Semi-generalized partial isometries (Q2302208)

A bounded linear operator \(A\) on a complex Hilbert space \(\mathcal H\) is called a partial isometry if \(A\) preserves the norm of any vector in the orthogonal complement of its null space. It is well known that, if \(A\) is a partial isometry, then the range space of \(A\) is closed and that \(A\) is a contraction operator. Let \(n\) denote a positive integer. An operator \(A\) is called an \textit{\(n\)-left generalized partial isometry} if \(A^nA^*A=A^n\) and is called a \textit{\(n\)-right generalized partial isometry} if \(AA^*A^n=A^n\). An operator \(A\) is called a \textit{left generalized partial isometry} if it is an \(n\)-left generalized partial isometry for some positive integer \(n\); a \textit{right generalized partial isometry} is defined similarly. An operator which is either a left generalized partial isometry or a right generalized partial isometry is called a \textit{semi-generalized partial isometry}, while an operator which is both, is referred to as a \textit{generalized partial isometry}. These notions are introduced and some results are presented, a sample of which is reproduced here. These include closure properties (if \(A\) and \(B\) are left (right) generalized partial isometries satisfying some conditions, then \(AB\) is a left (right) generalized partial isometry), topological properties (the set of all left (right) generalized partial isometries is not an open set), algebraic properties (if \(A\) is a bounded contraction, then \(A\) is a semi-generalized partial isometry if and only if \(A\) is nilpotent) and a decomposition property (if \(T\) is a left generalized partial isometry, then there exist a partial isometry \(A\) and a nilpotent \(B\) such that \(T=A+B\), with \(AB=A^*B=BA^*=0\)). Some spectral theorems for this class of operators are also given. Part of the results derived in this paper improve and extend some results known for partial isometries.