English

Factorization of positive definite kernels. Correspondences: $C^{*}$-algebraic and operator valued context vs scalar valued kernels

Operator Algebras 2025-05-28 v1 Mathematical Physics Functional Analysis math.MP

Abstract

We introduce and study a class M\mathcal{M} of generalized positive definite kernels of the form K ⁣:X×XL(A,L(H))K\colon X\times X\to L(\mathfrak{A},L(H)), where A\mathfrak{A} is a unital CC^{*}-algebra and HH a Hilbert space. These kernels encode operator-valued correlations governed by the algebraic structure of A\mathfrak{A}, and generalize classical scalar-valued positive definite kernels, completely positive (CP) maps, and states on CC^{*}-algebras. Our approach is based on a scalar-valued kernel K~ ⁣:(X×A×H)2C\tilde{K}\colon(X\times\mathfrak{A}\times H)^{2}\to\mathbb{C} associated to KK, which defines a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) and enables a concrete, representation-theoretic analysis of the structure of such kernels. We show that every KMK\in\mathcal{M} admits a Stinespring-type factorization K(s,t)(a)=V(s)π(a)V(t)K(s,t)(a)=V(s)^{*}\pi(a)V(t). In analogy with the Radon--Nikodym theory for CP maps, we characterize kernel domination KLK\leq L in terms of a positive operator AπL(A)A\in\pi_{L}(\mathfrak{A})' satisfying K(s,t)(a)=VL(s)πL(a)AVL(t)K(s,t)(a)=V_{L}(s)^{*}\pi_{L}(a)AV_{L}(t). We further show that when πL\pi_{L} is irreducible, domination implies scalar proportionality, thus recovering the classical correspondence between pure states and irreducible representations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2505.21037,
  title  = {Factorization of positive definite kernels. Correspondences: $C^{*}$-algebraic and operator valued context vs scalar valued kernels},
  author = {Palle E. T. Jorgensen and James Tian},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.21037},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T02:42:33.986Z