A few years ago, Richard Kadison thoroughly analysed the diagonals of projection operators on Hilbert spaces and asked the following question: Let $\mathcal{A}$ be a masa in a type $II_1$ factor $\mathcal{M}$ and let $A \in \mathcal{A}$ be a positive contraction. Letting $E$ be the canonical normal conditional expectation from $\mathcal{M}$ to $\mathcal{A}$, can one find a projection $P \in \mathcal{M}$ so that [E(P) = A?] In a later paper, Kadison and Arveson, as an extension, conjectured a Schur-Horn theorem in type $II_1$ factors. In this paper, I give a proof of this conjecture of Arveson and Kadison. I also prove versions of the Schur-Horn theorem for type $II_{\infty}$ and type $III$ factors as well as finite von Neumann algebras.
Two classical theorems in matrix theory, due to Schur and Horn, relate the eigenvalues of a self-adjoint matrix to the diagonal entries. These have recently been given a formulation in the setting of operator algebras as the Schur-Horn problem, where matrix algebras and diagonals are replaced respectively by finite factors and maximal abelian self-adjoint subalgebras (masas). There is a special case of the problem, called the carpenter problem, which can be stated as follows: for a masa A in a finite factor M with conditional expectation E_A, can each x in A with 0 <= x <= 1 be expressed as E_…
We describe majorization between selfadjoint operators in a $σ$-finite II$_\infty$ factor $(\mathcal{M},τ)$ in terms of simple spectral relations. For a diffuse abelian von Neumann subalgebra $\mathcal{A}\subset \mathcal{M}$ with trace-preserving conditional expectation $E_{\mathcal{A}}$, we characterize the closure in the measure topology of the image through $E_{\mathcal{A}}$ of the unitary orbit of a selfadjoint operator in $\mathcal{M}$ in terms of majorization (i.e., a Schur-Horn theorem). We also obtain similar results for the contractive orbit of positive operators in $\mathcal{M}$ and …
Let $\mathcal A\subseteq \mat$ be a unital $*$-subalgebra of the algebra $\mat$ of all $n\times n$ complex matrices and let $B$ be an hermitian matrix. Let $\U_n(B)$ denote the unitary orbit of $B$ in $\mat$ and let $\mathcal E_\mathcal A$ denote the trace preserving conditional expectation onto $\mathcal A$. We give an spectral characterization of the set $$ \mathcal E_\mathcal A(\U_n(B))=\{\mathcal E_\mathcal A(U^* B U): U\in \mat,\ \text{unitary matrix}\}.$$ We obtain a similar result for the contractive orbit of a positive semi-definite matrix $B$. We then use these results to extend the n…
We prove a variety of results describing the possible diagonals of tuples of commuting hermitian operators in type $II_1$ factors. These results are generalisations of the classical Schur-Horn theorem to the infinite dimensional, multivariable setting. Our description of these possible diagonals uses a natural generalisation of the classical notion of majorization to the multivariable setting. In the special case when both the given tuple and the desired diagonal have finite joint spectrum, our results are complete. When the tuples do not have finite joint spectrum, we are able to prove strong…
Given a II$_1$ factor M and a masa A of M, we prove a version of the Schur-Horn Theorem, together with a contractive version. These results are inspired on a recent conjecture of Arveson and Kadison (math.OA/0508482).
