The characteristic polynomial and determinant are not ad hoc constructions

Let $\mathbb{F}$ be a field. We show that given any $n$th degree monic polynomial $q(x)\in \mathbb{F}[x]$ and any matrix $A\in\mathbb{M}_n(\mathbb{F})$ whose trace coincides with the trace of $q(x)$ and consisting in its main diagonal of $k$ 0-blocks of order one, with $k<n-k$, and an invertible non-derogatory block of order $n-k$, we can construct a square-zero matrix $N$ such that the characteristic polynomial of $A+N$ is exactly $q(x)$. We also show that the restriction $k...

Let $c(x_1,...,x_d)$ be a multihomogeneous central polynomial for the $n\times n$ matrix algebra $M_n(K)$ over an infinite field $K$ of positive characteristic $p$. We show that there exists a multihomogeneous polynomial $c_0(x_1,...,x_d)$ of the same degree and with coefficients in the prime field $F_p$ which is central for the algebra $M_n(F)$ for any (possibly finite) field $F$ of characteristic $p$. The proof is elementary and uses standard combinatorial techniques only.

In this paper, we present a determinist Jordan normal form algorithms based on the Fadeev formula: \[(\lambda \cdot I-A) \cdot B(\lambda)=P(\lambda) \cdot I\] where $B(\lambda)$ is $(\lambda \cdot I-A)$'s comatrix and $P(\lambda)$ is $A$'s characteristic polynomial. This rational Jordan normal form algorithm differs from usual algorithms since it is not based on the Frobenius/Smith normal form but rather on the idea already remarked in Gantmacher that the non-zero column vect...

This paper studies Symmetric Determinantal Representations (SDR) in characteristic 2, that is the representation of a multivariate polynomial P by a symmetric matrix M such that P=det(M), and where each entry of M is either a constant or a variable. We first give some sufficient conditions for a polynomial to have an SDR. We then give a non-trivial necessary condition, which implies that some polynomials have no SDR, answering a question of Grenet et al. A large part of t...

We present and analyse a Monte-Carlo algorithm to compute the minimal polynomial of an $n\times n$ matrix over a finite field that requires $O(n^3)$ field operations and O(n) random vectors, and is well suited for successful practical implementation. The algorithm, and its complexity analysis, use standard algorithms for polynomial and matrix operations. We compare features of the algorithm with several other algorithms in the literature. In addition we present a deterministi...

Let g be a complex reductive Lie algebra and U(g) the universal enveloping algebra of g. Associated to a faithful irreducible finite dimensional representation of g, a square matrix F with entries in U(g) naturally arises and if we consider the entries of F are elements in End(M) of a given U(g)-module M, the minimal polynomial of F is defined as the usual one for an associative algebra over the complex field. Suppose M is a generalized Verma module induced from a character o...

In this note we discuss the problem of finding the nth power of a matrix which is strongly connected to the study of Markov chains and others mathematical topics. We observe the known fact (but maybe not well known) that the Cayley-Hamilton theorem is of key importance to this goal. We also demonstrate the classical Gauss elimination technique as a tool to compute the minimum polynomial of a matrix without necessarily know the characteristic polynomial.

In this paper, we present an isomorphism between the ring of general polynomials over a division ring of degree $p$ over its center $F$ and the group ring of the free monoid with $p^2$ variables. Using this isomorphism, we define the characteristic polynomial of a matrix over any division algebra, i.e. a general polynomial with one variable over the algebra whose roots are precisely the left eigenvalues. Plus, we show how the left eigenvalues of a $4 \times 4$ matrices over a...

We provide a short proof of the theorem that every real multivariate polynomial has a symmetric determinantal representation, which was first proved in J. W. Helton, S. A. McCullough, and V. Vinnikov, Noncommutative convexity arises from linear matrix inequalities, J. Funct. Anal. 240 (2006), 105-191. We then provide an example using our approach and extend our results from the real field $\mathbb{R}$ to an arbitrary field $\mathbb{F}$ different from characteristic $2$. The n...

We reconsider the theory of Lagrange interpolation polynomials with multiple interpolation points and apply it to linear algebra. For instance, $A$ be a linear operator satisfying a degree $n$ polynomial equation $P(A)=0$. One can see that the evaluation of a meromorphic function $F$ at $A$ is equal to $Q(A)$, where $Q$ is the degree $<n$ interpolation polynomial of $F$ with the the set of interpolation points equal to the set of roots of the polynomial $P$. In particular, fo...