Spectral duality and distribution of exponents for transfer matrices of block-tridiagonal Hamiltonians

I consider a general block-tridiagonal matrix and the corresponding transfer matrix. By allowing for a complex Bloch parameter in the boundary conditions, the two matrices are related by a spectral duality. As a consequence, I derive some analytic properties of the exponents of the transfer matrix in terms of the eigenvalues of the (non-Hermitian) block matrix. Some of them are the single-matrix analogues of results holding for Lyapunov exponents of an ensemble of block matrices, which occur in models of transport. The counting function of exponents is related to winding numbers of eigenvalues. I discuss some implications of duality for the distribution (real bands and complex arcs) and the dynamics of eigenvalues.