Given a row contraction of operators on Hilbert space and a family of projections on the space which stabilize the operators, we show there is a unique minimal joint dilation to a row contraction of partial isometries which satisfy natural relations. For a fixed row contraction the set of all dilations forms a partially ordered set with a largest and smallest element. A key technical device in our analysis is a connection with directed graphs. We use a Wold Decomposition for partial isometries to describe the models for these dilations, and discuss how the basic properties of a dilation depend on the row contraction.
We introduce a notion called `maximal commuting piece' for tuples of Hilbert space operators. Given a commuting tuple of operators forming a row contraction there are two commonly used dilations in multivariable operator theory. Firstly there is the minimal isometric dilation consisting of isometries with orthogonal ranges and hence it is a noncommuting tuple. There is also a commuting dilation related with a standard commuting tuple on Boson Fock space. We show that this commuting dilation is the maximal commuting piece of the minimal isometric dilation. We use this result to classify all rep…
In this paper we extend the $H^\infty$ functional calculus to quaternionic operators and to $n$-tuples of noncommuting operators using the theory of slice hyperholomorphic functions and the associated functional calculus, called $S$-functional calculus. The $S$-functional calculus has two versions one for quaternionic-valued functions and one for Clifford algebra-valued functions and can be considered the Riesz-Dunford functional calculus based on slice hyperholomorphicity because it shares with it the most important properties. The $S$-functional calculus is based on the notion of $S$-spectru…
A contractive $n$-tuple $A=(A_1,...,A_n)$ has a minimal joint isometric dilation $S=(S_1,...,S_n)$ where the $S_i$'s are isometries with pairwise orthogonal ranges. This determines a representation of the Cuntz-Toeplitz algebra. When $A$ acts on a finite dimensional space, the \wot-closed nonself-adjoint algebra $\mathfrak{S}$ generated by $S$ is completely described in terms of the properties of $A$. This provides complete unitary invariants for the corresponding representations. In addition, we show that the algebra $\mathfrak{S}$ is always hyper-reflexive. In the last section, we describe s…
We show that whenever a contractive $k$-tuple $T$ on a finite dimensional space $H$ has a unitary dilation, then for any fixed degree $N$ there is a unitary $k$-tuple $U$ on a finite dimensional space so that $q(T) = P_H q(U) |_H$ for all polynomials $q$ of degree at most $N$.
The celebrated Sz.-Nagy and Foias and Ando theorems state that a single contraction, or a pair of commuting contractions, acting on a Hilbert space always possesses isometric dilation and subsequently satisfies the von Neumann inequality for polynomials in $\mathbb{C}[z]$ or $\mathbb{C}[z_1, z_2]$, respectively. However, in general, neither the existence of isometric dilation nor the von Neumann inequality holds for $n$-tuples, $n \geq 3$, of commuting contractions. The goal of this paper is to provide a taste of the isometric dilations, the von Neumann inequality and a sharper version of von …
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 …
It is well-known that an $n$-tuple $(n\ge 3)$ of commuting contractions does not posses an isometric dilation, in general. Considering a class of $n$-tuple of commuting contractions satisfying certain positivity assumption, we construct their isometric dilations and consequently establish their von Neumann inequality. The positivity assumption is related to Brehmer positivity and motivated by the study of isometric dilations of operator tuples in [4].
We explore aspects of dilation theory in the finite dimensional case and show that for a commuting $n$-tuple of operators $T=(T_1,...,T_n) $ acting on some finite dimensional Hilbert space $H$ and a compact set $X\subset \mathbb{C}^n$ the following are equivalent: 1. $T$ has a normal $ X$-dilation. 2. For any $m\in \mathbb{N}$ there exists some finite dimensional Hilbert space $K$ containing $H$ and a tuple of commuting normal operators $N=(N_1,...,N_n)$ acting on $K$ such that $$ q(T)=P_Hq(N)|_H$$ for all polynomials $q$ of degree at most $m$ and such that the joint spectrum of $N$ is contain…
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…
Motivated by a result on weak Markov dilations, we define a notion of characteristic function for ergodic and coisometric row contractions with a one-dimensional invariant subspace for the adjoints. This extends a definition given by G. Popescu. We prove that our characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant for such tuples and show how it can be computed.
