On continuity of spectra in norm ideals (Q1067575)

The author proves some beautiful and surprising results on the continuity of the spectrum of an operator on Hilbert space with respect to the operator norm \(\| \|\), valid for operators lying on a prescribed ball in some norm ideal. A sample result for the \({\mathcal G}_ p\) norm, \[ \| A\|_ p=\{trace(A*A)^{p/2}\}^{1/p}, \] is the inequality \[ \rho (\sigma (A),\sigma (B))\leq m C_ p \log^{1/p} (\| A-B\| /3m), \] where \(C_ p\) is a positive constant, valid for all operators A, \(B\in {\mathcal G}_ p\) of \({\mathcal G}_ p\)-norm at most m. Here \(\sigma\) (A) is the spectrum of A and \(\rho\) is the distance function defined by \[ \rho (E,F)=\sup_{\mu \in E}\inf_{\lambda \in F}| \lambda -\mu |. \] Qualitatively similar, though less explicit, continuity results are proved for a general crossnorm inequality to \(\| \cdot \|\). The methods (which owe something to \textit{V. I. Matsaev}, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 154, 1034-1037 (1964; Zbl 0123.317)] and some of the intermediate results are hardly less striking. One step, for example, is the generalization to an arbitrary uniform crossnorm of the following observation. If A is nilpotent and has finite rank then \[ \| (I- A)^{-1}\| \leq (3/2)\exp \{58.5\| A\|^ 2_ 2\}. \] This is proved by an ingenious argument involving the application of Jensen's formula to a certain analytic function made up from A using determinants. It is worth pointing out that the results are novel even for finite- dimensional operators, the significant fact being that the inequalities obtained are independent of the dimensions of the spaces in question.