We show that (for the weak operator topology) the set of unitary operators on a separable infinite-dimensional Hilbert space is residual in the set of all contractions. The analogous result holds for isometries and the strong operator topology as well. These results are applied to the problem of embedding operators into strongly continuous semigroups.
In the recent preprint (OA/0006224) S. Parrott proved the equality between the Arveson`s curvature and the Fredholm index of a "pure" contraction with finite defect numbers. In the present note one derives a similar formula in the "non-pure" case.
We obtain results on the unitary equivalence of weak contractions of class $C_0$ to their Jordan models under an assumption on their commutants. In particular, our work addresses the case of arbitrary finite multiplicity. The main tool is the theory of boundary representations due to Arveson. We also generalize and improve previously known results concerning unitary equivalence and similarity to Jordan models when the minimal function is a Blaschke product.
A tuple of commuting operators $(S_1,\dots,S_{n-1},P)$ for which the closed symmetrized polydisc $Γ_n$ is a spectral set is called a $Γ_n$-contraction. We show that every $Γ_n$-contraction admits a decomposition into a $Γ_n$-unitary and a completely non-unitary $Γ_n$-contraction. This decomposition is an analogue to the canonical decomposition of a contraction into a unitary and a completely non-unitary contraction. We also find new characterizations for the set $Γ_n$ and $Γ_n$-contractions.
A triple of commuting operators for which the closed tetrablock $\overline{\mathbb E}$ is a spectral set is called a tetrablock contraction or an $\mathbb E$-contraction. The set $\mathbb E$ is defined as \[ \mathbb E = \{ (x_1,x_2,x_3)\in\mathbb C^3\,:\, 1-zx_1-wx_2+zwx_3\neq 0 \textup{ whenever } |z|\leq 1, |w|\leq 1 \}. \] We show that every $\mathbb E$-contraction can be uniquely written as a direct sum of an $\mathbb E$-unitary and a completely non-unitary $\mathbb E$-contraction. It is analogous to the canonical decomposition of a contraction operator into a unitary and a completely non-…
In this paper, we introduce a unitary invariant $Γ$ defined on the unit ball of $B(H)^n$ in terms of the characteristic function, the noncommutative Poisson kernel, and the defect operator associated with a row contraction. We show that $Γ$ detects the pure row isometries and completely classify them up to a unitary equivalence. We also show that $Γ$ detects the pure row contractions with polynomial characteristic functions and completely non-coisometric row contractions. In particular, we show that any completely non-coisometric row contraction with constant characteristic function is homogen…
The symmetrized polydisc of dimension three is the set \[ Γ_3 =\{ (z_1+z_2+z_3, z_1z_2+z_2z_3+z_3z_1, z_1z_2z_3)\,:\, |z_i|\leq 1 \,,\, i=1,2,3 \} \subseteq \mathbb C^3\,. \] A triple of commuting operators for which $Γ_3$ is a spectral set is called a $Γ_3$-contraction. We show that every $Γ_3$-contraction admits a decomposition into a $Γ_3$-unitary and a completely non-unitary $Γ_3$-contraction. This decomposition parallels the canonical decomposition of a contraction into a unitary and a completely non-unitary contraction. We also find new characterizations for the set $Γ_3$ and $Γ_3$-contr…
Suppose $L(H)$ is the space of all bounded linear operators on a complex Hilbert space $H.$ This article deals with the problem of characterizing the extreme contractions of $L(H)$ with respect to the numerical radius norm on $L(H).$ In contrast to the usual operator norm, it is proved that there exists a class of unitary operators on $H$ which are not extreme contractions when the numerical radius norm is considered on $L(H).$ Moreover, there are non-unitary operators on $H$ which are extreme contractions as far as the numerical radius norm is concerned.
