On $Q$-Tensors

TL;DR

This paper extends key properties of $Q$-matrices to the tensor setting, establishing equivalences among classes of tensors and providing counterexamples to previous assumptions, advancing the theory of tensor complementarity problems.

Contribution

It generalizes fundamental results about $Q$-matrices to tensors, showing class equivalences within certain tensor categories and disproving some extensions.

Findings

Equivalence of $R_0$-, $R$-, $ER$-, and $Q$-tensors within strong $P_0$- and nonnegative tensors.

Counterexamples demonstrating certain $Q$-matrix properties do not extend to tensors.

Negative answer to a recent open question by Song and Qi.

Abstract

One of the central problems in the theory of linear complementarity problems (LCPs) is to study the class of $Q$-matrices since it characterizes the solvability of LCP. Recently, the concept of $Q$-matrix has been extended to the case of tensor, called $Q$-tensor, which characterizes the solvability of the corresponding tensor complementarity problem -- a generalization of LCP; and some basic results related to $Q$-tensors have been obtained in the literature. In this paper, we extend two famous results related to $Q$-matrices to the tensor space, i.e., we show that within the class of strong $P_0$-tensors or nonnegative tensors, four classes of tensors, i.e., $R_0$-tensors, $R$-tensors, $ER$-tensors and $Q$-tensors, are all equivalent. We also construct several examples to show that three famous results related to $Q$-matrices cannot be extended to the tensor space; and one of which gives a negative answer to a question raised recently by Song and Qi.