Non-commutative Carathéodory interpolation (Q616758)

The classical Carathéodory-Fejér interpolation problem (CFP) studies the existence of a holomorphic function \(f(z)\) defined on the unit disc \(\mathbb D\), such that \(|f(z)|\leq 1\), \(z\in\mathbb D\), when a finite number of coefficients in its Taylor expansion at 0 are given. In the present work, several CFP-type results are obtained in the noncommutative framework of the free semigroup of \(d\) generators with more general coefficients. More precisely, the domains considered for the coefficients turn out to be certain matrix convex sets in \(\mathbb C^d\). The main results give generalizations of previous research by \textit{D. S. Kalyuzhnyĭ-Verbovetzkiĭ} [J. Funct. Anal. 229, No. 2, 241--276 (2005); corrigendum ibid. 258, No. 3, 1066--1067 (2010; Zbl 1091.47016)] concerning the \(d\)-dimensional noncommutative polydisc, and also others in the commutative setting. The main theorem establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a minimum-norm solution to this CFP, which is achieved in two stages: a first step concerning matrix coefficients and afterwards passing to operator coefficients, using some results on the weak operator topology on the space of bounded operators on a separable Hilbert space. The accomplishment of this Carathéodory-Fejér type interpolation result makes use of Blecher-Ruan-Sinclair characterization of abstract operator algebras. Along the way, the abstract operator algebra \({\mathcal A}({\mathcal K})^{\infty}\) is deeply studied in terms of its weak compactness property, its ideal \({\mathcal I}({\mathcal K})\) and the corresponding quotient initial operator algebra. A variant of the main result concerning initial segments of infinite length is also developed.