Kronecker differences

Abstract

Over the real numbers, the Kronecker sum is the unique operation on matrices which exponentiates to the Kronecker product. Kronecker quotients provide an algebraic view of decompositions of matrices in terms of Kronecker products. This article explores families of operations, Kronecker differences, which are a kind of "inverse" for Kronecker sums. The correspondence between Kronecker differences and Kronecker quotients is explored. Furthermore, we show that a certain class of Kronecker differences may be characterized by families of matrices with these families again being expressed as Kronecker products. This approach provides a different "nonlinear" view towards tensor decomposition.