The objective of this paper is to study wandering subspaces for commuting tuples of bounded operators on Hilbert spaces. It is shown that, for a large class of analytic functional Hilbert spaces $\mathcal{H}_K$ on the unit ball in $\mathbb C^n$, wandering subspaces for restrictions of the multiplication tuple $M_z = (M_{z_1}, \ldots ,M_{z_n})$ can be described in terms of suitable $\mathcal{H}_K$-inner functions. We prove that $\mathcal{H}_K$-inner functions are contractive multipliers and deduce a result on the multiplier norm of quasi-homogenous polynomials as an application. Along the way w…
Dilation theory is a paradigm for studying operators by way of exhibiting an operator as a compression of another operator which is in some sense well behaved. For example, every contraction can be dilated to (i.e., is a compression of) a unitary operator, and on this simple fact a penetrating theory of non-normal operators has been developed. In the first part of this survey, I will leisurely review key classical results on dilation theory for a single operator or for several commuting operators, and sample applications of dilation theory in operator theory and in function theory. Then, in th…
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…
We extend the study of the Pick class, the set of complex analytic functions taking the upper half plane into itself, to the noncommutative setting. R. Nevanlinna showed that elements of the Pick class have certain integral representations which reflect their asymptotic behavior at infinity. Loewner connected the Pick class to matrix monotone functions. We generalize the Nevanlinna representation theorems and Loewner's theorem on matrix monotone functions to the free Pick class, the collection of functions that map tuples of matrices with positive imaginary part into the matrices with positive…
This paper extends the trace formulas of [5] with perturbations in normed ideals of $B(H)$ to multivariate functions of commuting contractions admitting a dilation to commuting normal contractions.
Let $A_1,\ldots,A_d$ be a $d$-tuple of commuting dissipative operators on a separable Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$. Using the theory of operator vessels and their associated systems, we give a construction of a dilation of the multi-parameter semigroup of contractions on $\mathcal{H}$ given by $e^{i \sum_{j=1}^d t_j A_j}$.
We obtain intertwining dilation theorems for noncommutative regular domains D_f and noncommutative varieties V_J of n-tuples of operators, which generalize Sarason and Sz.-Nagy--Foias commutant lifting theorem for commuting contractions. We present several applications including a new proof for the commutant lifting theorem for pure elements in the domain D_f (resp. variety V_J) as well as a Schur type representation for the unit ball of the Hardy algebra associated with the variety V_J. We provide Ando type dilations and inequalities for bi-domains D_f \times D_g and bi-varieties V_J \times V…
In this paper, we investigate the role of square functions defined for a $d$-tuple of commuting Ritt operators $(T_1,...,T_d)$ acting on a general Banach space $X$. Firstly, we prove that if the $d$-tuple admits a $H^\infty$ joint functional calculus, then it verifies various square function estimates. Then we study the converse when every $T_k$ is a $R$-Ritt operator. Under this last hypothesis, and when $X$ is a $K$-convex space, we show that square function estimates yield dilation of $(T_1,...,T_d)$ on some Bochner space $L_p(Ω;X)$ into a $d$-tuple of isomorphisms with a $C(\mathbb{T}^d)$ …
The spectral theory on the $S$-spectrum was born out of the need to give quaternionic quantum mechanics (formulated by Birkhoff and von Neumann) a precise mathematical foundation. Then it turned out that this theory has important applications in several fields such as fractional diffusion problems and, moreover, it allows one to define several functional calculi for $n$-tuples of noncommuting operators. With this paper we show that the spectral theory on the $S$-spectrum is much more general and it contains, just as particular cases, the complex, the quaternionic and the Clifford settings. Mor…
Higher-rank graph generalisations of the Popescu-Poisson transform are constructed, allowing us to develop a dilation theory for higher rank operator tuples. These dilations are joint dilations of the families of operators satisfying relations encoded by the graph structure which we call $Λ$-contractions or $Λ$-coisometries. Besides commutant lifting results and characterisations of pure states on higher rank graph algebras several applications to the structure theory of non-selfadjoint graph operator algebras are presented generalising recent results in special cases.
