The Dirac Operator of a Commuting d-Tuple

Given a commuting d-tuple T=(T₁, …, T_d) of otherwise arbitrary operators on a Hilbert space, there is an associated Dirac operator D_T. Significant attributes of the d-tuple are best expressed in terms of D_T, including the Taylor spectrum and the notion of Fredholmness. In fact, all properties of T derive from its Dirac operator. We introduce a general notion of Dirac operator (in dimension d=1, 2, …) that is appropriate for multivariable operator theory. We show that every abstract Dirac operator is associated with a commuting d-tuple, and that two Dirac operators are isomorphic iff their associated operator d-tuples are unitarily equivalent. By relating the curvature invariant introduced in a previous paper to the index of a Dirac operator, we establish a stability result for the curvature invariant for pure d -contractions of finite rank. It is shown that for the subcategory of all such T that are (a) Fredholm and and (b) graded, the curvature invariant K(T) is stable under compact perturbations. We do not know if this stability persists when T is Fredholm but ungraded, although there is concrete evidence that it does.     

Brown measures of sets of commuting operators in a type II1 factor

Using the spectral subspaces obtained in [U. Haagerup, H. Schultz, Invariant subspaces of operators in a general II₁-factor, preprint, 2005], Brown's results (cf. [L.G. Brown, Lidskii's theorem in the type II case, in: H. Araki, E. Effros (Eds.), Geometric Methods in Operator Algebras, Kyoto, 1983, in: Pitman Res. Notes Math. Ser., vol. 123, Longman Sci. Tech., 1986, pp. 1-35]) on the Brown measure of an operator in a type II₁ factor (M,τ) are generalized to finite sets of commuting operators in M. It is shown that whenever T₁,…,Tn∈M are mutually commuting operators, there exists one and only one compactly supported Borel probability measure μT₁,…,Tn on B(Cn) such that for all α₁,…,αn∈C,

     

Characteristic function for polynomially contractive commuting tuples

In this note, we develop the theory of characteristic function as an invariant for n-tuples of operators. The operator tuple has a certain contractivity condition put on it. This condition and the class of domains in Cn that we consider are intimately related. A typical example of such a domain is the open Euclidean unit ball. Given a polynomial P in C[z₁,z₂,…,zn] whose constant term is zero, all the coefficients are nonnegative and the coefficients of the linear terms are nonzero, one can naturally associate a Reinhardt domain with it, which we call the P-ball (Definition 1.1). Using the reproducing kernel Hilbert space HP(C) associated with this Reinhardt domain in Cn, S. Pott constructed the dilation for a polynomially contractive commuting tuple (Definition 1.2) [S. Pott, Standard models under polynomial positivity conditions, J. Operator Theory 41 (1999) 365-389. MR 2000j:47019]. Given any polynomially contractive commuting tuple T we define its characteristic function θT which is a multiplier. We construct a functional model using the characteristic function. Exploiting the model, we show that the characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant when the tuple is pure. The characteristic function gives newer and simpler proofs of a couple of known results: one of them is the invariance of the curvature invariant and the other is a Beurling theorem for the canonical operator tuple on HP(C). It is natural to study the boundary behaviour of θT in the case when the domain is the Euclidean unit ball. We do that and here essential differences with the single operator situation are brought out.     

Ramsey regions

Let (T₁,T₂,…,T_c) be a fixed c-tuple of sets of graphs (i.e. each T_i is a set of graphs). Let R(c,n,(T₁,T₂,…,T_c)) denote the set of all n-tuples, (a₁,a₂,…,a_n), such that every c-coloring of the edges of the complete multipartite graph, K_a1,a2,…,an, forces a monochromatic subgraph of color i from the set T_i (for at least one i). If N denotes the set of non-negative integers, then R(c,n,(T₁,T₂,…,T_c))⊆Nⁿ. We call such a subset of Nⁿ a “Ramsey region”. An application of Ramsey's Theorem shows that R(c,n,(T₁,T₂,…,T_c)) is non-empty for n?0. For a given c-tuple, (T₁,T₂,…,T_c), known results in Ramsey theory help identify values of n for which the associated Ramsey regions are non-empty and help establish specific points that are in such Ramsey regions. In this paper, we develop the basic theory and some of the underlying algebraic structure governing these regions.     

Invariant subspaces of positive strictly singular operators on Banach lattices

It is shown that every positive strictly singular operator T on a Banach lattice satisfying certain conditions is AM-compact and has invariant subspaces. Moreover, every positive operator commuting with T has an invariant subspace. It is also proved that on such spaces the product of a disjointly strictly singular and a regular AM-compact operator is strictly singular. Finally, we prove that on these spaces the known invariant subspace results for compact-friendly operators can be extended to strictly singular-friendly operators.     