For a fixed natural number n, we consider a family of rank n unitary perturbations of a completely non-unitary contraction (cnu) with deficiency indices (n,n) on a separable Hilbert space. We relate the unitary dilation of such a contraction to its rank n unitary perturbations. Based on this construction, we prove that the spectra of the perturbed operators are purely singular if and only if the operator-valued characteristic function corresponding to the unperturbed operator is inner. In the case where n=1 the latter statement reduces to a well-known result in the theory of rank one perturbat…
A classical result of Sz.-Nagy asserts that a Hilbert space contraction operator $T$ can be dilated to a unitary $\cU$. A more general multivariable setting for these ideas is the setup where (i) the unit disk is replaced by a domain $Ω$ contained in ${\mathbb C}^d$, (ii) the contraction operator $T$ is replaced by a commuting tuple $\bfT = (T_1, \dots, T_d)$ such that $\| r(T_1, \dots, T_d) \|_{\cL(\cH)} \le \sup_{\lam \in Ω} | r(\lam) |$ for all rational functions with no singularities in $\overlineΩ$ and the unitary operator $\cU$ is replaced by an $Ω$-unitary operator tuple, i.e., a commut…
We study the asymptotic behaviour of contractive operators and strongly continuous semigroups on separable Hilbert spaces using the notion of rigidity. In particular, we show that a "typical" contraction $T$ contains the unit circle times the identity operator in the strong limit set of its powers, while $T^{n_j}$ converges weakly to zero along a sequence $\{n_j\}$ with density one. The continuous analogue is presented for isometric ang unitary $C_0$-(semi)groups.
It is known that pure row contractions with one-dimensional defect spaces can be classified up to unitary equivalence by compressions of the standard $d$-shift acting on the full Fock space. Upon settling for a softer relation than unitary equivalence, we relax the defect condition and simply require the row contraction to admit a cyclic vector. We show that cyclic pure row contractions can be "transformed" (in a precise technical sense) into compressions of the standard $d$-shift. Cyclic decompositions of the underlying Hilbert spaces are the natural tool to extend this fact to higher multipl…
A commuting tuple of operators $(S_1,\dots, S_{n-1},P)$, defined on a Hilbert space $\mathcal H$, for which the closed symmetrized polydisc \[ Γ_n =\left\{ \left(\sum_{1\leq i\leq n} z_i,\sum_{1\leq i<j\leq n}z_iz_j,\dots, \prod_{i=1}^n z_i \right): \,|z_i|\leq 1, i=1,\dots,n \right \} \] is a spectral set, is called a $Γ_n$-\textit{contraction}. A $Γ_n$-contraction is said to be \textit{pure} or $C._0$ if $P$ is $C._0$, that is, if ${P^*}^n \rightarrow 0$ strongly as $n \rightarrow \infty$. We show that for any $Γ_n$-contraction $(S_1,\dots, S_{n-1},P)$, there is a unique operator tuple $(A_1…
In this note we study the completely non unitary contractions on separable complex Hilbert spaces which have polynomial characteristic functions. These operators are precisely those which admit a matrix representation of the form T = S & * & * 0 & N & * 0& 0& C, where $S$ and C^* are unilateral shifts of arbitrary multiplicities and $N$ is nilpotent. We prove that dimension of ker S^* and dimension of ker C are unitary invariants of $T$ and that N, up to a quasi-similarity is uniquely determined by T. Also, we give a complete classification of the subclass of those contractions for which their…
In this paper we develop the method of double operator integrals to prove trace formulae for functions of contractions, dissipative operators, unitary operators and self-adjoint operators. To establish the absolute continuity of spectral shift, we use the Sz.-Nagy theorem on the absolute continuity of the spectrum of the minimal unitary dilation of a completely nonunitary contraction. We also give a construction of an intermediate contraction for a pair of contractions with trace class difference.
We study some local spectral properties of contraction operators on $\ell_p$, $1<p<\infty$ from a Baire category point of view, with respect to the Strong$^*$ Operator Topology. In particular, we show that a typical contraction on $\ell_p$ has Dunford's Property (C) but neither Bishop's Property $(β)$ nor the Decomposition Property $(δ)$, and is completely indecomposable. We also obtain some results regarding the asymptotic behavior of orbits of typical contractions on $\ell_p$.
We discuss the two closely related, but different concepts of weak and almost weak stability for the powers of a contraction on a separable Hilbert space. Extending Halmos' and Rohlin's theorems in ergodic theory as a model, we show that the set of all weakly stable contractions is of first category while the set of all almost weakly stable contractions is of second category and is residual. Analogous statements for unitary and isometric operators are also proved.
