On maximal compact subsemigroups of the endomorphism semigroup of an \(n\)- dimensional complex vector space (Q687640)

Let \(V\) be a finite dimensional complex vector space equipped with a norm. The closed unit ball around \(0\) is denoted \(W\). Let \(S_ W \subseteq \Hom(V,V)\) denote the topological semigroup of linear contractions with respect to the given norm, i.e., the set of \(\phi \in \Hom(V,V)\) with \(\phi(W)\subseteq W\). Then \(S_ W\) is a maximal compact subsemigroup of \(\Hom(V,V)\). All maximal compact subsemigroups of \(\Hom(V,V)\) are obtained in this way. The group theoretical analogue is this: If the norm on \(V\) is given by a scalar product then the group \(U_ W\) of invertible elements of \(S_ W\) is the unitary group which is a maximal compact subgroup of the group \(\text{GL}(V)\) of automorphisms of \(V\). A classical result states that all maximal compact subgroups of \(\text{GL}(V)\) are conjugate. In this simplicity, an analogous result for maximal compact subsemigroups will certainly fail due to the great variety of norms on \(V\). However, the author establishes the following result whose proof is long and involved: If for two unit balls \(W\) and \(W'\) of suitable norms the semigroup \(S_ W\) and \(S_{W'}\) are isomorphic as topological semigroups, then there is a \(T\in \text{GL}(V)\) mapping \(W\) isomorphically to \(W'\) such that \(S_{W'} = TS_ W T^{-1}\) (possibly up to complex conjugation). Thus (up to complex conjugation) two maximal compact subsemigroups of \(\Hom(V,V)\) are isomorphic if and only if they are conjugate.