Dilations of \(\varGamma\)-contractions by solving operator equations (Q424561)

\textit{J. Agler} and \textit{N. J. Young} initiated in [J. Funct. Anal. 161, No. 2, 452--477 (1999; Zbl 0943.47005)] a detailed study on commuting pairs of bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space \(\mathcal H\) (called here \(\varGamma\)-contractions) having as a spectral set the symmetrized bidisc \[ \varGamma:=\{(z_1+z_2,z_1z_2):|z_1|,|z_2|\leq 1\}\subseteq\mathbb{C}^2. \] As particular \(\varGamma\)-contractions, one can mention \(\varGamma\)-unitaries, which are commuting pairs of normal operators such that the (Taylor) joint spectrum is contained in the distinguished boundary \[ b\varGamma:=\{z_1+z_2,z_1z_2):|z_1|=|z_2|=1\} \] of \(\varGamma\), and \(\varGamma\)-isometries, which are restrictions, to certain invariant subspaces, of \(\varGamma\)-unitaries. Several results are given in order to characterize these particular classes. For example, a pair \((S,P)\) of commuting operators acting on \(\mathcal{H}\) is a \(\varGamma\)-unitary (resp., \(\varGamma\)-isometry) if and only if \(P\) is unitary (resp., an isometry), \(S=S^*P\) and the spectral radius \(r(S)\leq 2\) if and only if \(P\) is unitary (resp., an isometry) and \(S=C+C^*P\) for a certain bounded operator \(C\) which is unitary (resp., has numerical radius \(w(C)\leq 1\)) and commutes with \(P\) and \(P^*\). The authors introduce a new class of examples of \(\varGamma\)-contractions and, following a theorem of \textit{R. G. Douglas}, \textit{G. Misra} and \textit{J. Sarkar} [``Contractive Hilbert modules and their dilations'', Isr. J. Math. 187, No.~1, 141--165 (2012; \url{doi:10.1007/s11856-011-0166-6})], describe their \(\varGamma\)-isometric dilations (\((T,V)\) is a \(\varGamma\)-isometric dilation of \((S,P)\) if \((T^*,V^*)\) is a \(\varGamma\)-co-isometric extension of \((S^*,P^*)\)). In the last part, an explicit construction of a \(\varGamma\)-isometric dilation of a given \(\varGamma\)-contraction is presented. As a consequence, it is shown that a commuting pair \((S,P)\) of operators acting on \(\mathcal{H}\) is a \(\varGamma\)-contraction if and only if \(r(S)\leq 2\) and the fundamental equation \[ S-S^*P=(I-P^*P)^{1/2}X(I-P^*P)^{1/2} \] has a (unique) operator solution \(A\) (acting on the defect space \(\mathcal{D}_P:=\overline{(I-P^*P)^{1/2}\mathcal{H}}\) of \(P\)) with \(w(A)\leq 1\).