Reducible sign \(k\)-potent sign pattern matrices (Q1124904)

A sign pattern matrix \(A\) is called \(k\)-potent if \(k\) is the smallest positive integer such that \(A^{k+1}=A\). The structure of irreducible, sign \(k\)-potent pattern matrices was characterized by \textit{J. Stuart}, \textit{C. Eschenbach}, and \textit{S. Kirkland} [Linear Algebra Appl., 294, 85-92 (1999; reviewed above)]. Those results are extended to the reducible case, providing necessary conditions that characterize the structure of each off-diagonal block of the Frobenius normal form of a reducible sign \(k\)-potent matrix.