We consider cases of equality in three basic inequalities for eigenval
ues of Hermitian matrices: Cauchy's interlacing inequalities for princ
ipal submatrices, Weyl's inequalities for sums, and the residual theor
em. Several applications generalize and sharpen known results for eige
nvalues of irreducible tridiagonal Hermitian matrices. (C) 1998 Elsevi
er Science Inc.