The characteristic function for a contraction is a classical complete unitary invariant devised by Sz.-Nagy and Foias. Just as a contraction is related to the Szego kernel $k_S(z,w) = (1 - z\ow)^{-1}$ for $|z|, |w| < 1$, by means of $(1/k_S)(T,T^*) \ge 0$, we consider an arbitrary open connected domain $Ω$ in $\BC^n$, a complete Nevanilinna-Pick kernel $k$ on $Ω$ and a tuple $T = (T_1, ..., T_n)$ of commuting bounded operators on a complex separable Hilbert space $\clh$ such that $(1/k)(T,T^*) \ge 0$. For a complete Pick kernel the $1/k$ functional calculus makes sense in a beautiful way. It t…
There are three main results in this paper. First, we find an easily computable and simple condition which is necessary and sufficient for a commuting tuple of contractions to possess a non-zero Toeplitz operator. This condition is just that the adjoint of the product of the contractions is not pure. On one hand this brings out the importance of the product of the contractions and on the other hand, the non-pureness turns out to be equivalent to the existence of a pseudo-extension to a tuple of commuting unitaries. The second main result is a commutant pseudo-extension theorem obtained by stud…
We describe here the higher rank numerical range, as defined by Choi, Kribs and Zyczkowski, of a normal operator on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space in terms of its spectral measure. This generalizes a result of Avendano for self-adjoint operators. An analogous description of the numerical range of a normal operator by Durszt is derived for the higher rank numerical range as an immediate consequence. It has several interesting applications. We show using Durszt's example that there exists a normal contraction $T$ for which the intersection of the higher rank numerical ranges of all unitar…
Here we show that for $k\in \mathbb N,$ the closure of the $k$-rank numerical range of a contraction $A$ acting on an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$ is the intersection of the closure of the $k$-rank numerical ranges of all unitary dilations of $A$ to $\mathcal{H}\oplus\mathcal{H}.$ The same is true for $k=\infty$ provided the $\infty$-rank numerical range of $A$ is non-empty. These generalize a finite dimensional result of Gau, Li and Wu. We also show that when both defect numbers of a contraction are equal and finite ($=N$), one may restrict the intersection to a smaller fa…
Absolutely continuous commuting row contractions admit a weak-$*$ continuous functional calculus. Building on recent work describing the first and second dual spaces of the closure of the polynomial multipliers on the Drury-Arveson space, we give a complete characterization of these commuting row contractions in measure theoretic terms. We also establish that completely non-unitary row contractions are necessarily absolutely continuous, in direct parallel with the case of a single contraction. Finally, we consider refinements of this question for row contractions that are annihilated by a give…
Given a Polish topology $τ$ on ${\mathcal{B}_{1}(X)}$, the set of all contraction operators on $X=\ell_p$, $1\le p<\infty$ or $X=c_0$, we prove several results related to the following question: does a typical $T\in {\mathcal{B}_{1}(X)}$ in the Baire Category sense has a non-trivial invariant subspace? In other words, is there a dense $G_δ$ set $\mathcal G\subseteq ({\mathcal{B}_{1}(X)},τ)$ such that every $T\in\mathcal G$ has a non-trivial invariant subspace? We mostly focus on the Strong Operator Topology and the Strong$^*$ Operator Topology.
Quasianalytic contractions form the crucial class in the quest for proper invariant and hyperinvariant subspaces for asymptotically non-vanishing Hilbert space contractions. The property of quasianalycity relies on the concepts of unitary asymptote and $H^ı$-functional calculus. These objects can be naturally defined in the setting of polynomially bounded operators too, which makes possible to extend the study of quasianalycity from contractions to this larger class. Carrying out this program we pose also several interesting questions.
A commuting pair of operators (S, P) on a Hilbert space H is said to be a Gamma-contraction if the symmetrized bidisc is a spectral set of the tuple (S, P). In this paper we develop some operator theory inspired by Agler and Young's results on a model theory for Gamma-contractions. We prove a Beurling-Lax-Halmos type theorem for Gamma-isometries. Along the way we solve a problem in the classical one-variable operator theory. We use a "pull back" technique to prove that a completely non-unitary Gamma-contraction (S, P) can be dilated to a direct sum of a Gamma-isometry and a Gamma-unitary on th…
For an $n\times n$ complex matrix $C$, the $C$-numerical range of a bounded linear operator $T$ acting on a Hilbert space of dimension at least $n$ is the set of complex numbers ${\rm tr}(CX^*TX)$, where $X$ is a partial isometry satisfying $X^*X = I_n$. It is shown that $${\bf cl}(W_C(T)) = \cap \{{\bf cl}(W_C(U)): U \hbox{ is a unitary dilation of } T\}$$ for any contraction $T$ if and only if $C$ is a rank one normal matrix.
