On nonsingularity of block two-by-two matrices

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the nonsingularity of a block two-by-two matrix by making use of the singular value decompositions and the Moore–Penrose pseudoinverses of the matrix blocks. These conditions are complete, and much weaker and simpler than those given by Decker and Keller [D.W. Decker, H.B. Keller, Multiple limit point bifurcation, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 75 (1980) 417–430], and may be more easily examined than those given by Bai [Z.-Z. Bai, Eigenvalue estimates for saddle point matrices of Hermitian and indefinite leading blocks, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 237 (2013) 295–306] from the computational viewpoint. We also derive general formulas for the rank of the block two-by-two matrix by utilizing either the unitarily compressed or the orthogonally projected sub-matrices.