is the \(n\times n\) truncation of an infinite Toeplitz matrix \(A\) and \(n\) is large. As \(n\to\infty\), the behavior of \(s_k^{(p)}(A_n)\) depends heavily on the Fredholm properties (and, in particular, on the index) of \(A\) on \(l^p\). This paper is also an introduction to the topic. It contains a concise history of the problem and alternative proofs of the theorem by \textit{G. Heinig} and \textit{F. Hellinger} [Integral Equations Oper. Theory 19, No. 4, 419-446 (1994; Zbl 0817.47036)] as well as of the scalar-valued version of some recent results by S. Roch and B. Silbermann concerning block Toeplitz matrices on \(l^2\).