Sign patterns with minimum rank 3 and point-line configurations

MaRDI QIDQ6247517zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Guangming Jing, Wei Gao, Yubin Gao, Fei Gong, Zhongshan Li, Yanling Shao, Li-Hua Zhang

Publication date 20 December 2013

Abstract: A emph{sign pattern (matrix)} is a matrix whose entries are from the set $+,-,0$. The emph{minimum rank} (respectively, emph{rational minimum rank}) of a sign pattern matrix $calA$ is the minimum of the ranks of the real (respectively, rational) matrices whose entries have signs equal to the corresponding entries of $calA$. A sign pattern $calA$ is said to be emph{condensed} if $calA$ has no zero row or column and no two rows or columns are identical or negatives of each other. In this paper, a new direct connection between condensed $mimesn$ sign patterns with minimum rank $r$ and $m$ point--$n$ hyperplane configurations in ${mathbbR}^{r-1}$ is established. In particular, condensed sign patterns with minimum rank 3 are closed related to point--line configurations on the plane. It is proved that for any sign pattern $calA$ with minimum rank $rgeq3$, if the number of zero entries on each column of $calA$ is at most $r-1$, then the rational minimum rank of $calA$ is also $r$. Furthermore, we construct the smallest known sign pattern whose minimum rank is 3 but whose rational minimum rank is greater than 3.

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