Constructions for potentially stable sign patterns (Q417543)

For a matrix \(A=[a_{ij}]\in M_{n}(\mathbb{R})\), let \(\alpha(A) = \{\lambda_{1}, \lambda_{2},\dots, \lambda_{n}\}\) denote the multiset of eigenvalues of \(A\). The matrix \(A\) is (negative) stable if \(\mathrm{Re}(\lambda)<0\) for all \(\lambda\in\sigma(A)\). An \(n\times n\) sign pattern \( \mathcal{A}=[\alpha_{ij}]\) has \(\alpha_{ij}\in \{ +, 0, - \}\) for \(i,j=1,2,\dots,n\). A sign pattern class of real matrices is defined by \(Q(\mathcal{A})=\{B=[b_{ij}]\in M_{n}(\mathbb{R}):\mathrm{sign}\;b_{ij}=\alpha_{ij}\), for all \(i,j\}\). For a matrix \(A=[a_{ij}]\in M_{n}(\mathbb{R}), \mathrm {sign}(A)\) is the sign pattern matrix obtained by replacing each positive (respectively, negative, zero) entry of \(A\) by \(+\) (respectively, \(-\), 0), and \(A\) is a realization of \(\mathrm {sgn}(A)\). A sign pattern \(\mathcal{A}\) is potentially stable (PS) if there exists a matrix \(A\in Q(\mathcal{A})\) with \(\mathrm {Re} (\lambda)<0\) for all \(\lambda\in\sigma(A)\); i.e., \(\mathcal{A}\) allows stability. In this paper, the authors give three distinct techniques for the construction of larger order PS sign patterns from given PS sign patterns. These techniques are: construction of a sign pattern with a nested sequence of properly signed principal minors (a nest), bordering of a PS sign pattern, and use of a similarity transformation. They generalize a construction used by \textit{J. Miyamichi} in [Electron. Commun. Japan 71, 63--73 (1988)] and describe a construction that can be performed on particular sign patterns which allow a nest to generate larger order sign patterns that also allow a nest. The authors show that the least number of nonzero entries in an irreducible sign pattern that allows a nest is \(2n-1\). They also consider the number of nonzero entries in an \(n\times n\) minimally PS sign pattern and state the minimum number for small values of \(n\).