Conditions for eigenvalue configurations of two real symmetric matrices: a signature approach

For two real symmetric matrices, their eigenvalue configuration is the arrangement of their eigenvalues on the real line. In this paper, we provide quantifier-free necessary and sufficient conditions for two symmetric matrices to realize a given eigenvalue configuration. The basic idea is to generate a set of polynomials in the entries of the two matrices whose roots can be counted to uniquely determine the eigenvalue configuration. This result can be seen as ageneralization of Descartes' rule of signs to the case of two real univariate polynomials.