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Carlo Beenakker
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For a meaningful answer to your question about "physical interpretation", I need to work with empirical covariance matrices, so averaged over many trials. (You consider a single trial in your question, but that somehow obscures the interpretation.) My conclusion is:

Quite generally, ifIf you find that the empirical spatial and temporal covariance matrices share the same positive eigenvalues, then you know that your data is self-averaging in both space and time.

Consider a data set $x_{ij}^{(k)}$ of measured values at position $i$, time sample $j$ in the $k$-th trial. The empirical spatio-temporal covariance matrix is defined by

$$C_{ii',jj'}=\frac{1}{N_{\rm trials}}\sum_{k=1}^{N_{\rm trials}}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j'}^{(k)}.$$

SpatialEmpirical spatial and temporal covariance matrices are constructed as partial traces,

$$S_{ii'}=\sum_{j}C_{ii',jj},\qquad T_{jj'}=\sum_{i}C_{ii,jj'}.$$

In general, these two matrices $S$ and $T$ will have different sets of positive eigenvalues.

However, if the data is self-averaging in time, then the empirical spatial covariance matrix is $\bar{S}_{ii'}=\sum_{j}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j}^{(k)}$ independent of the sample index $k$; if moreover the data is self-averaging in space, then the empirical temporal covariance matrix is $\bar{T}_{jj'}=\sum_{i}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{ij'}^{(k)}$ independent of $k$. These two matrices $\bar{S}$ and $\bar{T}$ (corresponding to your $A$ and $B$) have the same set of positive eigenvalues.

Quite generally, if you find that the spatial and temporal covariance matrices share the same positive eigenvalues, then you know that your data is self-averaging in both space and time.

Consider a data set $x_{ij}^{(k)}$ of measured values at position $i$, time sample $j$ in the $k$-th trial. The empirical covariance matrix is defined by

$$C_{ii',jj'}=\frac{1}{N_{\rm trials}}\sum_{k=1}^{N_{\rm trials}}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j'}^{(k)}.$$

Spatial and temporal covariance matrices are constructed as partial traces,

$$S_{ii'}=\sum_{j}C_{ii',jj},\qquad T_{jj'}=\sum_{i}C_{ii,jj'}.$$

In general, these two matrices $S$ and $T$ will have different sets of positive eigenvalues.

However, if the data is self-averaging in time, then the spatial covariance matrix is $\bar{S}_{ii'}=\sum_{j}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j}^{(k)}$ independent of the sample index $k$; if moreover the data is self-averaging in space, then the temporal covariance matrix is $\bar{T}_{jj'}=\sum_{i}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{ij'}^{(k)}$ independent of $k$. These two matrices $\bar{S}$ and $\bar{T}$ (corresponding to your $A$ and $B$) have the same set of positive eigenvalues.

For a meaningful answer to your question about "physical interpretation", I need to work with empirical covariance matrices, so averaged over many trials. (You consider a single trial in your question, but that somehow obscures the interpretation.) My conclusion is:

If you find that the empirical spatial and temporal covariance matrices share the same positive eigenvalues, then you know that your data is self-averaging in both space and time.

Consider a data set $x_{ij}^{(k)}$ of measured values at position $i$, time sample $j$ in the $k$-th trial. The empirical spatio-temporal covariance matrix is defined by

$$C_{ii',jj'}=\frac{1}{N_{\rm trials}}\sum_{k=1}^{N_{\rm trials}}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j'}^{(k)}.$$

Empirical spatial and temporal covariance matrices are constructed as partial traces,

$$S_{ii'}=\sum_{j}C_{ii',jj},\qquad T_{jj'}=\sum_{i}C_{ii,jj'}.$$

In general, these two matrices $S$ and $T$ will have different sets of positive eigenvalues.

However, if the data is self-averaging in time, then the empirical spatial covariance matrix is $\bar{S}_{ii'}=\sum_{j}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j}^{(k)}$ independent of the sample index $k$; if moreover the data is self-averaging in space, then the empirical temporal covariance matrix is $\bar{T}_{jj'}=\sum_{i}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{ij'}^{(k)}$ independent of $k$. These two matrices $\bar{S}$ and $\bar{T}$ (corresponding to your $A$ and $B$) have the same set of positive eigenvalues.

Source Link
Carlo Beenakker
  • 188.1k
  • 18
  • 448
  • 651

Quite generally, if you find that the spatial and temporal covariance matrices share the same positive eigenvalues, then you know that your data is self-averaging in both space and time.

Consider a data set $x_{ij}^{(k)}$ of measured values at position $i$, time sample $j$ in the $k$-th trial. The empirical covariance matrix is defined by

$$C_{ii',jj'}=\frac{1}{N_{\rm trials}}\sum_{k=1}^{N_{\rm trials}}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j'}^{(k)}.$$

Spatial and temporal covariance matrices are constructed as partial traces,

$$S_{ii'}=\sum_{j}C_{ii',jj},\qquad T_{jj'}=\sum_{i}C_{ii,jj'}.$$

In general, these two matrices $S$ and $T$ will have different sets of positive eigenvalues.

However, if the data is self-averaging in time, then the spatial covariance matrix is $\bar{S}_{ii'}=\sum_{j}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{i'j}^{(k)}$ independent of the sample index $k$; if moreover the data is self-averaging in space, then the temporal covariance matrix is $\bar{T}_{jj'}=\sum_{i}x_{ij}^{(k)}x_{ij'}^{(k)}$ independent of $k$. These two matrices $\bar{S}$ and $\bar{T}$ (corresponding to your $A$ and $B$) have the same set of positive eigenvalues.