Pseudospectra of Linear Operators

If a matrix or linear operator A is far from normal, its eigenvalues or, more generally, its spectrum may have little to do with its behavior as measured by quantities such as ‖An‖ or ‖exp(tA)‖. More may be learned by examining the sets in the complex plane known as the pseudospectra of A, defined by level curves of the norm of the resolvent, ‖(zI − A)−1‖. Five years ago, the author published a paper that presented computed pseudospectra of thirteen highly nonnormal matrices arising in various applications. Since that time, analogous computations have been carried out for differential and integral operators. This paper, a companion to the earlier one, presents ten examples, each chosen to illustrate one or more mathematical or physical principles.