Researchers have identified complex matrices $A$ such that a bounded linear operator $B$ acting on a Hilbert space will admit a dilation of the form $A \otimes I$ whenever the numerical range inclusion relation $W(B) \subseteq W(A)$ holds. Such an operator $A$ and the identity matrix will span a maximal operator system, i.e., every unital positive map from ${\rm span} \{I, A, A^*\}$ to ${\cal B}({\cal H})$, the algebra of bounded linear operators acting on a Hilbert space ${\cal H}$, is completely positive. In this paper, we identify $m$-tuple of matrices ${\bf A} = (A_1, \dots, A_m)$ such tha…
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 goal of the paper is to study the structure of the k-tuples of doubly $Λ$-commuting row isometries and the $C^*$-algebras they generate from the point of view of noncommutative multivariable operator theory. We obtain Wold decompositions, in this setting, and use them to classify the $k$-tuples of doubly $Λ$-commuting row isometries up to a unitary equivalence. We introduce a universal model in this setting, describe its invariant subspaces, and develop a dilation theory on $Λ$-polyballs.
The notion of a subproduct system, a generalization of that of a product system, is introduced. We show that there is an essentially 1 to 1 correspondence between cp-semigroups and pairs (X,T) where X is a subproduct system and T is an injective subproduct system representation. A similar statement holds for subproduct systems and units of subproduct systems. This correspondence is used as a framework for developing a dilation theory for cp-semigroups. Results we obtain: (i) a *-automorphic dilation to semigroups of *-endomorphisms over quite general semigroups; (ii) necessary and sufficient c…
Sz.-Nagy and Foias proved that each $C_{\cdot0}$-contraction has a dilation to a Hardy shift and thus established an elegant analytic functional model for contractions of class $C_{\cdot0}$. This has motivated lots of further works on model theory and generalizations to commuting tuples of $C_{\cdot0}$-contractions. In this paper, we focus on doubly commuting sequences of $C_{\cdot0}$-contractions, and establish the dilation theory and the analytic model theory for these sequences of operators. These results are applied to generalize the Beurling-Lax theorem and Jordan blocks in the multivaria…
We establish the existence and uniqueness of finite free resolutions - and their attendant Betti numbers - for graded commuting d-tuples of Hilbert space operators. Our approach is based on the notion of free cover of a (perhaps noncommutative) row contraction. Free covers provide a flexible replacement for minimal dilations that is better suited for higher-dimensional operator theory. For example, every graded d-contraction that is finitely multi-cyclic has a unique free cover of finite type - whose kernel is a Hilbert module inheriting the same properties. This contrasts sharply with what ca…
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 Toeplitz operators with respect to a commuting $n$-tuple of bounded operators which satisfies some additional conditions coming from complex geometry. Then we consider a particular such tuple on a function space. The algebra of Toeplitz operators with respect to that particular tuple becomes naturally homeomorphic to $L^\infty$ of a certain compact subset of $\mathbb C^n$. Dual Toeplitz operators are characterized. En route, we prove an extension type theorem which is not only important for studying Toeplitz operators, but also has an independent interest because dilation theorems do …
An operator C on a Hilbert space H dilates to an operator T on a Hilbert space K if there is an isometry V from H to K such that C=V^*TV. A main result of this paper is, for a positive integer d, the simultaneous dilation, up to a sharp factor $\vartheta(d)$, of all d-by-d symmetric matrices of operator norm at most one to a collection of commuting self-adjoint contraction operators on a Hilbert space. An analytic formula for $\vartheta(d)$ is derived, which as a by-product gives new probabilistic results for the binomial and beta distributions. Dilating to commuting operators has consequences…
