Non-self-adjoint Toeplitz matrices whose principal submatrices have real spectrum

Abstract: We introduce and investigate a class of complex semi-infinite banded Toeplitz matrices satisfying the condition that the spectra of their principal submatrices accumulate onto a real interval when the size of the submatrix grows to $\infty$. We prove that a banded Toeplitz matrix belongs to this class if and only if its symbol has real values on a Jordan curve located in $\mathbb{C}\setminus{0}$. Surprisingly, it turns out that, if such a Jordan curve is present, the spectra of all the submatrices have to be real. The latter claim is also proven for matrices given by a more general symbol. Further, the limiting eigenvalue distribution of a real banded Toeplitz matrix is related to the solution of a determinate Hamburger moment problem. We use this to derive a formula for the limiting measure using a parametrization of the Jordan curve. We also describe a Jacobi operator, whose spectral measure coincides with the limiting measure. We show that this Jacobi operator is a compact perturbation of a tridiagonal Toeplitz matrix. Our main results are illustrated by several concrete examples; some of them allow an explicit analytic treatment, while some are only treated numerically. Update: The proof of Theorem 8 contains an error. An erratum is attached in the end