A pair of commuting operators $(S,P)$ defined on a Hilbert space $\mathcal H$ for which the closed symmetrized bidisc $$ Γ= \{(z_1+z_2,z_1z_2):: |z_1|\leq 1,\, |z_2|\leq 1 \}\subseteq \mathbb C^2, $$ is a spectral set is called a $Γ$-contraction in the literature. A $Γ$-contraction $(S,P)$ is said to be pure if $P$ is a pure contraction, i.e, ${P^*}^n \rightarrow 0$ strongly as $n \rightarrow \infty $. Here we construct a functional model and produce a complete unitary invariant for a pure $Γ$-contraction. The key ingredient in these constructions is an operator, which is the unique solution o…
Given a contraction A on a Hilbert space H, an operator T on H is said to be A-invariant if <Tx,x>=<TAx,Ax> for every x in H such that ||Ax||=||x||. In the special case in which both defect indices of A are equal to 1, we show that every A-invariant operator is the compression to H of an unbounded linear transformation that commutes with the minimal unitary dilation of A. This result was proved by Sarason under the additional hypothesis that A is of class C_{00}, leading to an intrinsic characterization of the truncated Toeplitz operators. We also adapt to our more general context other result…
A bounded linear operator $T$ on a Hilbert space is said to be homogeneous if $φ(T)$ is unitarily equivalent to $T$ for all $φ$ in the group Möb of bi-holomorphic automorphisms of the unit disc. A projective unitary representation $σ$ of Möb is said to be associated with an operator T if $φ(T)= σ(φ)^\star T σ(φ)$ for all $φ$ in Möb. In this paper, we develop a Möbius equivariant version of the Sz.-Nagy--Foias model theory for completely non-unitary (cnu) contractions. As an application, we prove that if T is a cnu contraction with associated (projective unitary) representation $σ$, then there …
All unitary perturbations of a given unitary operator $U$ by finite rank $d$ operators with fixed range can be parametrized by $(d\times d)$ unitary matrices $Γ$; this generalizes unitary rank one ($d=1$) perturbations, where the Aleksandrov--Clark family of unitary perturbations is parametrized by the scalars on the unit circle $\mathbb{T}\subset\mathbb{C}$. For a purely contractive $Γ$ the resulting perturbed operator $T_Γ$ is a contraction (a completely non-unitary contraction under the natural assumption about cyclicity of the range), so they admit the functional model. In this paper we in…
We show that the constrained characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant for J-constrained completely non-coisometric (c.n.c.) row contractions, where J is a WOT-closed two-sided ideal of the noncommutative analytic Toeplitz algebra. We provide a model for this class of row contractions in terms of the constrained characteristic functions. In particular, we obtain a model theory for q-commuting c.n.c. row contractions.
Several properties of the Harnack domination of linear operators acting on Hilbert space with norm less or equal than one are studied. Thus, the maximal elements for this relation are identified as precisely the singular unitary operators, while the minimal elements are shown to be the isometries and the adjoints of isometries. We also show how a large range of properties (e.g. convergence of iterates, peripheral spectrum, ergodic properties) are transfered from a contraction to one that Harnack dominates it.
The fundamental result of B. Sz. Nazy states that every contraction has a coisometric extension and a unitary dilation. The isometric dilation of a contraction on a Hilbert space motivated whether this theory can be extended sensibly to families of operators. It is natural to ask whether this idea can be generalized, where the contraction $T$ is substituted by a commuting $n$-tuples of operators $(S_1,\cdots, S_n)$ acting on some Hilbert space having $Γ_n$ as a spectral set. We derive the necessary conditions for the existence of a $Γ_n$-isometric dilation for $Γ_n$-contractions. Also we discu…
The purpose of this paper is to characterize weak supercyclicity for Hilbert-space contractions, which is shown to be equivalent to characterizing weak supercyclicity for unitary operators$.$ This is naturally motivated by an open question that asks whether every weakly supercyclic power bounded operator is weakly stable (which in turn is naturally motivated by a result that asserts that every supercyclic power bounded operator is strongly stable)$.$ Precisely, weakly supercyclicity is investigated in light of boundedly spaced subsequences as discussed in Lemma 3.1$.$ The main result in Theore…
Given a bounded operator $Q$ on a Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$, a pair of bounded operators $(T_1, T_2)$ on $\mathcal{H}$ is said to be $Q$-commuting if one of the following holds: \[ T_1T_2=QT_2T_1 \text{ or }T_1T_2=T_2QT_1 \text{ or }T_1T_2=T_2T_1Q. \] We give an explicit construction of isometric dilations for pairs of $Q$-commuting contractions for unitary $Q$, which generalizes the isometric dilation of Ando [2] for pairs of commuting contractions. In particular, for $Q=qI_{\mathcal{H}}$, where $q$ is a complex number of modulus $1$, this gives, as a corollary, an explicit construction of …
