Weierstrass structure and eigenvalue placement of regular matrix pencils under low rank perturbations

Abstract: We solve the problem of determining the Weierstrass structure of a regular matrix pencil obtained by a low rank perturbation of another regular matrix pencil. We apply the result to find necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a low rank perturbation such that the perturbed pencil has prescribed eigenvalues and algebraic multiplicities. The results hold over fields with sufficient number of elements.