Determining when an algebra is an evolution algebra

Evolution algebras are non-associative algebras that describe non-Mendelian hereditary processes and have connections with many other areas. In this paper, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a given algebra A to be an evolution algebra. We prove that the problem is equivalent to the so-called SDC problem, that is, the simultaneous diagonalisation via congruence of a given set of matrices. More precisely we show that an n-dimensional algebra A is an evolution algebra if and only if a certain set of n symmetric n × n matrices M<inf>1</inf>, . . . , M<inf>n</inf> describing the product of A are SDC. We apply this characterisation to show that while certain classical genetic algebras (representing Mendelian and auto-tetraploid inheritance) are not themselves evolution algebras, arbitrarily small perturbations of these are evolution algebras. This is intringuing, as evolution algebras model asexual reproduction, unlike the classical ones.