A test matrix for an inverse eigenvalue problem (Q2336497)

Summary: We present a real symmetric tridiagonal matrix of order \(n\) whose eigenvalues are \(\{2 k \}_{k = 0}^{n - 1}\) which also satisfies the additional condition that its leading principle submatrix has a uniformly interlaced spectrum, \(\{2 l + 1 \}_{l = 0}^{n - 2}\). The matrix entries are explicit functions of the size \(n\), and so the matrix can be used as a test matrix for eigenproblems, both forward and inverse. An explicit solution of a spring-mass inverse problem incorporating the test matrix is provided.