Noncommutative hyperbolic geometry on the unit ball of \(B(\mathcal H)^n\) (Q1028319)

The paper makes connections between noncommutative function theory and classical results in hyperbolic complex analysis and geometry. A new formula of the Poincaré--Bergman metric on the open unit ball of \(\mathbb{C}^n\) using Harnack inequalities for positive free pluriharmonic functions on the noncommutative open ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\) is obtained, as well as a formula in terms of the left creation operators on the full Fock space with \(n\) generators. Also, a conjecture for extending the results of this paper to more general infinite-dimensional bounded domains is made. On the closed ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1^-\), where \(B(\mathcal H)\) is the algebra of all bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space \(\mathcal H\), a Harnack equivalence relation for two \(n\)-tuples of operators is introduced in the first section of the paper. Useful characterizations for the Harnack equivalence on the closed ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1^-\) are obtained. Also, the fact that the open unit ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\) is a distinguished Harnack part of the closed ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1^-\) is proved. A hyperbolic (Poincaré--Bergman type) metric on the Harnack parts of the closed ball is introduced in the second section of the paper, and it is proved that this metric is invariant under the action of the free holomorphic group of \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\). An explicit formula for the hyperbolic distance in terms of the reconstruction operator is obtained. It is also shown that the obtained hyperbolic distance \(\delta\) coincides with the Poincaré--Bergman distance on the open unit ball of \(\mathbb{C}^n\). In the third section of the paper, metric topologies on Harnack parts of \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1^-\) are analysed. The relations between the \(\delta\)-topology, \(d_H\)-topology and the operator norm topology on Harnack parts of \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1^-\) are studied. The fact that the hyperbolic metric \(\delta\) is a complete metric on certain Harnack parts, and that all the mentioned topologies coincide on the open ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\) is proved. In the last section of the paper, the very important property of the Poincaré--Bergman distance that it is distance-decreasing, is extended, and a Schwarz--Pick lemma for free holomorphic functions on \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\) with operator-valued coefficients, with respect to the hyperbolic metric on the noncommutative ball \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\), is obtained. As a consequence, it is shown that the Carathéodory and the Kobayashi distance, with respect to \(\delta\), coincide with \(\delta\) on \([B({\mathcal H})^n]_1\).