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In mathematics (specifically linear algebra, operator theory, and functional analysis) as well as physics, a linear operator acting on an inner product space is called positive-semidefinite (or non-negative) if, for every (), , and , , where is the domain of .
A form is called strongly positive if it is a linear combination of products of semi-positive forms, with positive real coefficients. A real (p, p) -form η {\displaystyle \eta } on an n -dimensional complex manifold M is called weakly positive if for all strongly positive (n-p, n-p) -forms ζ with compact support, we have ∫ M η ∧ ζ ≥ 0 ...
Normal operators are important because the spectral theorem holds for them. The class of normal operators is well understood. Examples of normal operators are unitary operators: N* = N −1; Hermitian operators (i.e., self-adjoint operators): N* = N; skew-Hermitian operators: N* = −N; positive operators: N = MM* for some M (so N is self-adjoint).
The operators must yield real eigenvalues, since they are values which may come up as the result of the experiment. Mathematically this means the operators must be Hermitian. [1] The probability of each eigenvalue is related to the projection of the physical state on the subspace related to that eigenvalue.
In mathematics, Loewner order is the partial order defined by the convex cone of positive semi-definite matrices. This order is usually employed to generalize the definitions of monotone and concave/convex scalar functions to monotone and concave/convex Hermitian valued functions. These functions arise naturally in matrix and operator theory ...
In functional analysis and quantum information science, a positive operator-valued measure (POVM) is a measure whose values are positive semi-definite operators on a Hilbert space. POVMs are a generalization of projection-valued measures (PVM) and, correspondingly, quantum measurements described by POVMs are a generalization of quantum ...
In practical terms, having an essentially self-adjoint operator is almost as good as having a self-adjoint operator, since we merely need to take the closure to obtain a self-adjoint operator. In physics, the term Hermitian refers to symmetric as well as self-adjoint operators alike. The subtle difference between the two is generally overlooked.
Let denote the space of Hermitian matrices, + denote the set consisting of positive semi-definite Hermitian matrices and + + denote the set of positive definite Hermitian matrices. For operators on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space we require that they be trace class and self-adjoint, in which case similar definitions apply, but we discuss ...