Hurwitz rational functions (Q551309)

A univariate polynomial is stable if all its roots lie in the open left-half plane. Algebraic criteria for polynomial stability were devised by Routh and Hurwitz, motivated by problems of mechanics, but also much earlier by Hermite in connection with studies on the signature of quadratic forms. In its simplest tabular form, the Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion states that a polynomial is stable if and only if its Hurwitz minors, determinants of a so-called Hurwitz matrix depending linearly on the polynomial coefficients, are positive. The Hurwitz minors are closely related with the so-called Markov parameters or Hankel minors, determinants of symmetric Hankel matrices of the coefficients of the Laurent series expansion, or moments at infinity, of the rational function whose numerator and denominator are respectively the odd and even parts of the polynomial. The authors extend these notions from polynomials to rational functions. A rational function \(R(z)=h(z)/g(z)\) is called stable when \(h(z)\) is a stable polynomial, and \(g(-z)\) is a stable polynomial. By expanding \(R(z)\) at infinity and building an infinite-dimensional Hurwitz matrix out of the coefficients of the expansion, the authors prove that stability of \(R(z)\) is equivalent to positivity of the (infinitely many) leading principal minors of the Hurwitz matrix.