A characterization of Jordan canonical forms which are similar to eventually nonnegative matrices with the properties of nonnegative matrices. (Q1410722)

The authors generalize the previous results by \textit{B.-S. Tam} and \textit{B. G. Zaslavsky} [Linear Algebra Appl. 302--303, 303--330 (1999; Zbl 0945.15008)], on the Jordan canonical forms of irreducible eventually nonnegative matrices, to the reducible case. More generally, they use many techniques and ideas from the study of nonnegative matrix theory to establish necessary and sufficient conditions for a matrix in Jordan canonical form to be similar to an eventually nonnegative matrix. For this nonnegative matrix, the diagonal blocks of the Frobenius normal form are irreducible, and satisfy the cyclicity conditions identified in the paper by Tam and Zaslavsky (loc. cit). In addition, the subdiagonal blocks of the Frobenius normal form are nonnegative (this matrix is referred as semi-nonnegative matrix). \textit{D. Hershkowitz} and \textit{H. Schneider} [Isr. J. Math. 75, 105--117 (1991; Zbl 0798.15026)] have characterized the relationship between the combinatorial structure of a nonnegative matrix whose only eigenvalue is \(\rho\), and its Jordan form. Extending these results to describe the combinatorial structure of a nonnegative matrix when more that one eigenvalue is involved, and combining these results with the results on constructing eventually nonnegative matrices, the authors establish their main theorem which gives necessary and sufficient conditions on the Jordan form of a semi-nonnegative matrix.