Abstract:
With a square complex matrix $A$ we associate the matrix pair consisting
of its symmetric part $S(A) = (A + A^T)/2$ and its skew-symmetric part
$K(A) = (A - A^T)/2$. We show that square matrices $A$ and $B$ are
congruent if and only if the associated pairs $(S(A),K(A))$ and
$(S(B),K(B))$ are (strictly) equivalent. This criterion can be verified by
a finite rational calculation if the entries of $A$ and $B$ are rational
or rational Gaussian numbers.
Key words and phrases:singular matrix pencil, regular part, T-congruence, strict equivalence, minimal indices, elementary divisors, rational algorithm.