The main issue we address in the present paper are the new models for completely non-unitary contractions with rank one defect operators acting on some Hilbert space of dimension $N\leq\infty$. This model complements nicely the well-known models of Liv$\rm{\check{s}}$ic and Sz.-Nagy--Foias. We show that each such an operator is unitarily equivalent to some truncated CMV matrix obtained from the ``full'' CMV matrix by deleting the first row and the first column, and acting in $\ell^2$ ($\dC^N$). This result can be viewed as a nonunitary version of the famous characterization of unitary operator…
The problems considered in this paper come as a natural continuation of our program to develop a free analogue of Sz.-Nagy-Foias theory, for row contractions. The paper is structured as follows: Introduction Part I. Unitary invariants for n-tuples of operators 1. Joint numerical radius 2. Euclidean operator radius 3. Joint numerical range and spectrum 4. $ρ$-operator radius Part II. Joint operator radii, inequalities, and applications 5. von Neumann inequalities 6. Constrained von Neumann inequalities 7. Multivariable Haagerup-de la Harpe inequalities 8. Multivariable Fejer inequalities Refere…
We develop a dilation theory for row contractions subject to constraints determined by sets of noncommutative polynomials. Under natural conditions on the constraints, we have uniqueness for the minimal dilation. A characteristic function is associated with any (constrained) row contraction. For pure constrained row contraction, we show that the characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant and provide a model. We also show that the curvature invariant and Euler characteristic asssociated with a Hilbert module generated by an arbitrary (resp. commuting) row contraction can be express…
A classical result of Sz.-Nagy asserts that a Hilbert-space contraction operator $T$ can be lifted to an isometry $V$. A more general multivariable setting of recent interest for these ideas is the case where (i) the unit disk is replaced by a certain domain contained in ${\mathbb C}^3$ (called the {\em tetrablock}), (ii) the contraction operator $T$ is replaced by a commutative triple $(T_1, T_2, T)$ of Hilbert-space operators having ${\mathbb E}$ as a spectral set (a tetrablock contraction) . The rational dilation question for this setting is whether a tetrablock contraction $(T_1, T_2, T)$ …
The main aim of this paper is to establish the connection between well-known criteria for the pseudocontinuability of a non-inner Schur function Theta in the unit disk. In a canonical way we associate a probability measure mu on the unit circle with Theta. One of the two criteria will be reformulated in the face of mu, whereas the other one is drafted in view of a completely non--unitary contraction T having Theta as its corresponding characteristic function. Our main result clarifies an immediate connection between the above-mentioned two criteria. For this reason, we construct a special orth…
We suggest a new version of the notion of $ρ$-dilation ($ρ>0$) of an $N$-tuple $\mathbf{A}=(A_1,...,A_N)$ of bounded linear operators on a common Hilbert space. We say that $\mathbf{A}$ belongs to the class $C_{ρ,N}$ if $\mathbf{A}$ admits a $ρ$-dilation $\widetilde{\mathbf{A}}=(\widetilde{A}_1,...,\widetilde{A}_N)$ for which $ζ\widetilde{\mathbf{A}}:=ζ_1\widetilde{A}_1+... +ζ_N\widetilde{A}_N$ is a unitary operator for each $ζ:=(ζ_1,...,ζ_N)$ in the unit torus $\mathbb{T}^N$. For N=1 this class coincides with the class $C_ρ$ of B. Sz.-Nagy and C. Foiaş. We generalize the known descriptions of…
It is well known that an operator-valued function $Θ$ from the Schur class ${\bf S}(\mathfrak M,\mathfrak N)$, where $\mathfrak M$ and $\mathfrak N$ are separable Hilbert spaces, can be realized as the transfer function of a simple conservative discrete time-invariant linear system. The known realizations involve the function $Θ$ itself, the Hardy spaces or the reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. On the other hand, as in the classical scalar case, the Schur class operator-valued function is uniquely determined by its so called "Schur parameters". In this paper we construct simple conservative r…
For a contraction P and a bounded commutant S of P, we seek a solution X of the operator equation S-S*P = (I-P*P)^1/2 X(I-P*P) 1/2, where X is a bounded operator on Ran(I-P*P) 1/2 with numerical radius of X being not greater than 1. A pair of bounded operators (S,P) which has the domain \Gamme = {(z 1 +z 2, z 1z 2) : |z1|{\leq} 1, |z2| {\leq}1} {\subseteq} C2 as a spectral set, is called a \Gamme-contraction in the literature. We show the existence and uniqueness of solution to the operator equation above for a Γ-contraction (S,P). This allows us to construct an explicit Γ-isometric dilation o…