Spectral theory for commutative algebras of differential operators on Lie groups

The joint spectral theory of a system of pairwise commuting self-adjoint left-invariant differential operators L₁,…,Ln on a connected Lie group G is studied, under the hypothesis that the algebra generated by them contains a “weighted subcoercive operator” of ter Elst and Robinson (1998) [52]. The joint spectrum of L₁,…,Ln in every unitary representation of G is characterized as the set of the eigenvalues corresponding to a particular class of (generalized) joint eigenfunctions of positive type of L₁,…,Ln. Connections with the theory of Gelfand pairs are established in the case L₁,…,Ln generate the algebra of K-invariant left-invariant differential operators on G for some compact subgroup K of Aut(G).     

Some quasinilpotent generators of the hyperfinite II1 factor

For each sequence n{cn} in l₁(N) we define an operator A in the hyperfinite II₁-factor R. We prove that these operators are quasinilpotent and they generate the whole hyperfinite II₁-factor. We show that they have non-trivial, closed, invariant subspaces affiliated to the von Neumann algebra and we provide enough evidence to suggest that these operators are interesting for the hyperinvariant subspace problem. We also present some of their properties. In particular, we show that the real and imaginary part of A are equally distributed, and we find a combinatorial formula as well as an analytical way to compute their moments. We present a combinatorial way of computing the moments of A^∗A.     

Invariant subspaces for operator semigroups with commutators of rank at most one

Let X be a complex Banach space of dimension at least 2, and let S be a multiplicative semigroup of operators on X such that the rank of ST−TS is at most 1 for all {S,T}⊂S. We prove that S has a non-trivial invariant subspace provided it is not commutative. As a consequence we show that S is triangularizable if it consists of polynomially compact operators. This generalizes results from [H. Radjavi, P. Rosenthal, From local to global triangularization, J. Funct. Anal. 147 (1997) 443-456] and [G. Cigler, R. Drnovšek, D. Kokol-Bukovšek, T. Laffey, M. Omladi?, H. Radjavi, P. Rosenthal, Invariant subspaces for semigroups of algebraic operators, J. Funct. Anal. 160 (1998) 452-465].     

The metaplectic representation,Weyl operators and spectral theory

Let X be the Grassmannian of Lagrangian subspaces of R²ⁿ and π: Θ → X the bundle of negative half-forms. We construct a canonical imbedding S(Rⁿ)_even → C^∞(Θ) which intertwines the metaplectic representation of M_p(n) on S(Rⁿ) with the induced representation of M_p(n) on C^∞(Θ). This imbedding converts the algebra of Weyl operators into an algebra of pseudodifferential operators and enables us to prove theorems about the spectral properties of Weyl operators by reducing them to standard facts about pseudodifferential operators. For instance we are able to prove a Weyl theorem on the asymptotic growth of eigenvalues with an “optimal” error estimate for such operators and an analogue of the Helton clustering theorem and the Chazarain-Duistermaat-Guillemin trace formula.     

k-Quasihyponormal operators are subscalar

In this paper we shall prove that if an operatorT∈L(⊕ ₁ ² H) is an operator matrix of the form $$T = \left( {\begin{array}{*{20}c} {T_1 } & {T_2 } \\ 0 & {T_3 } \\ \end{array} } \right)$$ whereT ₁ is hyponormal andT ₃ ^k =0, thenT is subscalar of order 2(k+1). Hence non-trivial invariant subspaces are known to exist if the spectrum ofT has interior in the plane as a result of a theorem of Eschmeier and Prunaru (see [EP]). As a corollary we get that anyk-quasihyponormal operators are subscalar.     

Stability theory for absolutely continuous parts of commutative m-tuples of self-adjoint operators in complex Hilbert spaces

By the method of direction wave operators, we prove that absolutely continuous parts of commutative m-tuples of self-adjoint operators in complex Hilbert spaces are invariant up to unitary equivalence under perturbations of class B_pfor p < m, m ? 2.     

A joint similarity problem for n-tuples of operators on vector-valued Bergman spaces

We investigate n-tuples of commuting Foias-Williams/Peller type operators acting on vector-valued weighted Bergman spaces. We prove that a commuting n-tuple of such operators is jointly (completely) polynomially bounded if and only if it is similar to an n-tuple of contractions, if and only if each of the n operators is polynomially bounded.     

Simultaneous solutions of Sylvester equations and idempotent matrices separating the joint spectrum

We investigate simultaneous solutions of the matrix Sylvester equations A_iX-XB_i=C_i,i=1,2,…,k, where {A₁,…,A_k} and {B₁,…,B_k} are k-tuples of commuting matrices of order m×m and p×p, respectively. We show that the matrix Sylvester equations have a unique solution X for every compatible k-tuple of m×p matrices {C₁,…,C_k} if and only if the joint spectra σ(A₁,…,A_k) and σ(B₁,…,B_k) are disjoint. We discuss the connection between the simultaneous solutions of Sylvester equations and related questions about idempotent matrices separating disjoint subsets of the joint spectrum, spectral mapping for the differences of commuting k-tuples, and a characterization of the joint spectrum via simultaneous solutions of systems of linear equations.     

