Copositive cone 2026-10-05
The real symmetric matrices that are copositive matrices form a closed convex cone:Each fixed gives a closed linear inequality in . Their intersection is therefore closed and convex, and it is preserved by nonnegative scaling.
Horn copositive matrix 2026-10-05
The five-dimensional Horn copositive matrix has diagonal entries , entries on the edges of the five-cycle, and entries on the remaining pairs:For , a cyclic relabelling puts a smallest coordinate at . The identitythen proves that is a copositive matrix.
However, is outside the positive-semidefinite-plus-nonnegative cone. Set . Its quadratic form is zero. If with a positive semidefinite matrix and a symmetric nonnegative matrix, both and must vanish. Positivity of the first three coordinates of forces every entry of the leading block of to vanish. Applying the argument to all cyclic shifts of forces every entry of to vanish, since each pair of indices lies in a cyclic interval of length three. This would make a positive semidefinite matrix, but zero quadratic form of a positive semidefinite matrix would then give , whereas .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 339 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For , define . Then lies in the nonnegative orthant andIf is a copositive matrix, this is nonnegative for every , so is a globally nonnegative polynomial. Conversely, every has the form by taking . If is globally nonnegative, then for every such , proving that is a copositive matrix. The map covers the entire nonnegative orthant, which is the key to both directions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 339 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Horn copositive matrix is invariant under cyclic permutation of its five coordinates: its negative entries correspond precisely to neighboring indices on the five-cycle. For any , cyclically relabel the coordinates so that is a smallest coordinate. In particular, .
Using the stated identity in this coordinate order,The square is nonnegative, and both remaining terms are nonnegative since and . Cyclic invariance means the relabeling has not changed the quadratic form. Thus is a copositive matrix for every original ordering of .