Generalized Absolute Values and Polar Decompositions of a Bounded Operator

Generalized absolute values as well as corresponding to them generalized polar decompositions of a bounded linear operator T of a Hilbert space H{\mathcal{H}} into a Hilbert space K{\mathcal{K}} are defined, motivated by the inequality |áTx, y?_K|² ￡ á|T|x, x?_Há|T^*|y, y?_K{|\langle{Tx}, {y}\rangle}_{\mathcal{K}}|^2 \leq \langle|T|x, {x}\rangle_{\mathcal{H}}\langle{|T^{*}|y}, {y}\rangle_{\mathcal{K}} . It is shown that there is a natural bijection between generalized absolute values of T and of T* which sends |T| to |T*|. For a bounded nonnegative operator A on H{\mathcal{H}} and a bounded Borel function f: \mathbbR₊ ? \mathbbR₊{f: \mathbb{R}_+ \to \mathbb{R}_+} , equivalent conditions for A and f(|T|) to be generalized absolute values of T are established and corresponding to them generalized absolute values of T* are determined.