The spectra of nonnegative matrices via symbolic dynamics (Q1174926)

Let \(S\) be a unital subring of the real numbers \(\mathbb{R}\). The authors conjecture that certain elementary necessary conditions are sufficient for a \(k\)-tuple \(\Delta\) of complex numbers to be the nonzero part of the spectrum of a primitive matrix over \(S\). Using ideas and results from symbolic dynamics, they prove their conjecture under the additional condition that some subtuple of \(\Delta\) containing its maximal entry be the nonzero part of the spectrum of a primitive matrix over \(S\). In particular, when \(S={\mathbb{R}}\), the inverse spectral problem for nonnegative real matrices is solved, except for the question (which seems quite difficult) of determining the minimum size of a primitive real matrix with a prescribed allowable nonzero spectrum.