Riemannian geometry of finite rank positive operators (Q2580934)

Let \(H\) be a Hilbert space and \(\Sigma_n\) the infinite dimensional manifold of positive operators of finite (fixed) rank \(n\) on \(H\). The authors introduce a Riemannian metric on \(\Sigma_n\) and study its geometry, their main result being that \(\Sigma_n\) is complete in the geodesic distance. They also relate the geometry of \(\Sigma_n\) to that of the submanifolds \(\Sigma_p\) and \({\mathcal P}_p\), where \(\Sigma_p\) is the set of positive operators with range equal to the range of a projection \(p\) with rank \(n\), and \({\mathcal P}_p\) is the connected component of \(p\) in the space of projections. Various calculations of tangent spaces, tangent maps and geodesics are given. Besides, the homotopy type of \(\Sigma_n\) is studied by means of the map \[ \pi : \Sigma_p \times {\mathcal I}_p \to \Sigma_n : (b,x) \mapsto xbx^*, \] which is a principal bundle with structure group the unitary operators of \(p(H)\).