Complete contractivity of maps associated with the Aluthge and Duggal transforms. (Q1880041)

Let \(T\) be a bounded linear operator on a Hilbert space \(H\) and let \(T = UP\) be the unique polar decomposition of \(T\) with \(P = | T| \) and \(U\) a partial isometry satisfying \(\text{ker}(U) = \text{ker}(T)\) and \(\text{ker}(U^*)= \text{ker} (T^*)\). The Aluthge transform of \(T\) is \(\widetilde{T} = P^{1/2}UP^{1/2}\), while the Duggal transform of \(T\) is defined by \(PU\). The aim of the present paper is to study the map \(f(T) \mapsto f(\widetilde{T})\) and the analogous map induced by the Duggal transform. Here \(f\) is a complex valued function analytic on some neighborhood of the spectrum of \(T\). It is shown, for instance, that both maps are completely contractive algebra homomorphisms. The numerical ranges of \(f(T)\), \(f(\widetilde{T})\) and of \(f(PU)\) are also compared.