Questions tagged [positivity]

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47 votes
3 answers
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Is this proof of Perron's theorem correct, and if so is it original?

A few years ago, I came up with this proof of Perron's theorem for a class presentation: https://pi.math.cornell.edu/~web6720/Perron-Frobenius_Hannah%20Cairns.pdf I've written an outline of it below ...
Hannah Cairns's user avatar
37 votes
2 answers
3k views

When can a function be made positive by averaging?

Let $f: {\bf Z} \to {\bf R}$ be a finitely supported function on the integers ${\bf Z}$. I am interested in knowing when there exists a finitely supported non-negative function $g: {\bf Z} \to [0,+\...
Terry Tao's user avatar
  • 109k
29 votes
3 answers
2k views

Wanted: Positivity certificate for the AM-GM inequality in low dimension

I'm seeking for a Certificate of Positivity for the AM-GM inequality in five variables $$a^5+b^5+c^5+d^5+e^5-5abcde\;\ge 0\qquad\forall\,a,b,c,d,e\ge 0\,.$$ Can one write the LHS as a sum $\,\...
Hanno's user avatar
  • 489
29 votes
7 answers
4k views

When is a monic integer polynomial the characteristic polynomial of a non-negative integer matrix?

Suppose $P(x)$ is a monic integer polynomial with roots $r_1, ... r_n$ such that $p_k = r_1^k + ... + r_n^k$ is a non-negative integer for all positive integers $k$. Is $P(x)$ necessarily the ...
Qiaochu Yuan's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why are quantum groups so called?

I've recently been to a seminar on quantum matrices. In particular the speaker introduced these objects as the coordinate ring of $2$ by $2$ matrices modulo some odd looking relations (see start of ...
Edward Hughes's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

sum of squares in ring of integers

Lagrange proved that every positive integer is a sum of 4 squares. Are there general results like this for rings of integers of number fields? Is this class field theory? Explicitly, suppose a ...
user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
1k views

Varieties with an ample vector bundle mapping to their tangent bundle

A well-known result of Andreatta and Wisniewski says: Let $X$ be a projective complex manifold whose tangent bundle $T_X$ contains an ample sub-bundle $\mathscr{E}$. Then $X$ is isomorphic to ...
Daniel Litt's user avatar
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16 votes
1 answer
3k views

positive not completely positive maps

In extension to this question Positive but not completely positive? I'd like to know, for $k>1$, examples of $k$-positive linear maps of a matrix algebra into itself that are not $k+1$-positive. (...
Arnold Neumaier's user avatar
16 votes
0 answers
905 views

Polynomials with presumably positive coefficients

After seeing that some positivity problems get their solutions on MO, I am quite enthusiastic of posing my (and not only) problem of positive flavour. In order to state it, I have to introduce the ...
Wadim Zudilin's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
1k views

Square root of doubly positive symmetric matrices

I wonder whether the following property holds true: For every real symmetric matrix $S$, which is positive in both senses: $$\forall x\in{\mathbb R}^n,\,x^TSx\ge0,\qquad\forall 1\le i,j\le n,\,s_{ij}\...
Denis Serre's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
932 views

Is there a Galois theory for $\mathbb R_{\geq 0}$?

The broadest version of my question is the following: Where can I find algebrogeometric abstract nonsense that handles "rings" and "fields" like $\mathbb R_{\geq 0}$ in which ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
898 views

Why do we care about Schur Positivity

Some of the most important open problems in Algebraic Combinatorics concern the Schur positivity of classes of symmetric functions. Why is this an important property to have?
Apprentice Counter's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
841 views

Effective algorithm to test positivity

Let $f(x_1,\ldots, x_n)$ be a real polynomial in several variables. Is there an effective algorithm to test whether $f$ is positive (or nonnegative) on the whole of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$?
user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
7k views

Matrices whose inverse is positive

I have recently come across some examples of matrices with a special structure. I will describe these matrices here and I hope that somebody will be able to point out a source where I can find more ...
hydrobates's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
737 views

