Singular values of products of positive operators: \(AZB\) and \(ZAB\) (Q2568386)

Let \(Z\) be a fixed positive definite \(n\times n\) matrix with extremal eigenvalues \(a\) and \(b\). A pair of positive definite \(n\times n\) matrices \(A\) and \(B\) is said to form a monotone pair if there exists a positive definite matrix \(C\) such that \(A= f(C)\) and \(B= g(C)\), where \(f\) and \(g\) are two non-decreasing scalar positive functions. Main result: For a positive definite matrix \(Z\) and for every monotone pair \(A\) and \(B\), there exist unitary matrices \(U\) and \(V\) such that \[ {2\sqrt{ab}\over a+b} U|ZAB|U^*\leq |AZB|\leq {a+b\over 2\sqrt{ab}} V|ZAB|V^*. \] The inequalities between positive definite matrices are understood in the sense that \(P\leq Q\) means \(Q- P\) is positive semidefinite. Some related inequalities are presented as well.