Von Neumann's theorem

Last updated December 13, 2023

In mathematics, von Neumann's theorem is a result in the operator theory of linear operators on Hilbert spaces.

Statement of the theorem

Let $G$ and $H$ be Hilbert spaces, and let $T:\operatorname {dom} (T)\subseteq G\to H$ be an unbounded operator from $G$ into $H.$ Suppose that $T$ is a closed operator and that $T$ is densely defined, that is, $\operatorname {dom} (T)$ is dense in $G.$ Let $T^{*}:\operatorname {dom} \left(T^{*}\right)\subseteq H\to G$ denote the adjoint of $T.$ Then $T^{*}T$ is also densely defined, and it is self-adjoint. That is,

\left(T^{*}T\right)^{*}=T^{*}T

and the operators on the right- and left-hand sides have the same dense domain in $G.$ ^[1]

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References

↑ Acuña, Pablo (2021). "von Neumann's Theorem Revisited" . Foundations of Physics. 51 (3): 73. doi:10.1007/s10701-021-00474-5. ISSN 0015-9018. S2CID 237887405.

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[1] Acuña, Pablo (2021). "von Neumann's Theorem Revisited" . Foundations of Physics. 51 (3): 73. doi:10.1007/s10701-021-00474-5. ISSN 0015-9018. S2CID 237887405.

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v t e Spectral theory and ^*-algebras
Basic concepts	Involution/-algebra Banach algebra B-algebra C-algebra Noncommutative topology Projection-valued measure Spectrum Spectrum of a C-algebra Spectral radius Operator space
Main results	Gelfand–Mazur theorem Gelfand–Naimark theorem Gelfand representation Polar decomposition Singular value decomposition Spectral theorem Spectral theory of normal C*-algebras
Special Elements/Operators	Isospectral Normal operator Hermitian/Self-adjoint operator Unitary operator Unit
Spectrum	Krein–Rutman theorem Normal eigenvalue Spectrum of a C*-algebra Spectral radius Spectral asymmetry Spectral gap
Decomposition	Decomposition of a spectrum Continuous Point Residual Approximate point Compression Direct integral Discrete Spectral abscissa
Spectral Theorem	Borel functional calculus Min-max theorem Positive operator-valued measure Projection-valued measure Riesz projector Rigged Hilbert space Spectral theorem Spectral theory of compact operators Spectral theory of normal C*-algebras
Special algebras	Amenable Banach algebra With an Approximate identity Banach function algebra Disk algebra Nuclear C*-algebra Uniform algebra Von Neumann algebra Tomita–Takesaki theory
Finite-Dimensional	Alon–Boppana bound Bauer–Fike theorem Numerical range Schur–Horn theorem
Generalizations	Dirac spectrum Essential spectrum Pseudospectrum Structure space (Shilov boundary)
Miscellaneous	Abstract index group Banach algebra cohomology Cohen–Hewitt factorization theorem Extensions of symmetric operators Fredholm theory Limiting absorption principle Schröder–Bernstein theorems for operator algebras Sherman–Takeda theorem Unbounded operator
Examples	Wiener algebra
Applications	Almost Mathieu operator Corona theorem Hearing the shape of a drum (Dirichlet eigenvalue) Heat kernel Kuznetsov trace formula Lax pair Proto-value function Ramanujan graph Rayleigh–Faber–Krahn inequality Spectral geometry Spectral method Spectral theory of ordinary differential equations Sturm–Liouville theory Superstrong approximation Transfer operator Transform theory Weyl law Wiener–Khinchin theorem

v t e Hilbert spaces
Basic concepts	Adjoint Inner product and L-semi-inner product Hilbert space and Prehilbert space Orthogonal complement Orthonormal basis
Main results	Bessel's inequality Cauchy–Schwarz inequality Riesz representation
Other results	Hilbert projection theorem Parseval's identity Polarization identity (Parallelogram law)
Maps	Compact operator on Hilbert space Densely defined Hermitian form Hilbert–Schmidt Normal Self-adjoint Sesquilinear form Trace class Unitary
Examples	Cⁿ(K) with K compact & n<∞ Segal–Bargmann F