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Let $A$, $B$, and $C$ be $2\times 2$ complex matrices, with $A$ and $C$ rank $1$ Hermitian. Can we find a real number $a$ and a $2\times 2$ unitary $U$ such that $$A + BV + V^*B^* + V^*CV$$ is a scala …

Edit: since we seem a bit deadlocked at this point, let me weaken the question. It's fairly easy to see that the set of 8-tuples of reals which can be the eigenvalues of a matrix of the desired form i …

Let $A$ and $B$ be complex $4\times 4$ matrices. Assume both are Hermitian, and that they are linearly independent. Must there exist a nonzero real linear combination $aA + bB$ which has a repeated e …

Let $M_n^{sa}$ be the space of $n\times n$ complex Hermitian matrices, let $r < n$, and let $E$ and $F$ be (real) linear subspaces of $M_n$ with ${\rm codim}(E) < r^2$ and ${\rm codim}(F) = 1$. Let $V …

This question is similar to this previous one but I think it is harder. Let $X$, $Y$, $Z$, and $W$ be $2\times 2$ Hermitian matrices. Can we always find $\theta,\phi \in [0,\pi/2]$ and $2\times 2$ un …

Let $A$ be a positive, invertible $4 \times 4$ hermitian complex matrix. So we have a positive sesquilinear form $\langle Av,w\rangle$. Say that a pair $(v,w)$ of vectors in $\mathbb{C}^4$ is good fo …

In functional analysis, there are many examples of things that "go wrong" in the nonseparable setting. For instance, my favorite version of the spectral theorem only works for operators on a separable …

I believe the solution posted to the arXiv on June 17 by Marcus, Spielman, and Srivastava is correct. This problem may be hard, so I don't expect an off-the-cuff solution. But can anyone suggest po …