The combinatorially symmetric P-matrix completion problem

An n-by-n real matrix is called a P -matrix if all its principal minors are positive. The P -matrix completion problem asks which partial P -matrices have a completion to a P -matrix. Here, we prove that every partial P -matrix with combinatorially symmetric speci ed entries has a P -matrix completion. The general case, in which the combinatorial symmetry assumption is relaxed, is also discussed.