Linear operators preserving the minimal rank (Q1970455)

Properties of the minimal rank \(r(X)\) defined as min\(\{r(X-\lambda I):\lambda \in \mathbb{F}\}\), where \(X\) belongs to the set \(\mathbb{F}^{n \times n}\) of \(n \times n\) matrices over an algebraically closed field \(\mathbb{F}\) and \(I\) is the \(n \times n\) identity matrix, are studied. The forms of linear operators for \(n \geq 3\) and \(n = 2\) preserving the minimal rank or equivalently the number of nontrivial invariant polynomials are described. The existence of linear operators converting the minimal rank to the ordinary rank is also investigated.