Put X=ω2 and S=ω12+ω22+4Ω2. Its equation is X2−SX+ω12ω22=0. If both effective stiffnesses are positive, the sum and product of roots are positive and S2−4ω12ω22≥0, so both roots are positive. They can coincide in a degenerate zero-rotation isotropic case; “two” need not mean distinct.
If ω12<0<ω22, the product is negative, so one root is negative. Its imaginary frequency gives a growing exponential displacement: centrifugal softening has overwhelmed one elastic restoring direction, making the central configuration unstable. Corioliscoupling mixes the two coordinates but does not remove this negative-product instability.