Eigenvalue perturbation

Suppose we have solutions to the generalized eigenvalue problem,

${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.\qquad (0)}$

where ${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} _{0}}$ and ${\displaystyle \mathbf {M} _{0}}$ are matrices. That is, we know the eigenvalues λ_0i and eigenvectors x_0i for i = 1, ..., N. It is also required that the eigenvalues be distinct. Now suppose we want to change the matrices by a small amount. That is, we want to find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of

${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{i}=\lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{i}\qquad (1)}$

where

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {K} &=\mathbf {K} _{0}+\delta \mathbf {K} \\\mathbf {M} &=\mathbf {M} _{0}+\delta \mathbf {M} \end{aligned}}}$

with the perturbations ${\displaystyle \delta \mathbf {K} }$ and ${\displaystyle \delta \mathbf {M} }$ much smaller than ${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} }$ and ${\displaystyle \mathbf {M} }$ respectively. Then we expect the new eigenvalues and eigenvectors to be similar to the original, plus small perturbations:

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\lambda _{i}&=\lambda _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\\\mathbf {x} _{i}&=\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}\end{aligned}}}$

We assume that the matrices are symmetric and positive definite, and assume we have scaled the eigenvectors such that

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0j}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}=\delta _{ij}\qquad (2)}$

where δ_ij is the Kronecker delta. Now we want to solve the equation

${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{i}=\lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{i}.}$

Substituting, we get

${\displaystyle (\mathbf {K} _{0}+\delta \mathbf {K} )(\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \mathbf {x} _{i})=\left(\lambda _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\right)\left(\mathbf {M} _{0}+\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\left(\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}\right),}$

which expands to

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {K} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}&+\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\mathbf {K} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \mathbf {K} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}=\\[6pt]&=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\delta \mathbf {M} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}.\end{aligned}}}$

Canceling from (0) (${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}}$) leaves

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\mathbf {K} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \mathbf {K} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\delta \mathbf {M} \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}.\end{aligned}}}$

Removing the higher-order terms, this simplifies to

${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\delta \mathbf {x} _{i}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathrm {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.\qquad (3)}$

When the matrix is symmetric, the unperturbed eigenvectors are orthogonal and so we use them as a basis for the perturbed eigenvectors. That is, we want to construct

${\displaystyle \delta \mathbf {x} _{i}=\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {x} _{0j}\qquad (4)}$

where the ε_ij are small constants that are to be determined. Substituting (4) into (3) and rearranging gives

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\mathbf {K} _{0}\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}&=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}&&(5)\\\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {K} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}&=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}&&{\text{Applying }}\mathbf {K} _{0}{\text{ to the sum}}\\\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\lambda _{0j}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}&=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\sum _{j=1}^{N}\varepsilon _{ij}\mathbf {x} _{0j}+\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}&&{\text{Using Eq. }}(1)\end{aligned}}}$

Because the eigenvectors are M₀-orthogonal when M₀ is positive definite, we can remove the summations by left-multiplying by ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }}$:

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\varepsilon _{ii}\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\varepsilon _{ii}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.}$

By use of equation (1) again:

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {K} _{0}\varepsilon _{ii}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\varepsilon _{ii}\mathbf {x} _{0i}+\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.\qquad (6)}$

The two terms containing ε_ii are equal because left-multiplying (1) by ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }}$ gives

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {K} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.}$

Canceling those terms in (6) leaves

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {K} \mathbf {x} _{0i}=\lambda _{0i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}+\delta \lambda _{i}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}.}$

Rearranging gives

${\displaystyle \delta \lambda _{i}={\frac {\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}}{\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} _{0}\mathbf {x} _{0i}}}}$

But by (2), this denominator is equal to 1. Thus

${\displaystyle \delta \lambda _{i}=\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}.}$

Then, by left-multiplying equation (5) by ${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{0k}^{\top }}$:

${\displaystyle \varepsilon _{ik}={\frac {\mathbf {x} _{0k}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}}{\lambda _{0i}-\lambda _{0k}}},\qquad i\neq k.}$

Or by changing the name of the indices:

${\displaystyle \varepsilon _{ij}={\frac {\mathbf {x} _{0j}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}}{\lambda _{0i}-\lambda _{0j}}},\qquad i\neq j.}$

To find ε_ii, use the fact that:

${\displaystyle \mathbf {x} _{i}^{\top }\mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{i}=1}$

implies:

${\displaystyle \varepsilon _{ii}=-{\tfrac {1}{2}}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}.}$

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\lambda _{i}&=\lambda _{0i}+\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}\\\mathbf {x} _{i}&=\mathbf {x} _{0i}\left(1-{\tfrac {1}{2}}\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\delta \mathbf {M} \mathbf {x} _{0i}\right)+\sum _{j=1 \atop j\neq i}^{N}{\frac {\mathbf {x} _{0j}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}}{\lambda _{0i}-\lambda _{0j}}}\mathbf {x} _{0j}\end{aligned}}}$

for infinitesimal ${\displaystyle \delta \mathbf {K} }$ and ${\displaystyle \delta \mathbf {M} }$ (the high order terms in (3) being negligible)

This means it is possible to efficiently do a sensitivity analysis on λ_i as a function of changes in the entries of the matrices. (Recall that the matrices are symmetric and so changing K_kℓ will also change K_ℓk, hence the (2 − δ_kℓ) term.)

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\frac {\partial \lambda _{i}}{\partial \mathbf {K} _{(k\ell )}}}&={\frac {\partial }{\partial \mathbf {K} _{(k\ell )}}}\left(\lambda _{0i}+\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}\right)=x_{0i(k)}x_{0i(\ell )}\left(2-\delta _{k\ell }\right)\\{\frac {\partial \lambda _{i}}{\partial \mathbf {M} _{(k\ell )}}}&={\frac {\partial }{\partial \mathbf {M} _{(k\ell )}}}\left(\lambda _{0i}+\mathbf {x} _{0i}^{\top }\left(\delta \mathbf {K} -\lambda _{0i}\delta \mathbf {M} \right)\mathbf {x} _{0i}\right)=\lambda _{i}x_{0i(k)}x_{0i(\ell )}\left(2-\delta _{k\ell }\right).\end{aligned}}}$

Similarly

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\frac {\partial \mathbf {x} _{i}}{\partial \mathbf {K} _{(k\ell )}}}&=\sum _{j=1 \atop j\neq i}^{N}{\frac {x_{0j(k)}x_{0i(\ell )}\left(2-\delta _{k\ell }\right)}{\lambda _{0i}-\lambda _{0j}}}\mathbf {x} _{0j}\\{\frac {\partial \mathbf {x} _{i}}{\partial \mathbf {M} _{(k\ell )}}}&=-\mathbf {x} _{0i}{\frac {x_{0i(k)}x_{0i(\ell )}}{2}}(2-\delta _{k\ell })-\sum _{j=1 \atop j\neq i}^{N}{\frac {\lambda _{0i}x_{0j(k)}x_{0i(\ell )}}{\lambda _{0i}-\lambda _{0j}}}\mathbf {x} _{0j}\left(2-\delta _{k\ell }\right).\end{aligned}}}$

Note that in the above example we assumed that both the unperturbed and the perturbed systems involved symmetric matrices, which guaranteed the existence of ${\displaystyle N}$ linearly independent eigenvectors. An eigenvalue problem involving non-symmetric matrices is not guaranteed to have ${\displaystyle N}$ linearly independent eigenvectors, though a sufficient condition is that ${\displaystyle \mathbf {K} }$ and ${\displaystyle \mathbf {M} }$ be simultaneously diagonalizable.

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