Complex inner product spaces: are $A^*A$ and $AA^*$ always unitarily equivalent

adjoint-operatorsinner-productsisometryoperator-theory

Problem 2(b) from Sec 79, pg 158 of PR Halmos's Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces:

If $A$ is an arbitrary linear transformation on a complex inner product space $V$ (not given to be finite-dimensional), does it follow that $A^*A$ and $AA^*$ are always unitarily equivalent?

(Nomenclature: transformations $A$ and $B$ on $V$ are said to be unitarily equivalent if there exists some unitary transformation $U$ on $V$ such that $A = U^{-1}BU$. A unitary transformation on $V$, in turn, is the same as an invertible isometry on $V$.)


Am trying to write a proof that works in the infinite-dimensional case, assuming that the answer to the question is "yes". Assuming that the answer is going to be "no", am also trying to think of a counterexample in finite or infinite dimensional cases. Based on the intuition of the underlying "similarity", I suspect (rightly or wrongly) that if $A$ is not a normal transformation (that is, if $A^*A \neq AA^*$), then $A$ should serve as a counterexample. An explicit counterexample in finite-dimensions could perhaps be the one wherein $\rho(A^*A) = n \neq \rho(AA^*)$ where $n$ is the dimension of the underlying vector space. Haven't been able to proceed further along these lines however. Would appreciate guidance. Thanks.

Best Answer

I think this is not true for initinite-dimensional spaces: Put $V = \ell^2$ and set $A$ to be the "right shift", i.e. $A((x_1, x_2, x_3 \dots)) = (0, x_1, x_2, \dots)$. Then $A^*$ is the "left shift" $(x_1, x_2, \dots) \mapsto (x_2, x_3, \dots)$, so $A^* A$ is the identity while $AA^*$ is $(x_1, x_2, \dots) \mapsto (0, x_2, x_3, \dots)$. One of these is bijective while the other isn't so they can't be (unitarily) equivalent.