A simultaneous decomposition of a matrix triplet with applications

Abstract

Researches on ranks of matrix expressions have posed a number of challenging questions, one of which is concerned with simultaneous decompositions of several given matrices. In this paper, we construct a simultaneous decomposition to a matrix triplet (A, B, C), where A=±A*. Through the simultaneous matrix decomposition, we derive a canonical form for the matrix expressions A−BXB*−CYC* and then solve two conjectures on the maximal and minimal possible ranks of A−BXB*−CYC* with respect to X=±X* and Y=±Y*. As an application, we derive a sufficient and necessary condition for the matrix equation BXB* + CYC*=A to have a pair of Hermitian solutions, and then give the general Hermitian solutions to the matrix equation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.