Maps on matrix spaces (Q819139)

In this nicely written article the author surveys some recent results regarding the non-additive preservers on matrices. The main focus is on mappings that preserve the internal structure of idempotents. Special attention is paid to show how various preserving problems are closely related, and to review their applications. The article starts with a short proof that every nonzero additive multiplicative map on a matrix algebra over a field is inner, modulo applying the same field automorphism entrywise. As already observed by \textit{M. Jodeit} and \textit{T. Y. Lam} [Arch. Math. 20, 10--16 (1969; Zbl 0176.29502)], this is no longer true if the assumption on additivity is dropped. However, any multiplicative map preserves idempotents. This is used as one of the motivations to study non-additive maps on idempotents that preserve (i) their order \(P\leq Q\), or (ii) their orthogonality, or (iii) their commutativity. For each of the three cases, the classification theorem on their injective preservers is given. The results are valid for idempotent matrices over arbitrary division rings that are not isomorphic to a proper sub-division rings (say, real numbers or quaternions do qualify). It is also mentioned that injectivity cannot be replaced by a more classical surjectivity. Other non-additive preservers are investigated next. Motivated by a result on spectrum-preserving diffeomorphisms of \textit{L. Baribeau} and \textit{T. Ransford} [Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 32, No.~1, 8--14 (2000; Zbl 1022.15010)], the author characterizes diffeomorphisms that preserve the determinant on complex matrices. The author goes on with the structure theorem on the continuous bijections that preserve commutativity on \({\mathcal M}_n(C)\) in both directions. Its proof is sketched, as well. The main idea is the reduction to the mappings which preserve orthogonality on rank-one idempotents. The final chapter is devoted to adjacency preserving maps and illuminates some recent improvements in reducing the assumptions on them (removing surjectivity/injectivity, reducing the `both directions' assumptions \dots). The article concludes with a connection between adjacency preserving maps and mappings which preserve the order on idempotents. The author also discusses nonlinear preservers on infinite-dimensional algebras \({\mathcal B}(X)\), and on some Jordan and Lie nonassociative algebras. Copious references are given, and several research problems are dispersed throughout the article. Reviewer's remark: Some of these have already been solved, see \textit{A. Fošner} [Linear Multilinear Algebra 53, No.~5, 323--344 (2005; Zbl 1085.15002)] and \textit{G. Lešnjak} and \textit{N.--S. Sze} [Linear Algebra Appl. 414, No.~1, 383--388 (2006; Zbl 1096.15008)].