On close eigenvalues of tridiagonal matrices

Summary. A symmetric tridiagonal matrix with a multiple eigenvalue must have a zero subdiagonal element and must be a direct sum of two complementary blocks, both of which have the eigenvalue. Yet it is well known that a small spectral gap does not necessarily imply that some is small, as is demonstrated by the Wilkinson matrix. In this note, it is shown that a pair of close eigenvalues can only arise from two complementary blocks on the diagonal, in spite of the fact that the coupling the two blocks may not be small. In particular, some explanatory bounds are derived and a connection to the Lanczos algorithm is observed. The nonsymmetric problem is also included. Received April 8, 1992 / Revised version received September 21, 1994