\(\rho\)-contraction and \(2\times 2\) matrix (Q1124751)

For \(\rho> 0\), a bounded linear operator \(A\) on a Hilbet space \(H\) is a \(\rho\)-contraction if the powers of \(A\) admit a representation \(A^nx= \rho PU^nx\) for \(x\) in \(H\) and \(n= 1,2,\dots\), where \(U\) is a unitary operator on some Hilbert space \(K\) containing \(H\) and \(P\) is the (orthogonal) projection from \(K\) onto \(H\). The cases \(\rho= 1\) and 2 correspond to \(A\) being a contraction \((\|A\|\leq 1)\) and numerical contraction \((w(A)\leq 1)\), respectively. In this article, the authors give a necessary and sufficient condition for the two-dimensional operator \(A= \left[\begin{smallmatrix} a & c\\ 0 & b\end{smallmatrix}\right]\) to be a \(\rho\)-contraction. The condition is in terms of the entries of \(A\). The result, in the case of \(\rho= 1\), generalizes the obvious observation that \(A\) is a contraction if and only if \(|c|^2\leq (1-|a|^2)(1-|b|^2)\). The case for a finite-dimensional quadratic operator \(A\) (\(A\) satisfying \(A^2+ rA+ sI= 0\) for some scalars \(r\) and \(s\)) is also considered.