Bernstein functions, complete hyperexpansivity and subnormality—I

Abstract

Special classes of functions on the classical semigroupN of non-negative integers, as defined using the classical backward and forward difference operators, get associated in a natural way with special classes of bounded linear operators on Hilbert spaces. In particular, the class of completely monotone functions, which is a subclass of the class of positive definite functions ofN, gets associated with subnormal operators, and the class of completely alternating functions, which is a subclass of the class of negative definite functions onN, with completely hyper-expansive operators. The interplay between the theories of completely monotone and completely alternating functions has previously been exploited to unravel some interesting connections between subnormals and completely hyperexpansive operators. For example, it is known that a completely hyperexpansive weighted shift with the weight sequence {α_n}(n≥0) (of positive reals) gives rise to a subnormal weighted shift whose weight sequence is {1/α_n}(n≥0). The present paper discovers some new connections between the two classes of operators by building upon some well-known results in the literature that relate positive and negative definite functions on cartesian products of arbitrary sets using Bernstein functions. In particular, it is observed that the weight sequence of a completely hyperexpansive weighted shift with the weight sequence {α_n}(n≥0) (of positive reals) gives rise to a subnormal weighted shift whose weight sequence is {α_n+1/α_n}(n≥0). It is also established that the weight sequence of any completely hyperexpansive weighted shift is a Hausdorff moment sequence. Further, the connection of Bernstein functions with Stieltjes functions and generalizations thereof is exploited to link certain classes of subnormal weighted shifts to completely hyperexpansive ones.