Numerical Range and Robustness of Grassmannian Frames

Arvince Ogendi *

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197–00100, Nairobi, Kenya and Department of Mathematics, Defence Forces Technical College, National Defence University–Kenya, P.O. Box 3812–20100, Nakuru, Kenya.

Jared Ongaro

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197–00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

Stephen Luketero

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197–00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Grassmannian frames provide redundant vector representations with low mutual coherence, making them relevant to signal recovery, communication, and erasure-resilient reconstruction. This paper develops an operator-theoretic and geometric framework for analysing finite-dimensional Grassmannian frames through numerical range theory and complex projective geometry. The numerical ranges of the frame operator and Gramian operator are characterised in terms of their spectral extrema. For a frame with eigenvalues bounded by \(\lambda\)min and \(\lambda\)max, the frame operator has numerical range [\(\lambda\)min, \(\lambda\)max], while the Gramian operator has numerical range [0, \(\lambda\)max] when the frame is redundant. Tightness is shown to be equivalent to the degeneration of the frame-operator numerical range to a single point. The Rayleigh map on complex projective space is further related to the numerical range, with its critical points corresponding to eigenvectors of the frame operator. Explicit low-dimensional examples illustrate tight and non-tight configurations and their numerical ranges. Erasure resilience is analysed using masking matrices and associated error operators, leading to lower bounds for the remaining frame operator after multiple erasures. For one erasure, equal-norm Parseval frames are characterised as the optimal Parseval configurations, with worst-case error equal to m/M. The results provide a unified description of spectral geometry, tightness, and erasure robustness for finite-dimensional Grassmannian frame systems.

Keywords: Grassmannian frames, frame operator, Gramian operator, erasure robustness, numerical range, numerical radius, Rayleigh map, complex projective space


How to Cite

Ogendi, Arvince, Jared Ongaro, and Stephen Luketero. 2026. “Numerical Range and Robustness of Grassmannian Frames”. Asian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics 8 (1):774-87. https://doi.org/10.56557/ajpam/2026/v8i1302.

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