The Schur-Horn theorem for operators and frames with prescribed norms and frame operator (Q2382961)

Let \(\mathcal H\) be a separable Hilbert space and let \(S\) be a bounded selfadjoint operator on \(\mathcal H\). The authors completely characterize the closure in \(\ell^\infty(\mathbb N)\) of the set of possible ``diagonals'' of \(S\), i.e. the set \({\mathcal C}[{\mathcal U}_{\mathcal H}(S)]\) of real sequences \({\mathbf c}=(c_n)_{n\in\mathbb N}\) such that (1) \(\langle Se_n,e_n\rangle=c_n\), for some orthonormal basis \({\mathcal B}=\{e_n\}\) of \(\mathcal H\). If dim \({\mathcal H}=m<\infty\), the Schur-Horn theorem ensures that \({\mathbf c}\in{\mathbb R}^m\) satisfies (1) if and only if \({\mathbf c}\) is majorized by the vector of eigenvalues of \(S\). In the general case, an analogous form is defined of ``the sum of the greatest \(k\) eigenvalues'' as \(U_k(S)=\sup\{\text{tr } SP:P\in L({\mathcal H})\; \text{ is an orthogonal projection with tr } P=k\}\) and \(L_k(S)=-U_k(-S)\). It is proved that \(\mathbf c\) belongs to the \(\ell^\infty({\mathbb N})\)-closure of \({\mathcal C}[{\mathcal U}_{\mathcal H}(S)]\) if and only if (2) \(u_k({\mathbf c})\leq U_k(S)\) and \(L_k(S)\leq L_k({\mathbf c})\) for \(k\in{\mathbb N}\), where \(U_k({\mathbf c})=\sup_{| F| =k}\sum_{i\in F} c_i\) and \(L_k({\mathbf c})=\inf_{| F| =k}\sum_{i\in F} c_i=-U_k(-{\mathbf c})\). Similar results are proved in \(\ell^1({\mathbb N})\)-closure if \(S\) is a trace class operator. Then, these extended Schur-Horn theorems are used to give conditions for the existence of frames with prescribed norms and frame operator under less restrictive conditions than those found in \textit{K. A. Kornelson} and \textit{D. R. Larson} [Contemp. Math. 345, 203--214 (2004; Zbl 1058.42023)].