Automatic selfadjoint-ideal semigroups for finite matrices

Abstract

The notion of automatic selfadjointness of all ideals in a multiplicative semigroup of the bounded linear operators on a separable Hilbert space B(H) arose in a 2015 discussion with Heydar Radjavi who pointed out that B(H) and the finite rank operators F(H) possessed this unitary invariant property which category we named SI semigroups (for automatic selfadjoint ideal semigroups). Equivalent to the SI property is the solvability, for each A in the semigroup, of the bilinear operator equation A⁎=XAY which we believe is a new connection relating the semigroup theory with the theory of operator equations.We found in our earlier works in the subject that even at the basic level of singly generated semigroups, the investigation of SI semigroups led to interesting algebraic and analytic phenomena when generated by rank one operators, normal operators, partial and power partial isometries, subnormal-hyponormal-essentially normal operators, and weighted shift operators; and generated by commuting families of normal operators.In this paper, we focus on a separate Mn(C) treatment for singly generated SI semigroups that requires studying the solvability of the bilinear matrix equation A⁎=XAY in a multiplicative semigroup of finite matrices. This separate focus is needed because the techniques employed in our earlier works we could not adapt to finite matrices. In this paper we find that for certain classes of generators, being a partial isometry is equivalent to generating an SI semigroup. Such classes are: degree 2 nilpotent matrices, weighted shifts, and non-normal Jordan matrices. For the key tools used to establish these equivalences, we developed a number of necessary conditions for singly generated semigroups to be SI for the very general classes: nonselfadjoint matrices, nonzero nilpotent matrices, nonselfadjoint invertible matrices, and Jordan blocks. We also show, for a nonselfadjoint matrix generator in an SI semigroup, the matrix being a partial isometry is equivalent to having norm one. And as an aside, we also prove necessary generator conditions for the SI property when generated by matrices with nonnegative entries.