Dilations and Commutant Lifting for Jointly Isometric Operators—A Geometric Approach

A tuple of commuting contractionsT=(T₁, T₂, …, T_n) is called a joint-isometry if ∑ T*_jT_j=I. We give a geometric proof that joint isometries have a regular unitary dilation and that its commutant lifts. We also show thatTis subnormal and that its minimal normal extension is also jointly isometric.     

Sperner labellings: A combinatorial approach

In 2002, De Loera, Peterson and Su proved the following conjecture of Atanassov: let T be a triangulation of a d-dimensional polytope P with n vertices v₁,v₂,…,vn; label the vertices of T by 1,2,…,n in such a way that a vertex of T belonging to the interior of a face F of P can only be labelled by j if vj is on F; then there are at least n−d simplices labelled with d+1 different labels. We prove a generalisation of this theorem which refines this lower bound and which is valid for a larger class of objects.     

Noncommutative Multivariable Operator Theory

In this paper, we study noncommutative domains ${\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi(\mathcal{H}) \subset B(\mathcal{H})^n}$ generated by positive regular free holomorphic functions f and certain classes of n-tuples ${\varphi = (\varphi_1, \ldots, \varphi_n)}$ of formal power series in noncommutative indeterminates Z ₁, . . . , Z _n . Noncommutative Poisson transforms are employed to show that each abstract domain ${\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi}$ has a universal model consisting of multiplication operators (M _Z1, . . . , M _{Z n} ) acting on a Hilbert space of formal power series. We provide a Beurling type characterization of all joint invariant subspaces under M _Z1, . . . , M _{Z n} and show that all pure n-tuples of operators in ${\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi(\mathcal{H})}$ are compressions of ${M_{Z_1} \otimes I, \ldots, M_{Z_n} \otimes I}$ to their coinvariant subspaces. We show that the eigenvectors of ${M_{Z_1}^*, \ldots, M_{Z_n}^*}$ are precisely the noncommutative Poisson kernels ${\Gamma_\lambda}$ associated with the elements ${\lambda}$ of the scalar domain ${\mathbb{D}_{f,<}^\varphi(\mathbb{C}) \subset \mathbb{C}^n}$ . These are used to solve the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem for the noncommutative Hardy algebra ${H^\infty(\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi)}$ . We introduce the characteristic function of an n-tuple ${T=(T_1, \ldots , T_n) \in \mathbb{D}_f^\varphi(\mathcal{H})}$ , present a model for pure n-tuples of operators in the noncommutative domain ${\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi(\mathcal{H})}$ in terms of characteristic functions, and show that the characteristic function is a complete unitary invariant for pure n-tuples of operators in ${\mathbb{D}_f^\varphi(\mathcal{H})}$ .     

Symmetric family of Fredholm operators of indices zero, stability of essential spectra and application to transport operators

In this paper, we prove that, if the product A=A₁?An is a Fredholm operator where the ascent and descent of A are finite, then Aj is a Fredholm operator of index zero for all j, 1?j?n, where A₁,…,An be a symmetric family of bounded operators. Next, we investigate a useful stability result for the Rako?evi?/Schmoeger essential spectra. Moreover, we show that some components of the Fredholm domains of bounded linear operators on a Banach space remain invariant under additive perturbations belonging to broad classes of operators A such as γ(Am)<1 where γ(⋅) is a measure of noncompactness. We also discuss the impact of these results on the behavior of the Rako?evi?/Schmoeger essential spectra. Further, we apply these latter results to investigate the Rako?evi?/Schmoeger essential spectra for singular neutron transport equations in bounded geometries.     

Invariant subspaces and localizable spectrum

LetT L(X) be a continuous linear operator on a complex Banach spaceX. We show thatT possesses non-trivial closed invariant subspaces if its localizable spectrum _loc(T) is thick in the sense of the Scott Brown theory. Since for quotients of decomposable operators the spectrum and the localizable spectrum coincide, it follows that each quasiaffine transformation of a Banach-space operator with Bishop's property () and thick spectrum has a non-trivial invariant subspace. In particular it follows that invariant-subspace results previously known for restrictions and quotients of decomposable operators are preserved under quasisimilarity.     

Universal elements for non-linear operators and their applications

We prove that under certain topological conditions on the set of universal elements of a continuous map T acting on a topological space X, that the direct sum T⊕Mg is universal, where Mg is multiplication by a generating element of a compact topological group. We use this result to characterize R₊-supercyclic operators and to show that whenever T is a supercyclic operator and z₁,…,zn are pairwise different non-zero complex numbers, then the operator z₁T⊕?⊕znT is cyclic. The latter answers affirmatively a question of Bayart and Matheron.     

Regular Factorization of the Scalar Characteristic Function

It is known that regular factorizations of the characteristic function of an operator describe its invariant subspaces. The case of a scalar characteristic function is considered. Some examples are given. The factorizations describing all chains of invariant subspaces containing a given subspace L are constructed by the factorization describing L. A representation of the regular factorization of a function is obtained in terms of factorizations of its inner and outer parts. Bibliography: 9 titles.