Bicriterion seriation methods for skew-symmetric matrices

The decomposition of an asymmetric proximity matrix into its symmetric and skew-symmetric components is a well-known principle in combinatorial data analysis. The seriation of the skew-symmetric component can emphasize information corresponding to the sign or absolute magnitude of the matrix elements, and the choice of objective criterion can have a profound impact on the ordering. In this research note, we propose a bicriterion approach for seriation of a skew-symmetric matrix incorporating both sign and magnitude information. Two numerical demonstrations reveal that the bicriterion procedure is an effective alternative to direct seriation of the skew-symmetric matrix, facilitating favourable trade-offs among sign and magnitude information.