Theorems on M-splittings of a singular M-matrix which depend on graph structure

Let $\text{A=M?Nε}\text{R}{}^{\mathrm{n\; n}}$ be a splitting. We investigate the spectral properties of the iteration matrix M^-1N by considering the relationships of the graphs of A, M, N, and M^-1N. We call a splitting an M-splitting if M is a nonsingular M-matrix and N?0. For an M-splitting of an irreducible Z-matrix A we prove that the circuit index of M^-1N is the greatest common divisor of certain sets of integers associated with the circuits of A. For M-splittings of a reducible singular M-matrix we show that the spectral radius of the iteration matrix is 1 and that its multiplicity and index are independent of the splitting. These results hold under somewhat weaker assumptions.