On the relation between an operator and its self-commutator (Q664718)

Let \(\mathcal{A}\) be a C*-algebra acting on Hilbert space and \(A\) be an operator in \(\mathcal{A}\). The paper under review is dedicated to the following question: if the self-commutator \([A^*,A]\) of \(A\) is \`\` small'', does there exist a normal operator \(\widetilde{A}\) in \(\mathcal{A}\) \`\` close'' to \(A\)? The authors provide a quantitative affirmative answer to this question, for all C*-algebras \(\mathcal{A}\) of real rank zero, and a large class of operators \(A\). The paper contains a wealth of results and examples which extend in a variety of ways previously known deep theorems spread in a number of papers in the operator theory literature. The main result is the following: There exists a non-increasing function \(h : (0,\infty)\rightarrow [0,\infty)\) such that \(h(t) = 0\) for all \(t \geq 1\) and such that for every \(\epsilon > 0\), every C*-algebra \(\mathcal{A}\) of real rank zero and every contraction \(A\in \mathcal{A}\) with the property that \(A - \lambda I\) is in the norm closure of the connected component of the identity in the set of all invertible elements in \(\mathcal{A}\) (called in the paper condition (C)), there exists a normal operator \(T(\epsilon)\in \mathcal{A}\) with \(\|T(\epsilon)\|\leq\|A\|\) and a selfadjoint operator \(S(\epsilon)\in \mathcal{A}\), which is a convex combination of operators of the form \(X[A^*,A]Y\) with \(X\) and \(Y\) contractions in \(\mathcal{A}\), such that \(\|A - T(\epsilon) - h(\epsilon) S(\epsilon)\| \leq \epsilon\). Applications of this result are given in several contexts, including to estimate distances to normal matrices in the Schatten \(p\)-norm, quantitative versions of the Brown-Douglas-Fillmore Theorem, truncations of normal operators, and others. The proof of the result described above relies on the following theorem established in the paper under review and interesting in its own right: Let \(\mathcal{A}\) be a C*-algebra of real rank zero and \(A\) be a normal operator in \(\mathcal{A}\). If the operator \(A\) satisfies condition (C), then, for every finite open cover \((\Omega_j)\) of the spectrum of \(A\), there exists a family \((P_j)\) of mutually orthogonal projections in \(\mathcal{A}\) whose sum is the identity operator and such that, for every \(j\), \(P_j\) is majorised by the spectral projection of \(A\) corresponding to the set \(\Omega_j\).