Paper detail

Singular values of large non-central random matrices

We study largest singular values of large random matrices, each with mean of a fixed rank $K$. Our main result is a limit theorem as the number of rows and columns approach infinity, while their ratio approaches a positive constant. It provides a decomposition of the largest $K$ singular values into the deterministic rate of growth, random centered fluctuations given as explicit linear combinations of the entries of the matrix, and a term negligible in probability. We use this representation to establish asymptotic normality of the largest singular values for random matrices with means that have block structure. We also deduce asymptotic normality for the largest eigenvalues of the normalized covariance matrix arising in a model of population genetics.