Linear Algebra – Eigenvectors of the $2^n \times 2^n$ Hadamard Matrix

eigenvalueseigenvectorfourier analysislinear algebramatrices

What is known about the eigenvectors of the $2^n \times 2^n$ Hadamard matrix defined recursively by $H_1=(1)$ and $$ H_N=\begin{pmatrix}H_{N/2} & H_{N/2} \\ H_{N/2} & -H_{N/2}\end{pmatrix}, $$ where $N=2^n$?

Edit: The answer below provides a "literal" answer to the problem. However, is there a deeper meaning to the eigenvectors? For the Fourier transform operator, for example, Hermite polynomials provide an excellent and rich theory of the eigenvectors. Since the Hadamard transform is indeed a Fourier transform (over the Boolean cube as the underlying group), one could expect the eigenvectors to have a clean interpretation.

Best Answer

The $2^n\times 2^n$ dimensional Hadamard matrices $H_{2^n}$ are also called Sylvester matrices or Walsh matrices. There are only two distinct eigenvalues $\pm 2^{n/2}$, so the eigenvectors are not in general orthogonal. An orthogonal basis of eigenvectors is constructed recursively in A note on the eigenvectors of Hadamard matrices of order $2^n$ (1982) and in Some observations on eigenvectors of Hadamard matrices of order $2^n$ (1984). See also Chapter 5 of Hadamard Matrix Analysis and Synthesis (2012).