On the realizability of the critical points of a realizable List (Q1654405)

A list \(\Lambda:=\left\{ \lambda_{1} ,\dots,\lambda_{n}\right\} \) of \(n\) (not necessarily distinct) complex numbers is called realizable if there is an \(n\times n\) real matrix \(A\) with nonnegative entries whose spectrum is \(\Lambda\). There are several obvious necessary conditions for realizability including: \(\Lambda=\bar{\Lambda}\) (the list of complex conjugates); \(\rho(\Lambda)=\max_{i}~\left| \lambda _{i}\right| \in\Lambda\) (the Perron-Frobenius theorem); \(s_{k} (\Lambda):=\sum_{i}\lambda_{i}^{k}\geq0\) for all integers \(k\geq0\); and the less obvious condition that \(s_{k}^{m}(\Lambda)\leq n^{m-1}s_{km}(\Lambda)\) for all \(k,m\geq0\). However, the long-standing problem of determining which lists \(\Lambda\) are realizable remains open except for small values of \(n\) or restricted classes of nonnegative matrices. Put \[ p(t):= {\displaystyle\prod_{i}} (t-\lambda_{i}) \] and let the list \(\Lambda^{\prime}\) denote the list of roots of the derivative \(p^{\prime}(t)\). The present paper investigates an unpublished conjecture of \textit{C. R. Johnson} [Linear Multilinear Algebra 10, 113--130 (1981; Zbl 0455.15019)]: if \(\Lambda\) is realizable~then \(\Lambda^{\prime}\) is realizable. Some special cases of Johnson's conjecture have been established in [\textit{A. G. Cronin} and \textit{T. J. Laffey}, Linear Algebra Appl. 445, 206--222 (2014; Zbl 1321.15032)] and the present paper gives other special cases, namely the following results: 1) If \(\Lambda\) is realizable by a matrix of the form \(C+\alpha I\) where \(C\) is a nonnegative companion matrix and \(\alpha\geq0\), then \(\Lambda^{\prime}\) is realizable by a matrix \(D+\alpha I\) where \(D\) is a nonnegative companion matrix. 2) If \(\Lambda\) is realized by a matrix of the form \(UDU^{\ast}\) where \(D:={\mathrm{diag}}(\lambda _{1},\dots,\lambda_{n})\) and \(U\) is an \(n\times n\) unitary matrix all of whose entries have absolute value \(1/\sqrt{n}\), then \(\Lambda^{\prime}\) is realizable.