Free pluriharmonic majorants and commutant lifting (Q941413)

This paper is a continuation of the author's previous work on holomorphic functions in several noncommuting variables and \(n\)-tuples of operators on a Hilbert space [cf.\ \textit{G.\,Popescu}, J.~Funct.\ Anal.\ 241, No.\,1, 268--333 (2006; Zbl 1112.47004)]. In the present paper, the author initiates the study of sub-pluriharmonic curves and free pluriharmonic majorants on the noncommutative open balls. He presents a characterization of the noncommutative Hardy space \(H^2_{\text{ball}}\) in terms of free pluriharmonic majorants and a Schur type description of the unit ball of \(H^2_{\text{ball}}\). These results are used to solve a generalized commutant lifting problem that extends, to a multivariable setting, several lifting problems including the classical Sz.-Nagy--Foiaş commutant lifting and the extensions obtained by Treil--Volberg, Foiaş--Frazho--Kaashoek,and Biswas--Foiaş--Frazho, as well as their multivariable noncommutative versions.