In: Advanced Math
Let A∈Rn× n be a non-symmetric matrix.
Prove that |λ1| is real, provided that |λ1|>|λ2|≥|λ3|≥...≥|λn| where λi , i= 1,...,n are the eigenvalues of A, while others can be real or not real.
Consider the characteristic equation 
.
The eigenvalues of the matrix 
 are the roots of this
characteristic equation.
Suppose that 
 are the eigenvalues. Suppose that 
 is not real;
then 
 for some reals 
with 
. Since
 is a
polynomial equation with real coefficients, and since 
 is a root of this polynomial, its conjugate 
 is also a root of
this polynomial. Thus, 
 for
some 
. Note
that 
 since 
; however,
.
Thus, whenever a complex eigenvalue occurs then its absolute
value is attained by at least two distinct complex eigenvalues. In
particular, if the eigenvalue 
 is such that
, then 
 must be
real.
To show that the other eigenvalues can be real or complex, we note that

and

are both non-symmetric; while the eigenvalues of 
 are 
,
those of 
 are 
. Thus, the
other eigenvalues can be real or complex.