We consider the analogues of the Horn inequalities in finite von Neumann algebras, which concern the possible spectral distributions of sums $a+b$ of self--adjoint elements $a$ and $b$ in a finite von Neumann algebra. It is an open question whether all of these Horn inequalities must hold in all finite von Neumann algebras, and this is related to Connes' embedding problem. For each choice of integers $1\le r\le n$, there is a set $T^n_r$ of Horn triples, and the Horn inequalities are in one-to-one correspondence with $\cup_{1\le r\le n}T^n_r$. We consider a property P$_n$, analogous to one int…
The carpenter problem in the context of $II_1$ factors, formulated by Kadison asks: Let $\mathcal{A} \subset \mathcal{M}$ be a masa in a type $II_1$ factor and let $E$ be the normal conditional expectation from $\mathcal{M}$ onto $\mathcal{A}$. Then, is it true that for every positive contraction $A$ in $\mathcal{A}$, there is a projection $P$ in $\mathcal{M}$ such that $E(P) = A$? In this note, we show that this is true if $A$ has finite spectrum. We will then use this result to prove an exact Schur-Horn theorem for (positive)operators with finite spectrum and an approximate Schur-Horn theore…
We consider the Schur-Horn problem for normal operators in von Neumann algebras, which is the problem of characterizing the possible diagonal values of a given normal operator based on its spectral data. For normal matrices, this problem is well-known to be extremely difficult, and in fact, it remains open for matrices of size greater than $3$. We show that the infinite dimensional version of this problem is more tractable, and establish approximate solutions for normal operators in von Neumann factors of type I$_\infty$, II and III. A key result is an approximation theorem that can be seen as…
The work of Dykema, Figiel, Weiss, and Wodzicki on the structure of commutators showed that arithmetic means play an important role in the study of operator ideals, and we explored their role in a multipaper project which we survey in this article. We start by presenting the notions of arithmetic mean ideals and arithmetic mean at infinity ideals. Then we explore their connections with commutator spaces, traces, elementary operators, lattice and sublattice structure of ideals, arithmetic mean ideal cancellation properties of first and second order, and softness properties - a term that we intr…
The main result of this paper is the extension of the Schur-Horn Theorem to infinite sequences: For two nonincreasing nonsummable sequences x and y that converge to 0, there exists a compact operator A with eigenvalue list y and diagonal sequence x if and only if y majorizes x (\sum_{j=1}^n x_j \le \sum_{j=1}^n y_j for all n) if and only if x = Qy for some orthostochastic matrix Q. The similar result requiring equality of the infinite series in the case that the sequences x and y are summable is an extension of a recent theorem by Arveson and Kadison. Our proof depends on the construction and …
Schur-Horn theorems focus on determining the diagonal sequences obtainable for an operator under all possible basis changes, formally described as the range of the canonical conditional expectation of its unitary orbit. Following a brief background survey, we prove an infinite dimensional Schur-Horn theorem for positive compact operators with infinite dimensional kernel, one of the two open cases posed recently by Kaftal- Weiss. There, they characterized the diagonals of operators in the unitary orbits for finite rank or zero kernel positive compact operators. Here we show how the characteriza…
We define the Schur multipliers of a separable von Neumann algebra M with Cartan masa A, generalising the classical Schur multipliers of $B(\ell^2)$. We characterise these as the normal A-bimodule maps on M. If M contains a direct summand isomorphic to the hyperfinite II_1 factor, then we show that the Schur multipliers arising from the extended Haagerup tensor product $A \otimes_{eh} A$ are strictly contained in the algebra of all Schur multipliers.
In this paper, we introduce Frobenius von Neumann algebras and study quantum convolution inequalities. In this framework, we unify quantum Young's inequality on quantum symmetries such as subfactors, and fusion bi-algebras studied in quantum Fourier analysis. Moreover, we prove quantum entropic convolution inequalities and characterize the extremizers in the subfactor case. We also prove quantum smooth entropic convolution inequalities. We obtain the positivity of comultiplications of subfactor planar algebras, which is stronger than the quantum Schur product theorem. All these inequalities pr…
Let $E$ be a $W^{\ast}$-correspondence over a von Neumann algebra $M$ and let $H^{\infty}(E)$ be the associated Hardy algebra. If $σ$ is a faithful normal representation of $M$ on a Hilbert space $H$, then one may form the dual correspondence $E^σ$ and represent elements in $H^{\infty}(E)$ as $B(H)$-valued functions on the unit ball $\mathbb{D}(E^σ)^{\ast}$. The functions that one obtains are called Schur class functions and may be characterized in terms of certain Pick-like kernels. We study these functions and relate them to system matrices and transfer functions from systems theory. We use …
We study Schur-type upper triangular forms for elements, T, of von Neumann algebras equipped with faithful, normal, tracial states. These were introduced in a paper of Dykema, Sukochev and Zanin; they are based on Haagerup-Schultz projections. We investigate when the s.o.t.-quasinilpotent part of this decomposition of T is actually quasinilpotent. We prove implications involving decomposability and strong decomposability of T. We show this is related to norm convergence properties of the sequence |T^n|^{1/n} which, by a result of Haagerup and Schultz, is known to converge in strong operator to…
A theorem of Thompson provides a non-self-adjoint variant of the classical Schur-Horn theorem by characterizing the possible diagonal values of a matrix with given singular values. We prove an analogue of Thompson's theorem for II_1 factors.