The techniques developed by Popescu, Muhly-Solel and Good for the study of algebras generated by weighted shifts are applied to generalize results of Sarkar and of Bhattacharjee-Eschmeier-Keshari-Sarkar concerning dilations and invariant subspaces for commuting tuples of operators. In that paper the authors prove Beurling-Lax-Halmos type results for commuting tuples $T=(T_1,\ldots,T_d)$ operators that are contractive and pure; that is $Φ_T(I)\leq I$ and $Φ_T^n(I)\searrow 0$ where $$Φ_T(a)=Σ_i T_iaT_i^*.$$ Here we generalize some of their results to commuting tuples $T$ satisfying similar condi…
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…
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…
We review how some multianalytic inner functions of the Beurling type theorem are associated to row contractions following works of G.Popescu. Motivated by a result on weak Markov dilations, we define a notion of characteristic function for ergodic and coisometric row contractions with a one-dimensional invariant subspace for the adjoints. Our characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant for such tuples. Thereafter we extend the analysis of characteristic functions to contractive liftings of row contractions. We apply our theory to completely positive maps and explore applications t…
An n-tuple (n \geq 2), T = (T_1, \ldots, T_n), of commuting bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space \mathcal{H} is doubly commuting if T_i T_j^* = T_j^* T_i for all $1 \leq i < j \leq n$. If in addition, each T_i \in C_{\cdot 0}, then we say that T is a doubly commuting pure tuple. In this paper we prove that a doubly commuting pure tuple $T$ can be dilated to a tuple of shift operators on some suitable vector-valued Hardy space H^2_{\mathcal{D}_{T^*}}(\mathbb{D}^n). As a consequence of the dilation theorem, we prove that there exists a closed subspace \mathcal{S}_T of the form \[\mathcal{…
In this article, we discuss necessary condition of conditional dilation for both completely non-unitary (c.n.u) $Γ_{n}$-contractions and c.n.u $\mathbb E$-contractions. Consider two tuples, $(A_1, \dots, A_{n-1})$ and $(B_1, \dots, B_{n-1})$, of operators defined on two Hilbert spaces. One of the principal goals is to identify a necessary and a sufficient condition guaranteeing the existence of a c.n.u $Γ_n$-contraction $(S_1, \dots, S_{n-1},P)$ such that $(A_1, \dots, A_{n-1})$ becomes the $\mathcal{F}_O$-tuple of $(S_1, \dots, S_{n-1},P)$ and $(B_1, \dots,B_{n-1})$ becomes the $\mathcal{F}_O…
We introduce a notion of a noncommutative function defined on a domain of $d$-tuples of bounded operators on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. Inverse and implicit function theorems in this setting are established. When these operatorial noncommutative functions are suitably continuous in the strong operator topology, a noncommutative dilation-theoretic construction is used to show that the assumptions on their derivatives may be relaxed from boundedness below to merely injectivity.
A tuple of commuting Hilbert space operators $(S_1, \dots, S_{n-1}, P)$ having the closed symmetrized polydisc \[ Γ_n = \left\{ \left(\sum_{i=1}^{n}z_i, \sum\limits_{1\leq i<j\leq n} z_iz_j, \cdots, \prod_{i=1}^{n}z_i\right) : |z_i|\leq 1\,, \; \; \; 1\leq i \leq n-1 \right\} \] as a spectral set is called a $Γ_n$-contraction. From the literature we have that a point $(s_1, \dots , s_{n-1},p)$ in $Γ_n$ can be represented as $s_i=c_i+pc_{n-i}$ for some $(c_1, \dots, c_{n-1}) \in Γ_{n-1}$. We construct a minimal $Γ_n$-isometric dilation for a particular class of c.n.u. $Γ_n$-contractions $(S_1, …
