Polynomials that preserve nonnegative matrices

Abstract: In further pursuit of a solution to the celebrated nonnegative inverse eigenvalue problem, Loewy and London ((1978/1979) [8]) posed the problem of characterizing all polynomials that preserve all nonnegative matrices of a fixed order. If Pn denotes the set of all polynomials that preserve all n-by-n nonnegative matrices, then it is clear that polynomials with nonnegative coefficients belong to Pn. However, it is known that Pn contains polynomials with negative entries. In this work, novel results for Pn with respect to the coefficients of the polynomials belonging to Pn. Along the way, a generalization for the even-part and odd-part are given and shown to be equivalent to another construction that appeared in the literature. Implications for further research are discussed.

Keywords: Polynomial; Nonnegative matrix; Nonnegative inverse eigenvalue problem; Circulant matrix