Motivated by Ball, Li, Timotin and Trent's Schur-Agler class version of commutant lifting theorem, we introduce a class, denoted by $\mathcal{P}_n(\mathcal{H})$, of $n$-tuples of commuting contractions on a Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$. We always assume that $n \geq 3$. The importance of this class of $n$-tuples stems from the fact that the von Neumann inequality or the existence of isometric dilation does not hold in general for $n$-tuples, $n \geq 3$, of commuting contractions on Hilbert spaces (even in the level of finite dimensional Hilbert spaces). Under some rank-finiteness assumptions, w…
Let A_i be a family of unital C*-algebras, respectively, of von Neumann algebras and phi: N_0 \to C. We show that if a Hankel matrix related to phi is trace-class, then there exists a unique completely bounded map M_phi on the reduced free product of the A_i, which acts as an radial multiplier. Hereby we generalize a result of Wysoczański for Herz-Schur multipliers on reduced group C*-algebras for free products of groups.
Let $G$ be a locally compact unimodular group, and let $ϕ$ be some function of $n$ variables on $G$. To such a $ϕ$, one can associate a multilinear Fourier multiplier, which acts on some $n$-fold product of the non-commutative $L_p$-spaces of the group von Neumann algebra. One may also define an associated Schur multiplier, which acts on an $n$-fold product of Schatten classes $S_p(L_2(G))$. We generalize well-known transference results from the linear case to the multilinear case. In particular, we show that the so-called `multiplicatively bounded $(p_1,\ldots,p_n)$-norm' of a multilinear Sch…
We extend Agler's notion of a function algebra defined in terms of test functions to include products, in analogy with the practice in real algebraic geometry, and hence the term preordering in the title. This is done over abstract sets and no additional property, such as analyticity, is assumed. Realization theorems give several equivalent ways of characterizing the unit ball (referred to as the Schur-Agler class) of the function algebras. These typically include, in Agler's terminology, a model (here called an Agler decomposition), a transfer function representation, and an analogue of the v…
Arazy's conjecture concerning Schur multipliers: revisited and resolved
Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics of HIT, Harbin Institute of Technology（哈尔滨工业大学数学高等研究院）；School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of NSW（新南威尔士大学数学与统计学院）
Let $\mathcal{A}$ be a $C^*$-algebra, and consider the Banach algebra $\mathcal{A} \otimes_γ\mathcal{A}$, where $\otimes_γ$ denotes the projective Banach space tensor product; if $\mathcal{A}$ is commutative, this is the Varopoulos algebra $V_\mathcal{A}$. It has been an open problem for more than 35 years to determine precisely when $\mathcal{A} \otimes_γ\mathcal{A}$ is Arens regular. Even the situation for commutative $\mathcal{A}$, in particular the case $\mathcal{A} = \ell_\infty$, has remained unsolved. We solve this classical question for arbitrary $C^*$-algebras by using von Neumann alg…
Classical Hecke operators on Maass forms are unitarely equivalent, up to a commuting phase, to completely positive maps on II$_1$ factors, associated to a pair of isomorphic subfactors, and an intertwining unitary. This representation is obtained through a quantized representation of the Hecke operators. in this representation, the Hecke operators act on the Berezin's quantization, deformation algebra of the fundamental domain of $\PSL(2,\Z)$ in the upper halfplane. The Hecke operators are inheriting from the ambient, non-commutative algebra on which they act, a rich structure of matrix inequa…
We prove the little Grothendieck theorem for any 2-convex noncommutative symmetric space. Let $\M$ be a von Neumann algebra equipped with a normal faithful semifinite trace $\t$, and let $E$ be an r.i. space on $(0, \8)$. Let $E(\M)$ be the associated symmetric space of measurable operators. Then to any bounded linear map $T$ from $E(\M)$ into a Hilbert space $\mathcal H$ corresponds a positive norm one functional $f\in E_{(2)}(\M)^*$ such that $$\forall x\in E(\M)\quad \|T(x)\|^2\le K^2 \|T\|^2 f(x^*x+xx^*),$$ where $E_{(2)}$ denotes the 2-concavification of $E$ and $K$ is a universal constan…
In this paper we use the description of free group factors as the von Neumann algebras of Berezin's deformation of the upper half-plane, modulo PSL$(2,{\Bbb Z})$. The derivative, in the deformation parameter, of the product in the corresponding algebras, is a positive Hochschild 2-cocycle, defined on a dense subalgebra. By analyzing the structure of the cocycle we prove that there is a generator $\cal L$ for a quantum dynamical semigroup that implements the cocycle on a strongly dense subalgebra. For $x$ in the dense subalgebra, ${\cal L}(x)$ is the (diffusion) operator $$ {\cal L}(x)=Λ(x)-(1/…
