On continuity of spectra in norm ideals (Q1067575): Difference between revisions

The author proves some beautiful and surprising results on the continuity of the spectrum of an operator on Hilbert space with respect to the operator norm \(\| \|\), valid for operators lying on a prescribed ball in some norm ideal. A sample result for the \({\mathcal G}_ p\) norm, \[ \| A\|_ p=\{trace(A*A)^{p/2}\}^{1/p}, \] is the inequality \[ \rho (\sigma (A),\sigma (B))\leq m C_ p \log^{1/p} (\| A-B\| /3m), \] where \(C_ p\) is a positive constant, valid for all operators A, \(B\in {\mathcal G}_ p\) of \({\mathcal G}_ p\)-norm at most m. Here \(\sigma\) (A) is the spectrum of A and \(\rho\) is the distance function defined by \[ \rho (E,F)=\sup_{\mu \in E}\inf_{\lambda \in F}| \lambda -\mu |. \] Qualitatively similar, though less explicit, continuity results are proved for a general crossnorm inequality to \(\| \cdot \|\). The methods (which owe something to \textit{V. I. Matsaev}, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 154, 1034-1037 (1964; Zbl 0123.317)] and some of the intermediate results are hardly less striking. One step, for example, is the generalization to an arbitrary uniform crossnorm of the following observation. If A is nilpotent and has finite rank then \[ \| (I- A)^{-1}\| \leq (3/2)\exp \{58.5\| A\|^ 2_ 2\}. \] This is proved by an ingenious argument involving the application of Jensen's formula to a certain analytic function made up from A using determinants. It is worth pointing out that the results are novel even for finite- dimensional operators, the significant fact being that the inequalities obtained are independent of the dimensions of the spaces in question.