Conjectural characterization of tropical characteristic polynomial coefficients for symmetric matrices
Let be a symmetric tropical matrix of size , and let be the coefficient sequence of its tropical characteristic polynomial. For , at least one of the following inequalities holds:
or
Conjectural characterization. For every with , at least one of these two inequalities holds. The inequalities express a concavity-type regularity in the coefficient sequence of the tropical characteristic polynomial of a symmetric matrix.
The preceding results establish analogous necessary inequalities for the first coefficients, while an example shows that these conditions need not hold for nonsymmetric matrices. Extending the observed pattern to all coefficients is proposed as a direction for future research.
References
Primary source
Dariush Kiani and Hanieh Tavakolipour, “Properties of the Tropical Characteristic Polynomial of Symmetric Matrices”, arXiv:2607.10922 (2026).
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