Polynomials that preserve nonnegativity

A polynomial $p \in \mathbb{R}[x_1,\dots,x_n]$ is said to be positive on a subset $S$ of $\mathbb{R}^n$ if $p(x) > 0$ for every $x \in S$. The polynomial $p$ is called nonnegative if $p(x) \ge 0$ ...
Pietro Paparella's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
803 views

Signed factors of harmonic polynomials

Let ${\rm Harm}_n^d$ be the space of real harmonic polynomials in $n$ variables, homogeneous of degree $d$. If $P\in{\rm Harm}_n^d$, then $$\left(\frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_1^2}+\cdots+\frac{\...
Denis Serre's user avatar
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12 votes
3 answers
959 views

What techniques are there to prove Schur positivity?

As the title says, what methods exists for proving that a symmetric polynomial (or function) is Schur positive, perhaps involving extra parameters, in which case coefficients should be polynomials in ...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
538 views

Is there a straightforward generalization of min(x,y) to positive-semidefinite Hermitian matrices?

This is an open-ended question I have. Is there a function of two positive-semidefinite hermitian operators $\min(A,B)$ returning another positive-semidefinite Hermitian operator such that: If A and ...
saolof's user avatar
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12 votes
0 answers
703 views

Product of a Schubert polynomial and a double Schubert polynomial

Let $S_u(x)$ be a Schubert polynomial and let $S_v(x;y)$ be a double Schubert polynomial. Then their product can be expressed in terms of the double Schubert polynomials as $$S_u(x)S_v(x;y)=\sum_w{c_{...
Matt Samuel's user avatar
  • 2,038
11 votes
0 answers
361 views

Positivity of polynomial sequences via generating series

In this question I address the problem of proving the nonnegativity of a numerical sequence $a_0,a_1,a_2,\dots$ via generating series technique. In the notation $A(x)=\sum_{n=0}^\infty a_nx^n\ge0$ ...
Wadim Zudilin's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
392 views

Symmetric polynomials that detect positivity

Imagine there are numbers $a_1,\ldots,a_n \in \mathbb R$ and you want to know whether they are all positive. You cannot access the numbers themselves, but you can choose any symmetric polynomials you ...
Louis Deaett's user avatar
  • 1,513
10 votes
3 answers
384 views

Positivity of Iwahori–Hecke algebra characters on the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis

$\DeclareMathOperator\tr{tr}$I'm interested in the irreducible characters of a finite Iwahori–Hecke algebra evaluated at the Kazhdan–Lusztig basis. These are Laurent polynomials. Are the coefficients ...
AThomas's user avatar
  • 587
10 votes
2 answers
752 views

What is the physical difference between states and unital completely positive maps?

Mathematically, completely positive maps on C*-algebras generalize positive linear functionals in that every positive linear functional on a C*-algebra $A$ is a completely positive map of $A$ into $\...
Jon Bannon's user avatar
  • 6,997
10 votes
1 answer
496 views

Conditions for a power of a polynomial to have no negative coefficients

Consider a polynomial in one variable $p(x)$ with $p(0)>0$, and that is not a polynomial in $x^m$ for any $m>1$ (that is, the $gcd$ of the exponents appearing in $p(x)$ is 1). I would like to ...
Valerio's user avatar
  • 397
10 votes
1 answer
858 views

Numerically equivalent effective divisors and semiampleness

Recall that a divisor $M$ on a variety $X$ is said to be semiample if $kM$ is base point free for a certain $k > 0$. Being semiample is not a numerical property (take for example torsion and a non-...
Oren's user avatar
  • 195
10 votes
1 answer
501 views

Positivity of power of positive PSD matrices

Background: Let $M$ be an $n\times n$ matrix with nonnegative entries. It is immediate that for any integer $k$, $M^k$ has nonnegative entries. Suppose now that, on top of having nonnegative entries, ...
MERTON's user avatar
  • 505
9 votes
2 answers
452 views

Polynomial-time algorithm for determining whether a polynomial is positive on $\mathbb{N}$

