Algorithmic copositivity detection by simplicial partition

We present new criteria for copositivity of a matrix, i.e., conditions which ensure that the quadratic form induced by the matrix is nonnegative over the nonnegative orthant. These criteria arise from the representation of the quadratic form in barycentric coordinates with respect to the standard simplex and simplicial partitions thereof. We show that, as the partition gets finer and finer, the conditions eventually capture all strictly copositive matrices. We propose an algorithmic implementation which considers several numerical aspects. As an application, we present results on the maximum clique problem. We also briefly discuss extensions of our approach to copositivity with respect to arbitrary polyhedral cones. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.