Numerical range and quadratic numerical range for damped systems

We prove new enclosures for the spectrum of non-selfadjoint operator matrices associated with second order linear differential equations z'' (t) + D z' (t) + A_0 z(t) = 0 in a Hilbert space. Our main tool is the quadratic numerical range for which we establish the spectral inclusion property under weak assumptions on the operators involved; in particular, the damping operator only needs to be accretive and may have the same strength as A_0. By means of the quadratic numerical range, we establish tight spectral estimates in terms of the unbounded operator coefficients A_0 and D which improve earlier results for sectorial and selfadjoint D; in contrast to numerical range bounds, our enclosures may even provide bounded imaginary part of the spectrum or a spectral free vertical strip. An application to small transverse oscillations of a horizontal pipe carrying a steady-state flow of an ideal incompressible fluid illustrates that our new bounds are explicit