Remarks on Invariant Subspace Lattices

Abstract

If A is a bounded linear operator on an infinite-dimensional complex Hilbert space H, let lat A denote the collection of all subspaces of H that are invariant under A; i.e., all closed linear subspaces M such that x ∈ M implies (Ax) ∈ M. There is very little known about the question: which families F of subspaces are invariant subspace lattices in the sense that they satisfy F = lat A for some A? (See [5] for a summary of most of what is known in answer to this question.) Clearly, if F is an invariant subspace lattice, then {0} ∈ F, H ∈ F and F is closed under arbitrary intersections and spans. Thus, every invariant subspace lattice is a complete lattice.