Some extensions of the Kantorovich inequality and statistical applications

Kantorovich gave an upper bound to the product of two quadratic forms, (X′AX) (X′A⁻¹X), where X is an n-vector of unit length and A is a positive definite matrix. Bloomfield, Watson and Knott found the bound for the product of determinants |X′AX| |X′A⁻¹X| where X is n × k matrix such that X′X = I_k. In this paper we determine the bounds for the traces and determinants of matrices of the type X′AYY′A⁻¹X, X′B²X(X′BCX)⁻¹ X′C²X(X′BCX)⁻¹ where X and Y are n × k matrices such that X′X = Y′Y = I_k and A, B, C are given matrices satisfying some conditions. The results are applied to the least squares theory of estimation.