In mathematics, a form (i.e. a homogeneous polynomial) h(x) of degree 2m in the realn-dimensional vector x is sum of squares of forms (SOS) if and only if there exist forms of degree m such that
Every form that is SOS is also a positive polynomial, and although the converse is not always true, Hilbert proved that for n = 2, 2m = 2, or n = 3 and 2m = 4 a form is SOS if and only if it is positive.[1] The same is also valid for the analog problem on positive symmetric forms.[2][3]
Although not every form can be represented as SOS, explicit sufficient conditions for a form to be SOS have been found.[4][5] Moreover, every real nonnegative form can be approximated as closely as desired (in the -norm of its coefficient vector) by a sequence of forms that are SOS.[6]
Square matricial representation (SMR)
To establish whether a form h(x) is SOS amounts to solving a convex optimization problem. Indeed, any h(x) can be written as
where is a vector containing a base for the forms of degree m in x (such as all monomials of degree m in x), the prime ′ denotes the transpose, H is any symmetric matrix satisfying
and is a linear parameterization of the linear space
The dimension of the vector is given by
whereas the dimension of the vector is given by
Then, h(x) is SOS if and only if there exists a vector such that
meaning that the matrix is positive-semidefinite. This is a linear matrix inequality (LMI) feasibility test, which is a convex optimization problem. The expression was introduced in [7] with the name square matricial representation (SMR) in order to establish whether a form is SOS via an LMI. This representation is also known as Gram matrix.[8]
Examples
Consider the form of degree 4 in two variables . We have Since there exists α such that , namely , it follows that h(x) is SOS.
Consider the form of degree 4 in three variables . We have Since for , it follows that h(x) is SOS.
Generalizations
Matrix SOS
A matrix form F(x) (i.e., a matrix whose entries are forms) of dimension r and degree 2m in the real n-dimensional vector x is SOS if and only if there exist matrix forms of degree m such that
Matrix SMR
To establish whether a matrix form F(x) is SOS amounts to solving a convex optimization problem. Indeed, similarly to the scalar case any F(x) can be written according to the SMR as
where is the Kronecker product of matrices, H is any symmetric matrix satisfying
and is a linear parameterization of the linear space
The dimension of the vector is given by
Then, F(x) is SOS if and only if there exists a vector such that the following LMI holds:
The expression was introduced in [9] in order to establish whether a matrix form is SOS via an LMI.
Noncommutative polynomial SOS
Consider the free algebraR⟨X⟩ generated by the n noncommuting letters X = (X1, ..., Xn) and equipped with the involution T, such that T fixes R and X1, ..., Xn and reverses words formed by X1, ..., Xn.
By analogy with the commutative case, the noncommutative symmetric polynomialsf are the noncommutative polynomials of the form f = fT. When any real matrix of any dimension r × r is evaluated at a symmetric noncommutative polynomial f results in a positive semi-definite matrix, f is said to be matrix-positive.
A noncommutative polynomial is SOS if there exists noncommutative polynomials such that
Surprisingly, in the noncommutative scenario a noncommutative polynomial is SOS if and only if it is matrix-positive.[10] Moreover, there exist algorithms available to decompose matrix-positive polynomials in sum of squares of noncommutative polynomials.[11]
^Chesi, G.; Garulli, A.; Tesi, A.; Vicino, A. (2003). "Robust stability for polytopic systems via polynomially parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions". Proceedings of the 42nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. Maui, Hawaii: IEEE. pp. 4670–4675. doi:10.1109/CDC.2003.1272307.
^Helton, J. William (September 2002). ""Positive" Noncommutative Polynomials Are Sums of Squares". The Annals of Mathematics. 156 (2): 675–694. doi:10.2307/3597203. JSTOR3597203.
^Burgdorf, Sabine; Cafuta, Kristijan; Klep, Igor; Povh, Janez (25 October 2012). "Algorithmic aspects of sums of Hermitian squares of noncommutative polynomials". Computational Optimization and Applications. 55 (1): 137–153. CiteSeerX10.1.1.416.543. doi:10.1007/s10589-012-9513-8. S2CID254416733.