Does there exist a polynomial-time algorithm to determine whether a given polynomial $p(n)$ with integer coefficients is positive on $\mathbb{N}$, in the sense that $p(n) \geq 0$ for all $n\in\mathbb{...
Magritte's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
303 views

Solving systems of linear equations without introducing negative numbers

Consider a system of $n$ linear equations with $n$ unknowns, all of whose coefficients and right hand sides are nonnegative integers, with a unique solution consisting of nonnegative rational numbers. ...
James Propp's user avatar
  • 19.4k
9 votes
1 answer
295 views

Nonnegative coefficients of a product of polynomials

Let $P(x_1,\dots,x_n)\in\mathbb{R}[x_1,\dots,x_n]$. Does there exist an algorithm to decide whether there is a nonzero polynomial $Q(x_1,\dots,x_n)\in\mathbb{R}[x_1,\dots,x_n]$ such that the product $...
Richard Stanley's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
322 views

Hahn's approach to Hilbert's 17th problem?

The Wikipedia article on Hahn Series mentions mentioned that these were studied by Hahn "in his approach to Hilbert's seventeenth problem". Is this correct? If so, what was this approach, ...
Tobias Fritz's user avatar
  • 5,795
9 votes
0 answers
255 views

Can we extend c.p. normal maps on a finite von Neumann algebra $M$ to $L_0(M)_+$?

Suppose that $M$ is a von Neumann algebra with a finite, normal, faithful trace $\tau$. Let $T\colon M\to M$ be a completely positive, normal map. Can $T$ be extended to a `positively linear map' ...
Tomasz Kania's user avatar
  • 11.3k
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

When is the norm of all positive operators on an ordered Banach space determined by their values on the positive cone?

I'm trying to investigate the interplay between the norm and cone of positive elements in ordered Banach spaces. In particular, I would like a nice characterization of when the norm of a positive ...
Miek Messerschmidt's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
491 views

Maps which are both completely positive and positive

Definition:A linear map $f:\mathbb C^n\to \mathbb C^n$ is called positive if $\langle fa,a\rangle\ge0$ for all $a\in \mathbb C^n$. Equivalently, $f\in M_{n}(\mathbb C)$ is positive if it can be ...
André Henriques's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
253 views

Positive solutions for semilinear parabolic equations

Let $X$ be a Banach lattice. Consider the system $$y'(t)=Ay(t)+f(t,y(t)) \qquad \text{in } (0,T) , \qquad y(0)=y_0, \qquad (*)$$ where $T>0$, $A$ generates an analytic positive semigroup $S(t)$ on $...
S. Euler's user avatar
  • 285
8 votes
0 answers
189 views

Hilbert spaces over the semi-field $\mathbb R_+$

Let $\mathbb R_+$ be the semi-field of non-negative real numbers. Definition (preliminary): A Hilbert space over $\mathbb R_+$ is a pair $(H,P)$, where $H$ is a complex Hilbert space, and $P\subset H$...
André Henriques's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
674 views

Polynomials such that $|p(z)|\leq p(|z|)$

Let $p(x)=1+p_1x+p_2x^2+\cdots+p_nx^n$ be a polynomial with real coefficients and no positive zeros. Define $$\mu(x)=\frac{xp'(x)}{p(x)}, \hspace{3ex} \sigma(x)=x \mu'(x).$$ Many years ago, as part of ...
Valerio's user avatar
  • 397
7 votes
2 answers
538 views

Higher degree generalizations of the Hard Lefschetz Theorem

Let $M$ be a $2d$-dimensional manifold. We say that $\omega \in H^2(M)$ has the Hard Lefschetz Property (HLP) if multiplication with $\omega^j$ is an isomorphism $H^{d-j} \to H^{d+j}$. This holds for ...
Dan Petersen's user avatar
  • 39.3k
7 votes
1 answer
898 views

volume of big line bundles under finite morphisms

Let $X$, $Y$ be complex projective varieties of dimension $n$, let $f:X \rightarrow Y$ be a surjective finite morphism of degree $d$ and let $B$ be a big line bundle on $Y$. Is that true that vol($f^*...
Oren's user avatar
  • 195
7 votes
1 answer
643 views

nef vs. 1-nef vector bundles

Let $X$ be a compact, connected, Kähler manifold, of dimension $d$, with Hermitian metric $\omega$; let $E$ be a vector bundle on $X$ of rank $r\geq2$. By [1] definition 3.1.2: A line bundle $L$ ...
Armando j18eos's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
239 views

