A real-coninvolutory analog of the polar decomposition

Abstract We study properties of coninvolutory matrices (EĒ = I), and derive a canonical form under similarity as well as a canonical form under unitary consimilarity for them. We show that any complex matrix has a coninvolutory dilation, and we characterize the minimum size of a coninvolutory dilation of a square matrix. We characterize the m-by-n complex matrices A that can be factored as A = RE with R real and E coninvolutory, and we discuss the uniqueness of this factorization when A is square and nonsingular.