Generating curves of the inverse \(q\)-numerical ranges of 2-by-2 matrices (Q2216788)

For a complex number \(q\) with \(|q|\le 1\) and an \(n\times n\) complex matrix \(A\), the \textit{\(q\)-numerical range of \(A\)} is defined by \[ W_q(A):=\{\eta^*A\xi\mid \xi,\eta\in \mathbb C^n,\xi^*\xi=\eta^*\eta=1, \eta^*\xi=q\}.\] \textit{N.-K. Tsing} [Linear Algebra Appl. 56, 195--206 (1984; Zbl 0528.15007)] proved the convexity of this set. The \(q\)-numerical range \(W_q(A)\) has the property that \(W_{qc}(A)=cW_q(A)\) for any complex number \(c\) with \(|c|=1\) one may assume \(0\le q \le 1\). Since \(W_q(A)\) is convex, an algorithm to determine the boundary of \(W_q(A)\) is an important subject for the study of the \(q\)-numerical ranges. Let \(A\) be a \(2\times 2\) matrix in the standard form: \[ A=\begin{pmatrix}0& \beta \\ \alpha& 0 \end{pmatrix}, \] where \(\alpha\ge \beta\ge 0\). It is known that the set \(W_q(A)\) is an elliptical disc (cf. [\textit{C.-K. Li} and \textit{H. Nakazato}, Linear Multilinear Algebra 43, No. 4, 385--409 (1998; Zbl 0899.15017)]). The inverse problem of the \(q\)-numerical range of a matrix \(A\) is to find unit vectors \(\xi,\eta\) with \(\eta^*\xi=q\) which correspond to a given point \(z\in W_q(A)\) satisfying \(z=\eta^*A\xi\). In this paper, the authors investigate the inverse \(q\)-numerical range of the \(2\times 2\) matrix \(A\). It is known that there are two possible independent unit vectors corresponding to a given point in \(W(A):=W_1(A)\). However, there may be a curve which generates unit vectors for the inverse \(q\)-numerical range [\textit{R. L. Carden} and \textit{M. Z. Jahromi}, Linear Algebra Appl. 531, 479--497 (2017; Zbl 1372.65132)]. In particular, they determine and formulate the curve consisting of points \(\xi^*A\xi\in W(A)\) which generates the points \(z\in W_q(A)\) according to Tsing's circle formula [\textit{N.-K. Tsing}, Linear Algebra Appl. 56, 195--206 (1984; Zbl 0528.15007)]: \[ W_q(A) =\cup \{ q \xi^*A\xi+\sqrt{1-q^2} r e^{i\theta} \sqrt{||A\xi ||^2 -|\xi ^*A\xi |^2}\mid\\ \xi \in {{\mathbb {C}}}^n,\ \xi^* \xi=1,\ 0 \le r \le 1,\ 0 \le \theta \le 2\pi \}. \] Singular points and connected components of the quartic curve are discussed, and corresponding examples are described.