Eigenvalues are only Hölder continuous
Statement
Let , the nilpotent Jordan block (ones on the superdiagonal), the matrix unit with a single in position , and . Compute the eigenvalues of and deduce that the eigenvalues are not Lipschitz functions of the matrix.
Hint
Compute the characteristic polynomial by expanding .
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Solution
The matrix. has for and , all other entries . Equivalently and for .
Characteristic polynomial. Let be an eigenvector for : reads for and . Hence , , and , so . The numbers are distinct, so
Conclusion. All eigenvalues of have modulus , while those of are . The perturbation has operator norm , so
No inequality can hold near .
Example. , : has eigenvalues , four orders of magnitude larger than the perturbation.
Remark. The exponent is optimal in general (Bauer-Fike type bounds for non-diagonalisable matrices give Hölder ). For normal matrices the dependence is Lipschitz with constant , as shown in the Bauer-Fike problem below.