Question

I’m using numpy.linalg.eig to obtain a list of eigenvalues and eigenvectors:

A = someMatrixArray
from numpy.linalg import eig as eigenValuesAndVectors

solution = eigenValuesAndVectors(A)

eigenValues = solution[0]
eigenVectors = solution[1]

I would like to sort my eigenvalues (e.g. from lowest to highest), in a way I know what is the associated eigenvector after the sorting.

I’m not finding any way of doing that with python functions. Is there any simple way or do I have to code my sort version?

Answer 1

Use numpy.argsort. It returns the indices one would use to sort the array.

import numpy as np
import numpy.linalg as linalg

A = np.random.random((3,3))
eigenValues, eigenVectors = linalg.eig(A)

idx = eigenValues.argsort()[::-1]   
eigenValues = eigenValues[idx]
eigenVectors = eigenVectors[:,idx]

If the eigenvalues are complex, the sort order is lexicographic (that is, complex numbers are sorted according to their real part first, with ties broken by their imaginary part).