Spectral analysis of linear operators has always been one of the more active and important fields of operator theory, and of extensive interest to many operator theorists. Its devel opments usually are closely related to certain important problems in contemporary mathematics and physics. In the last 20 years, many new theories and interesting results have been discovered. Now, in this direction, the fields are perhaps wider and deeper than ever. This book is devoted to the study of hyponormal and semi-hyponormal operators. The main results we shall present are those of the author and his collaborators and colleagues, as well as some concerning related topics. To some extent, hyponormal and semi-hyponormal opera tors are "close" to normal ones. Although those two classes of operators contain normal operators as a subclass, what we are interested in are, naturally, nonnormal operators in those classes. With the well-studied normal operators in hand, we cer tainly wish to know the properties of hyponormal and semi-hypo normal operators which resemble those of normal operators. But more important than that, the investigations should be concen trated on the phenomena which only occur in the nonnormal cases.

Spectral analysis of linear operators has always been one of the more active and important fields of operator theory, and of extensive interest to many operator theorists. Its devel opments usually are closely related to certain important problems in contemporary mathematics and physics. In the last 20 years, many new theories and interesting results have been discovered. Now, in this direction, the fields are perhaps wider and deeper than ever. This book is devoted to the study of hyponormal and semi-hyponormal operators. The main results we shall present are those of the author and his collaborators and colleagues, as well as some concerning related topics. To some extent, hyponormal and semi-hyponormal opera tors are "close" to normal ones. Although those two classes of operators contain normal operators as a subclass, what we are interested in are, naturally, nonnormal operators in those classes. With the well-studied normal operators in hand, we cer tainly wish to know the properties of hyponormal and semi-hypo normal operators which resemble those of normal operators. But more important than that, the investigations should be concen trated on the phenomena which only occur in the nonnormal cases.

This work is a concise introduction to spectral theory of Hilbert space operators. Its emphasis is on recent aspects of theory and detailed proofs, with the primary goal of offering a modern introductory textbook for a first graduate course in the subject. The coverage of topics is thorough, as the book explores various delicate points and hidden features often left untreated. Spectral Theory of Operators on Hilbert Spaces is addressed to an interdisciplinary audience of graduate students in mathematics, statistics, economics, engineering, and physics. It will also be useful to working mathematicians using spectral theory of Hilbert space operators, as well as for scientists wishing to apply spectral theory to their field. ​

Spectral analysis of linear operators has always been one of the more active and important fields of operator theory, and of extensive interest to many operator theorists. Its devel opments usually are closely related to certain important problems in contemporary mathematics and physics. In the last 20 years, many new theories and interesting results have been discovered. Now, in this direction, the fields are perhaps wider and deeper than ever. This book is devoted to the study of hyponormal and semi-hyponormal operators. The main results we shall present are those of the author and his collaborators and colleagues, as well as some concerning related topics. To some extent, hyponormal and semi-hyponormal opera tors are "close" to normal ones. Although those two classes of operators contain normal operators as a subclass, what we are interested in are, naturally, nonnormal operators in those classes. With the well-studied normal operators in hand, we cer tainly wish to know the properties of hyponormal and semi-hypo normal operators which resemble those of normal operators. But more important than that, the investigations should be concen trated on the phenomena which only occur in the nonnormal cases.

The present lectures are based on a course deli vered by the authors at the Uni versi ty of Bucharest, in the winter semester 1985-1986. Without aiming at completeness, the topics selected cover all the major questions concerning hyponormal operators. Our main purpose is to provide the reader with a straightforward access to an active field of research which is strongly related to the spectral and perturbation theories of Hilbert space operators, singular integral equations and scattering theory. We have in view an audience composed especially of experts in operator theory or integral equations, mathematical physicists and graduate students. The book is intended as a reference for the basic results on hyponormal operators, but has the structure of a textbook. Parts of it can also be used as a second year graduate course. As prerequisites the reader is supposed to be acquainted with the basic principles of functional analysis and operator theory as covered for instance by Reed and Simon [1]. A t several stages of preparation of the manuscript we were pleased to benefit from proper comments made by our cOlleagues: Grigore Arsene, Tiberiu Constantinescu, Raul Curto, Jan Janas, Bebe Prunaru, Florin Radulescu, Khrysztof Rudol, Konrad Schmudgen, Florian-Horia Vasilescu. We warmly thank them all. We are indebted to Professor Israel Gohberg, the editor of this series, for his constant encouragement and his valuable mathematical advice. We wish to thank Mr. Benno Zimmermann, the Mathematics Editor at Birkhauser Verlag, for cooperation and assistance during the preparation of the manuscript.

By a Hilbert-space operator we mean a bounded linear transformation be tween separable complex Hilbert spaces. Decompositions and models for Hilbert-space operators have been very active research topics in operator theory over the past three decades. The main motivation behind them is the in variant subspace problem: does every Hilbert-space operator have a nontrivial invariant subspace? This is perhaps the most celebrated open question in op erator theory. Its relevance is easy to explain: normal operators have invariant subspaces (witness: the Spectral Theorem), as well as operators on finite dimensional Hilbert spaces (witness: canonical Jordan form). If one agrees that each of these (i. e. the Spectral Theorem and canonical Jordan form) is important enough an achievement to dismiss any further justification, then the search for nontrivial invariant subspaces is a natural one; and a recalcitrant one at that. Subnormal operators have nontrivial invariant subspaces (extending the normal branch), as well as compact operators (extending the finite-dimensional branch), but the question remains unanswered even for equally simple (i. e. simple to define) particular classes of Hilbert-space operators (examples: hyponormal and quasinilpotent operators). Yet the invariant subspace quest has certainly not been a failure at all, even though far from being settled. The search for nontrivial invariant subspaces has undoubtly yielded a lot of nice results in operator theory, among them, those concerning decompositions and models for Hilbert-space operators. This book contains nine chapters.

This textbook introduces spectral theory for bounded linear operators by focusing on (i) the spectral theory and functional calculus for normal operators acting on Hilbert spaces; (ii) the Riesz-Dunford functional calculus for Banach-space operators; and (iii) the Fredholm theory in both Banach and Hilbert spaces. Detailed proofs of all theorems are included and presented with precision and clarity, especially for the spectral theorems, allowing students to thoroughly familiarize themselves with all the important concepts. Covering both basic and more advanced material, the five chapters and two appendices of this volume provide a modern treatment on spectral theory. Topics range from spectral results on the Banach algebra of bounded linear operators acting on Banach spaces to functional calculus for Hilbert and Banach-space operators, including Fredholm and multiplicity theories. Supplementary propositions and further notes are included as well, ensuring a wide range of topics in spectral theory are covered. Spectral Theory of Bounded Linear Operators is ideal for graduate students in mathematics, and will also appeal to a wider audience of statisticians, engineers, and physicists. Though it is mostly self-contained, a familiarity with functional analysis, especially operator theory, will be helpful.