On the square root of a positive B( )-valued function

Let (Ω, , μ) be a measure space, a separable Banach space, and ^* the space of all bounded conjugate linear functionals on . Let f be a weak^* summable positive B( ^*)-valued function defined on Ω. The existence of a separable Hilbert space , a weakly measurable B( )-valued function Q satisfying the relation Q^*(ω)Q(ω) = f(ω) is proved. This result is used to define the Hilbert space L_2,f of square integrable operator-valued functions with respect to f. It is shown that for B⁺( ^*)-valued measures, the concepts of weak^*, weak, and strong countable additivity are all the same. Connections with stochastic processes are explained.