A spectral characterization and an approximation scheme for the Hessian eigenvalue (Q2104840)

Summary: We revisit the \(k\)-Hessian eigenvalue problem on a smooth and bounded \((k - 1)\)-convex domain in \(\mathbb{R}^n\). First, we obtain a spectral characterization of the \(k\)-Hessian eigenvalue as the infimum of the first eigenvalues of linear second-order elliptic operators whose coefficients belong to the dual of the corresponding Gårding cone. Second, we introduce a non-degenerate inverse iterative scheme to solve the eigenvalue problem for the \(k\)-Hessian operator. We show that the scheme converges, with a rate, to the \(k\)-Hessian eigenvalue for all \(k\). When \(2 \leq k \leq n\), we also prove a local \(L^1\) convergence of the Hessian of solutions of the scheme. Hyperbolic polynomials play an important role in our analysis.