A formula for the numerical range of elementary operators (Q2449023)

Let \(H\) be a Hilbert space. Let \(A_i\) and \(B_i\), \(1\leq i \leq k\), be \(k\)-tuples of bounded linear operators in \(B(H)\). A formula for the (Banach algebra) numerical range \(V(R_{A,B},B(B(H)))\) is obtained for the elementary operator \(R_{A,B}(X) = \sum_{i=1}^k A_iXB_i\). The formula is in terms of the closure of the classical (Hilbert space) numerical range (usual notation \(W(\cdot))\). Namely, \(V(R_{A,B},B(B(H)))\) is shown to be equal to the closure of the union, over all unitary operators \(U \in B(H)\), of the closure of \(W(\sum_{i=1}^k UA_iU_i^{\ast}B_i)\).