The Hessian of a noncommutative polynomial has numerous negative eigenvalues (Q2479623)

Some bounds on the degree \(d=\text{deg}(p)\) of a symmetric polynomial \(p=p(x)=p(x_1,\dots,x_g)\) in \(g\) noncommuting variables are established, in terms of the Hessian signature \(p''(x)(h)=(d^2/dt^2)p(x+th)| _{(x=0)}\). In particular, one gets an upper evaluation like \(d\leq 2\sigma_{\pm}(p'')+2\), which extends an earlier statement in [\textit{J.\,W.\thinspace Helton} and \textit{S. McCullough}, SIAM J.~Matrix Anal.\ Appl.\ 25, 1124--1139 (2004; Zbl 1102.47009)].