Hamiltonian square roots of skew-Hamiltonian matrices revisited (Q5932191)

Denote by \(M_n({\mathbf C})\) and \(I_n\) respectively the set of \(n\times n\) complex matrices and the identity matrix of order \(n\). Set \(J=\left(\begin{smallmatrix} 0&I_n\\ I_n&0\end{smallmatrix}\right)\). A matrix \(H\in M_{2n}({\mathbf C})\) is Hamiltonian (resp. skew-Hamiltonian) if \(H=\left(\begin{smallmatrix} E&F\\ G&Y \end{smallmatrix}\right)\) with blocks in \(M_n({\mathbf C})\) where \(F^T=F\), \(G^T=G\), \(Y=-E^T\) (resp. \(F^T=-F\), \(G^T=-G\), \(Y=E^T\)); one has \((JH)^T=JH\) (resp. \((JH)^T=-JH\)). A matrix \(S\in M_{2n}({\mathbf C})\) is symplectic if \(S^TJS=J\). The author proves that every skew-Hamiltonian matrix can be brought into skew-Hamiltonian Jordan form \(\left(\begin{smallmatrix} K&0\\0&K^T\end{smallmatrix}\right)\) where \(K\in M_n({\mathbf C})\) is in complex Jordan form, by a symplectic similarity transformation. This is the complex analog of a similar result of \textit{H. Fassbender, D. S. Mackey, N. Mackey}, and \textit{H. Xu} in the case of real matrices [Linear Algebra Appl. 287, No. 1-3, 125-159 (1999; Zbl 0940.15017)]. The author proves also that every skew-Hamiltonian matrix has a Hamiltonian square root, that two similar skew-Hamiltonian matrices \(U\), \(V\) are symplectic similar, i.e. \(U=S^{-1}VS\), and that every nonsingular matrix \(Z\in M_{2n}({\mathbf C})\) is representable in the forms \(WS\) and \(S'W'\); here \(S\), \(S'\) are symplectic and \(W\), \(W'\) are skew-Hamiltonian.