Perron-Frobenius: The Dominant Eigenvector

Every positive matrix has a unique largest real eigenvalue — watch power iteration converge

Matrix Entries (4×4 positive)

λ₁ = —
v₁ = —

About Perron-Frobenius

Theorem (1907–1912): If A is a positive matrix (all entries > 0), then:

• There exists a unique largest real eigenvalue λ₁ > 0 (the Perron root)
• Its eigenvector has all positive components
• All other eigenvalues satisfy |λᵢ| < λ₁

Power iteration: repeatedly multiply a random vector by A and normalize. It converges geometrically to the Perron eigenvector.

Applications: Google PageRank, population dynamics, Markov chain stationary distributions, network centrality.