Tim Netzer
Given a quadratic module, we construct its universal C*-algebra, and then use methods and notions from the theory of C*-algebras to study the quadratic module. We define residually finite-dimensional quadratic modules, and characterize them…
Operator systems connect operator algebra, free semialgebraic geometry and quantum information theory. In this work we generalize operator systems and many of their theorems. While positive semidefinite matrices form the underlying…
We transfer the theory of slack operators and sums-of-squares-criteria for lifts from convex cones to operator systems. These allow to study the following question, among others: Given an abstract operator system, is its enveloping…
We investigate the generalized moment membership problem for matrices, a formulation equivalent to Skolem's problem for linear recurrence sequences. We show decidability for orthogonal, unitary, and real eigenvalue matrices, and…
Convex optimization encompasses a wide range of optimization problems that contain many efficiently solvable subclasses. Interior point methods are currently the state-of-the-art approach for solving such problems, particularly effective…
We give a sufficient condition for a model theoretic structure $B$ to 'inherit' quantifier elimination from another structure $A$. This yields an alternative proof of one of the main result from \cite{kle}, namely quantifier elimination for…
We show that the Carath\'{e}odory number of the joint numerical range of $d$ many bounded self-adjoint operators is at most $d-1$, and even at most $d-2$ if the underlying Hilbert space has dimension at least $3$. This extension of the…
We prove the existence of self-dual tensor products for finite-dimensional convex cones and operator systems. This is a consequence of a more general result: Every cone system, which is contained in its dual, can be enlarged to a self-dual…
We develop a framework to analyse invariant decompositions of elements of tensor product spaces. Namely, we define an invariant decomposition with indices arranged on a simplicial complex, and which is explicitly invariant under a group…
In this paper we show the existence of approximate completely positive semidefinite (cpsd) factorizations with a cpsd-rank bounded above (almost) independently from the cpsd-rank of the initial matrix. This is particularly relevant since…
The Pythagoras number of a sum of squares is the shortest length among its sums of squares representations. In many algebras, for example real polynomial algebras in two or more variables, there exists no upper bound on the Pythagoras…
We systematically study how properties of abstract operator systems help classifying linear matrix inequality definitions of sets. Our main focus is on polyhedral cones, the 3-dimensional Lorentz cone, where we can completely describe all…
We provide sufficient conditions for systems of polynomial equations over general (real or complex) algebras to have a solution. This generalizes known results on quaternions, octonions and matrix algebras. We also generalize the…
There are several important abstract operator systems with the convex cone of positive semidefinite matrices at the first level. Well-known are the operator systems of separable matrices, of positive semidefinite matrices, and of block…
It is well-known that tensor decompositions show separations, that is, that constraints on local terms (such as positivity) may entail an arbitrarily high cost in their representation. Here we show that many of these separations disappear…
In many contexts one encounters Hermitian operators $M$ on a Hilbert space whose dimension is so large that it is impossible to write down all matrix entries in an orthonormal basis. How does one determine whether such $M$ is positive…
This is a survey article on the currently very active research area of free (=non-commutative) real algebra and geometry. We first review some of the important results from the commutative theory, and then explain similarities and…
It is well-known that every polyhedral cone is finitely generated (i.e. polytopal), and vice versa. Surprisingly, the two notions differ almost always for non-commutative versions of such cones. This was obtained as a byproduct in an…
Containment problems for polytopes and spectrahedra appear in various applications, such as linear and semidefinite programming, combinatorics, convexity and stability analysis of differential equations. This paper explores the theoretical…
An important result in real algebraic geometry is the projection theorem: every projection of a semialgebraic set is again semialgebraic. This theorem and some of its conclusions lie at the basis of many other results, for example the…