The ratio field of values (Q624376)

The ratio field of values, a~generalization of the classical field of values to a pair of \(n\)-by-\(n\) matrices, is defined and studied, primarily from a geometric point of view. Namely, given \(A,B\in M_n(\mathbb C)\) with \(0\notin F(B)\), the quantity \(R(A,B)=\{x^*Ax/x^*Bx\mid x\in {\mathbb C}^n\), \(x^*x=1\}\) is called the ratio field of values of~\(A\) and~\(B\); here \(F(\cdot)\) is the conventional field of values. Basic functional properties of the ratio field \(R(\cdot,\cdot)\) are developed and used. A~decomposition of the ratio field into line segments and ellipses along a~master curve is given and this allows computation. Primary theoretical results include the following. It is shown (1)~that the ratio field of values is simply connected, (2)~for which denominator matrices the ratio field is always convex, (3)~certain other cases of convex pairs are given, and (4)~that, at least for \(n=2\), the ratio field obeys a~near convexity property that the intersection with any line segment has at most \(n\)~components. Generalizations of the ratio field of values involving more than one matrix in both the numerator and denominator are also investigated. It is shown that generally such extensions need not be convex or even simply connected. A~series of pictures of the ratio field is given, both to visualize the results obtained and exhibit the rich variety of shapes that can occur in low dimensions.