Ample divisors on $T$-varieties

Question: how does one use a torus action to help decide whether a divisor or line bundle is ample? In more detail: I have a (normal, but usually rather singular) $T$-variety $X$, where $T$ is an ...
Geordie Williamson's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
182 views

Positivity of certain polynomial coefficients

Consider the rational functions (in fact, polynomials) $$F_n(q)=\frac1{(1-q)^{2n}}\sum_{k=0}^n(-q)^k\frac{2k+1}{n+k+1}\binom{2n}{n-k} \prod_{j=0,\,j\neq k}^n\frac{1+q^{2j+1}}{1+q}.$$ The numbers $\...
T. Amdeberhan's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
2k views

Nef divisors with few global sections

Are there nef divisors D on a complex projective manifold X such that $h^0(X,D)$ is less than or equal to $\dim X$? Edit: In fact I'm interested in nef line bundles D, not just divisors.
user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Positive Elements of a $\ast$-Algebra

In a $C^*$-algebra ${\cal A}$, a positive element is a one of the form $aa^*$, for some $a \in {\cal A}$. It is known that the set of positive elements is a cone, and that for $a,b$ two non-zero ...
Juan Corrida's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
540 views

On a trace condition for positive definite $2\times 2$ block matrices

Consider the following block matrix $$ X = \begin{bmatrix} A & C \\ C^\top & B\end{bmatrix}, $$ where $A\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$, $B\in\mathbb{R}^{m\times m}$, and $C\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times m}...
Ludwig's user avatar
  • 2,682
6 votes
1 answer
613 views

A sufficient condition (or not) for positive semidefiniteness of a matrix?

Let $A\in M_{n}(\mathbb{C})$ be a Hermitian matrix. If for all $z_1,...,z_n\in\mathbb{C}$, $$\sum_{i,j=1}^{n}A_{ij}z_{i}\overline{z_{j}}\ge 0$$ then A is positive semidefinite. I do not think the ...
Jon Bannon's user avatar
  • 6,997
6 votes
1 answer
395 views

Positive-definiteness of radial sinc function in three dimensions

In dimension one, it is well known that $\mathcal{F}\chi_{(-1,1)}=\frac{\sin{x}}{x}$. This implies, in particular, that $\frac{\sin{x}}{x}$ is a definite positive function. I wonder if a similar ...
Capublanca's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
262 views

Minimal injective extension is rigid

Let $V$ be an operator system. Definition 1: A pair $(W, \kappa)$ is called extension of $V$ if $W$ is an operator system and $\kappa: V \to W$ is a unital complete isometry. Definition 2: An ...
Andromeda's user avatar
  • 249
6 votes
1 answer
291 views

Restricting a continuous positive-semidefinite function to a finite subset

The following is a toy version of something I've been fiddling with and I thought it might be more efficient to post it as a question here. Just to fix definitions: for me, a complex-valued function $...
Yemon Choi's user avatar
  • 25.5k
6 votes
1 answer
317 views

On strict positivity and Schmüdgen's Positivstellensatz

Schmüdgen's Positivstellensatz requires the polynomial to be strictly positive on a semialgebraic set. While trying to understand it, I am just wondering if the strictly positive condition can be ...
SophiaA's user avatar
  • 61
6 votes
0 answers
199 views

Extension of positive functionals

Let $X$ be a function space as $C(K)$ or $L^p$, with its usual norm and order, that is $f \le g$ if and only if $f(x) \le g(x)$ for a.e. $x$. If $M$ is a subspace of $X$ and $L:M \to \bf R$ is a ...
Giorgio Metafune's user avatar