Phelim Boyle is looking for a double degree student with strong quantitative skills to work on a research project. Phelim was recently named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Below are some details about the research project. If you are interested please email Phelim Boyle
pboyle@wlu.ca
Analysis of Correlation matrices
This project will investigate conditions under which correlation matrices have a strictly positive dominant eigenvector. The sufficient
conditions, from the Perron-Frobenius theorem, are that all the matrix entries are positive. The conditions for a correlation matrix with some negative entries to have a strictly positive dominant eigenvector are examined . The special structure of correlation
matrices permits us to obtain analytical results for low dimensional matrices. We will use numerical methods to examine the usefulness of the various conditions for random correlation matrices. We also examine the role of the positive definite property
in this context. To succeed in the this project a student should have a very strong background in linear algebra and excellent computing skills.
This project builds on the paper by Boyle and Ndiaye (2018) .
References
Boyle Phelim P and Thierno N’Diaye, Correlation Matrices with the Perron Frobenius Property, Electronic Journal of Linear
Algebra, ISSN 1081-3810 , Volume 34, pp. 240-268, May 2018.
Keith Freeland, PhD, ASA
Director of Business Administration and Mathematics Double Degree Program
Math Business and Accounting Programs, Faculty of Mathematics
University of Waterloo
519-888-4567, ext. 33356
math.uwaterloo.ca/mbus