Local behavior of Sylvester matrix equations related to block similarity (Q1322871)

Two rectangular block complex matrices \([A,B]\) and \([A',B']\), where \(A\) and \(A'\) are \(n \times n\) and \(B\) and \(B'\) are \(n\times m\), are called block similar if \([AX + BY,BZ] = [XA',XB']\) for some matrices \(X,Y,Z\) with invertible \(X\) and \(Z\). A necessary condition for block similarity is that \(\dim \text{Ker} K = \dim \text{Ker} K'\), where \(K\) and \(K'\) are the linear maps \((X,Y,Z) \mapsto [AX+BY - XA,BZ - XB]\) and \((X,Y,Z) \mapsto [AX+BY - XA',BZ - XB']\), respectively. It is proved that this necessary condition is also sufficient provided \([A',B']\) is close enough to \([A,B]\). This result is used further to prove that \([A,B]\) is structurally stable (i.e., every pair of matrices sufficiently close to \([A,B]\) is block similar to \([A,B])\) if and only if \(\dim \text{Ker} K=m^ 2\); this condition is also described in terms of the Brunovsky canonical form of \([A,B]\). Finally, the points of continuity of solution spaces of various matrix equations associated with block similarity are characterized.