Some properties of submatrices in a solution to the matrix equation AXB=C with applications

Suppose that AXB=C is a consistent matrix equation and partition its solution X into a 2×2 block form. In this article we give some formulas for the maximal and minimal ranks of the submatrices in a solution X to AXB=C. From these formulas, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the submatrices to be zero and nonsingular, respectively. As applications, we give a group of formulas for the maximal and minimal ranks of submatrices in generalized inverses of matrices and their properties.