Quadratic forms in unitary operators (Q1373314)

Let \(u_1, \dots, u_n\) be unitary operators on a Hilbert space \(H\). Then the operator \(\sum u_i\otimes\bar u_i\) acts on the Hilbertian tensor product \(H\otimes_2\bar H\), where \(\bar H\) is the complex conjugate of \(H\). Let \(B(H)\) denote the space of bounded operators on \(H\) equipped with the usual norm. The author shows: For any \(n\)-tuple \(u_1, \dots ,u_n\) of unitary operators on \(B(H)\) we have the sharp inequality \(|\sum_{k=1}^nu_k\otimes\bar u_k|\geq 2\sqrt {n-1}\). As an application he proves an inequality for the quasiregular representation of \(U(N)\).