 Level sets of a positive semidefinite quadratic form

For a real symmetric matrix $A$ with nonnegative eigenvalues, the finite-dimensional spectral theorem changes the equation to ${\sum }_i{\lambda }_i{q}_i^2=E$ in an orthonormal eigenbasis. If $E>0$ and $A$ has positive rank, the positive-eigenvalue coordinates form an ellipsoid, while the zero-eigenvalue coordinates are arbitrary. The level set is therefore a cylinder over that ellipsoid, with axis directions given by the kernel of a linear map of $A$. For rank two in three dimensions, it is an elliptic cylinder. At $E=0$ the level set is exactly the kernel of a linear map; for $E<0$ it is empty. This distinguishes a positive semidefinite matrix from a positive-definite matrix, whose positive level sets are bounded ellipsoids.