Covariant representations of subproduct systems

A celebrated theorem of Pimsner states that a covariant representation $T$ of a $C^*$-correspondence $E$ extends to a $C^*$-representation of the Toeplitz algebra of $E$ if and only if $T$ is isometric. This paper is mainly concerned with finding conditions for a covariant representation of a \emph{subproduct system} to extend to a $C^*$-representation of the Toeplitz algebra. This framework is much more general than the former. We are able to find sufficient conditions, and show that in important special cases, they are also necessary. Further results include the universality of the tensor algebra, dilations of completely contractive covariant representations, Wold decompositions and von Neumann inequalities.