Mostow's decomposition theorem for \(L^\ast\)-groups and applications to affine coadjoint orbits and stable manifolds (Q6115698)

The Mostow (matrix) decomposition for the general linear group \(\mathrm {GL}(n,\mathbb{C})\) is \[ A=Ue^{iM}e^S, \] where \(U\) is unitary, \(M\) is real skew-symmetric and \(S\) is real symmetric [\textit{R. Bhatia}, Linear Algebra Appl. 439, No. 10, 3031--3037 (2013; Zbl 1283.15039); \textit{G. D. Mostow}, Mem. Am. Math. Soc. 14, 31--54 (1955; Zbl 0064.25901)]. This decomposition holds true in a broader context in the following sense. Let \(G\) be a compact connected semi-simple Lie group with Lie algebra \(\mathfrak g\). Given a subspace \(\mathfrak h\) of \(\mathfrak g\) such that \([X,[X, Y ]] \in \mathfrak h\) for all \(X, Y\) in \(\mathfrak h\), the complexified group \(G^{\mathbb{C}} \) is homeomorphic to the product \[G \cdot \exp i{\mathfrak m} \cdot \exp i{\mathfrak h},\] where \(\mathfrak m\) is the orthogonal complement of \(\mathfrak h\) in \(\mathfrak g\) with respect to the Killing form. The simply connected symmetric space \(\mathrm {SU}(n)/ \mathrm {SO}(n)\) yields the matrix decomposition: when \(G\) is the special unitary group \(\mathrm {SU}(n)\) with Lie algebra \( {\mathfrak {su}}(n)\), we have the orthogonal sum (with respect to the Killing form) \[ {\mathfrak {su}}(n) = {\mathfrak m}+ {\mathfrak h}, \] where \({\mathfrak m} = {\mathfrak {so}}(n)\) and \({\mathfrak h}\) is the subspace of \(\mathfrak g\) consisting of symmetric purely imaginary \(n\times n\) matrices of zero trace. The author provides a new proof of Mostow's decomposition using tools from Riemannian geometry and homogeneous space. A key step in her proof involves constructing a projection from the space of positive definite self-adjoint operators to a closed geodesic subspace. The author's arguments for establishing such projection are simpler and more direct than Mostow's approach. They can be extended to an \(L^*\)-group of arbitrary dimension. Furthermore, Interesting geometric applications to (affine) coadjoint orbits and stable manifolds are provided.