An efficient breakdown-free algorithm for numerically evaluating the determinants of (<italic>p</italic>, <italic>q</italic>)-pentadiagonal matrices.

(<italic>p</italic>,<italic>q</italic>)-Pentadiagonal matrices have received considerable attention in recent years, which are a generalization of pentadiagonal matrices. In this paper, a breakdown-free algorithm is presented for numerically evaluating the determinants of <italic>n</italic>-by-<italic>n</italic> (<italic>p</italic>,<italic>q</italic>)-pentadiagonal matrices. The algorithm is based on the use of a reliable tridiagonalization process which preserves the banded structure and sparsity of the original matrix. Numerical examples are given in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. All of the experiments are performed on a computer with the aid of programs written in MATLAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]