Related papers: On trace-convex noncommutative polynomials

We show that if $f$ is a non-negative superquadratic function, then $A\mapsto\mathrm{Tr}f(A)$ is a superquadratic function on the matrix algebra. In particular, \begin{align*} \tr f\left( {\frac{{A + B}}{2}} \right) +\tr f\left(\left|…

We discuss the following question: For a function f of two or more variables which is convex in the directions of coordinate axes, how can its trace g(x) = f(x, x, ..., x) look like? In the two-dimensional case, we provide some necessary…

A noncommutative (nc) polynomial is called (globally) trace-positive if its evaluation at any tuple of operators in a tracial von Neumann algebra has nonnegative trace. Such polynomials emerge as trace inequalities in several matrix or…

For any densely defined, lower semi-continuous trace \tau on a C*-algebra A with mutually commuting C*-subalgebras A_1, A_2, ... A_n, and a convex function f of n variables, we give a short proof of the fact that the function (x_1, x_2,…

We refine Epstein's method to prove joint concavity/convexity of matrix trace functions of Lieb type $\mathrm{Tr}\,f(\Phi(A^p)^{1/2}\Psi(B^q)\Phi(A^p)^{1/2})$ and symmetric (anti-) norm functions of the form…

A univariate trace polynomial is a polynomial in a variable x and formal trace symbols Tr(x^j). Such an expression can be naturally evaluated on matrices, where the trace symbols are evaluated as normalized traces. This paper addresses…

In this paper we prove the concavity of the $k$-trace functions, $A\mapsto (\text{Tr}_k[\exp(H+\ln A)])^{1/k}$, on the convex cone of all positive definite matrices. $\text{Tr}_k[A]$ denotes the $k_{\mathrm{th}}$ elementary symmetric…

The main result of this note is a tracial Nullstellensatz for free noncommutative polynomials evaluated at tuples of matrices of all sizes: Suppose f_1,...,f_r,f are free polynomials, and tr(f) vanishes whenever all tr(f_j) vanish. Then…

We establish an invertibility criterion for free polynomials and free functions evaluated on some tuples of matrices. We show that if the derivative is nonsingular on some domain closed with respect to direct sums and similarity, the…

Matrix extension of a scalar function of a single variable is well-studied in literature. Of particular interest is the trace of such functions. It is known that for diagonalizable matrices, $M$, the function $g(M) = \text{Tr}(f(M)) =…

A subspace of an algebra with involution is called a Lie skew-ideal if it is closed under Lie products with skew-symmetric elements. Lie skew-ideals are classified in central simple algebras with involution (there are eight of them for…

It is well known that the sum of negative (positive) eigenvalues of some finite Hermitian matrix $V$ is concave (convex) with respect to $V$. Using the theory of the spectral shift function we generalize this property to self-adjoint…

In this paper we show that for a non-negative operator monotone function $f$ on $[0, \infty)$ such that $f(0)= 0$ and for any positive semidefinite matrices $A$ and $B$, $$ Tr((A-B)(f(A)-f(B))) \le Tr(|A-B|f(|A-B|)). $$ When the function…

Let $p$ be a polynomial in the non-commuting variables $(a,x)=(a_1,...,a_{g_a},x_1,...,x_{g_x})$. If $p$ is convex in the variables $x$, then $p$ has degree two in $x$ and moreover, $p$ has the form $p = L + \Lambda ^T \Lambda,$ where $L$…

In this paper, we prove the convexity of trace functionals $$(A,B,C)\mapsto \text{Tr}|B^{p}AC^{q}|^{s},$$ for parameters $(p,q,s)$ that are best possible, where $B$ and $C$ are any $n$-by-$n$ positive definite matrices, and $A$ is any…

We study trace functions on the form $ t\to\tr f(A+tB) $ where $ f $ is a real function defined on the positive half-line, and $ A $ and $ B $ are matrices such that $ A $ is positive definite and $ B $ is positive semi-definite. If $ f $…

This paper concerns matrix "convex" functions of (free) noncommuting variables, $x = (x_1, \ldots, x_g)$. Helton and McCullough showed that a polynomial in $x$ which is matrix convex is of degree two or less. We prove a more general result:…

Let $\Rx$ denote the ring of polynomials in $g$ freely non-commuting variables $x=(x_1,...,x_g)$. There is a natural involution * on $\Rx$ determined by $x_j^*=x_j$ and $(pq)^*=q^* p^*$ and a free polynomial $p\in\Rx$ is symmetric if it is…

We show that Connes' embedding conjecture on von Neumann algebras is equivalent to the existence of certain algebraic certificates for a polynomial in noncommuting variables to satisfy the following nonnegativity condition: The trace is…

We present a characterization of operator log-convex functions by using positive linear mappings. Moreover, we study the non-commutative f-divergence functional of operator log-convex functions. In particular, we prove that f is operator…