Operator realizations of non-commutative analytic functions

Abstract: A realization is a triple, $(A,b,c)$, consisting of a $d-$tuple, $A= (A =1, \cdots, A_d )$, $d\in \mathbb{N}$, of bounded linear operators on a separable, complex Hilbert space, $\mathcal{H}$, and vectors $b,c \in \mathcal{H}$. Any such realization defines a (uniformly) analytic non-commutative (NC) function in an open neighbourhood of the origin, $0:= (0, \cdots , 0)$, of the NC universe of $d-$tuples of square matrices of any fixed size via the formula $h(X) = I \otimes b^* ( I \otimes I ={\mathcal{H}} - \sum X_j \otimes A_j ) ^{-1} I \otimes c$. It is well-known that an NC function has a finite-dimensional realization if and only if it is a non-commutative rational function that is defined at $0$. Such finite realizations contain valuable information about the NC rational functions they generate. By considering more general, infinite-dimensional realizations we study, construct and characterize more general classes of uniformly analytic NC functions. In particular, we show that an NC function is (uniformly) entire, if and only if it has a jointly compact and quasinilpotent realization. Restricting our results to one variable shows that an analytic Taylor-MacLaurin series extends globally to an entire or meromorphic function if and only if it has a realization whose component operator is compact and quasinilpotent, or compact, respectively. This then motivates our definition of the set of global uniformly meromorphic NC functions as the (universal) skew field (of fractions) generated by NC rational expressions in the (semi-free ideal) ring of NC functions with jointly compact realizations.