2 research outputs found
Pseudo-centrosymmetric matrices, with applications to counting perfect matchings
We consider square matrices A that commute with a fixed square matrix K, both
with entries in a field F not of characteristic 2. When K^2=I, Tao and Yasuda
defined A to be generalized centrosymmetric with respect to K. When K^2=-I, we
define A to be pseudo-centrosymmetric with respect to K; we show that the
determinant of every even-order pseudo-centrosymmetric matrix is the sum of two
squares over F, as long as -1 is not a square in F. When a
pseudo-centrosymmetric matrix A contains only integral entries and is
pseudo-centrosymmetric with respect to a matrix with rational entries, the
determinant of A is the sum of two integral squares. This result, when
specialized to when K is the even-order alternating exchange matrix, applies to
enumerative combinatorics. Using solely matrix-based methods, we reprove a weak
form of Jockusch's theorem for enumerating perfect matchings of 2-even
symmetric graphs. As a corollary, we reprove that the number of domino tilings
of regions known as Aztec diamonds and Aztec pillows is a sum of two integral
squares.Comment: v1: Preprint; 11 pages, 7 figures. v2: Preprint; 15 pages, 7 figures.
Reworked so that linear algebraic results are over a field not of
characteristic 2, not over the real numbers. Accepted, Linear Algebra and its
Application