Equality conditions for the singular values of 3 × 3 matrices with one-point spectrum

Let Γ_a be an upper triangular 3 × 3 matrix with diagonal entries equal to a complex scalar a. Necessary and su.cient conditions are found for two of the singular values of Γ_a to be equal. These conditions are much simpler than the equality discr ? = 0, where the expression in the left-hand side is the discriminant of the characteristic polynomial ? of the matrix _Ga = Γ_aΓ_a. Understanding the behavior of singular values of Γ_a is important in the problem of finding a matrix with a triple zero eigenvalue that is closest to a given normal matrix A.