Simultaneous Schur stability (Q1301311)

The notion of simultaneous Schur stability for a set of \(n\times n\) complex matrices is introduced. For a set \(\Sigma\subset \mathbb{C}^{n \times n}\), \({\mathcal S}(\Sigma)\) denotes the multiplicative semigroup generated by \(\Sigma\). For an \(n\times n\) complex matrix \(A\), \(\sigma(A)\) and \(r(A)\) denote the spectrum of \(A\) and the spectral radius of \(A\), respectively. A set \(\Sigma \subset \mathbb{C}^{n\times n}\) is said to be simultaneously Schur stable if \(r(A)\leq 1\), for every \(A\in {\mathcal S}(\Sigma)\) and \(1\notin\sigma(A)\), for every \(A\in \overline {{\mathcal S}(\Sigma)}\). A set \(\Sigma\subset \mathbb{C}^{n\times n}\) is said to be asymptotically stable if there is a norm \(\|\cdot\|\) on \(\mathbb{C}^n\) and \(\alpha>0\) such that \(\|A\|\leq \alpha<1\), for every \(A\in \Sigma\). The main theorem states that for a bounded set \(\Sigma\) of \(n\times n\) complex matrices, \(\Sigma\) is asymptotically stable iff \(\Sigma\) is simultaneously Schur stable. This result is used to give an analytic-combinatorial proof of the generalized Gelfand spectral radius formula. Another interesting application of the main theorem is a simplified proof of a result concerning infinite products of matrices. It is emphasized that in a compact multiplicative semigroup of \(n\times n\) complex matrices, the essential nature of simultaneous Schur stability is that zero is the only projection in the semigroup. Finally, three conjectures are derived from the finiteness conjecture for the generalized spectral radius.