Bandwidth of a matrix
Definition
Suppose is a positive integer and is a square matrix.
The left half-bandwidth of is defined as the smallest positive integer such that whenever . In other words, entries that are more than positions below the main diagonal are zero.
The right half-bandwidth of is defined as the smallest positive integer such that whenever . In other words, entries that are more than positions above the main diagonal are zero.
The banwidth is defined as , where are the left and right half-bandwidths respectively.
Ambiguity with terminology
When we say that a matrix has a given bandwidth (respectively, a given left half-bandwidth or a given right half-bandwidth) what we mean is that the bandwidth (respectively, the left or right half-bandwidth) is at most that quantity, not that it is necessarily exactly equal to that quantity.
Particular cases
Matrix type (all matrices are ) | Left half-bandwidth (upper bound) | Right half-bandwidth (upper bound) | Bandwidth (upper bound) |
---|---|---|---|
diagonal matrix | 0 | 0 | 1 |
tridiagonal matrix | 1 | 1 | 3 |
pentadiagonal matrix | 2 | 2 | 5 |
upper triangular matrix | 0 | ||
lower triangular matrix | 0 |