Copositive matrices with circulant zero support set

Let $n \geq 5$ and let $u^1,\dots,u^n$ be nonnegative real $n$-vectors such that the indices of their positive elements form the sets $\{1,2,\dots,n-2\},\{2,3,\dots,n-1\},\dots,\{n,1,\dots,n-3\}$, respectively. Here each index set is obtained from the previous one by a circular shift. The set of copositive forms which vanish on the vectors $u^1,\dots,u^n$ is a face of the copositive cone ${\cal C}^n$. We give an explicit semi-definite description of this face and of its subface consisting of positive semi-definite forms, and study their properties. If the vectors $u^1,\dots,u^n$ and their positive multiples exhaust the zero set of an exceptional copositive form belonging to this face, then we say it has minimal circulant zero support set, and otherwise non-minimal circulant zero support set. We show that forms with non-minimal circulant zero support set are always extremal, and forms with minimal circulant zero support sets can be extremal only if $n$ is odd. We construct explicit examples of extremal forms with non-minimal circulant zero support set for any order $n \geq 5$, and examples of extremal forms with minimal circulant zero support set for any odd order $n \geq 5$. The set of all forms with non-minimal circulant zero support set, i.e., defined by different collections $u^1,\dots,u^n$ of zeros, is a submanifold of codimension $2n$, the set of all forms with minimal circulant zero support set a submanifold of codimension $n$.