Characterization of polynomials whose large powers have all positive coefficients

Abstract: We give a criterion which characterizes a homogeneous real multi-variate polynomial to have the property that all sufficiently large powers of the polynomial (as well as their products with any given positive homogeneous polynomial) have positive coefficients. Our result generalizes a result of De Angelis, which corresponds to the case of homogeneous bi-variate polynomials, as well as a classical result of P\'olya, which corresponds to the case of a specific linear polynomial. As an application, we also give a characterization of certain polynomial beta functions, which are the spectral radius functions of the defining matrix functions of Markov chains.