How does every operator split as a unitary times a positive operator, mirroring z = (z/|z|)|z| for complex numbers?
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The complex-number analogy
Write for , and record the dictionary: unit circle to unitary, to , to the positive operator .
Statement and proof of the polar decomposition
State the theorem, extend the SVD lists to orthonormal bases, define by , prove unitary, derive the formula for , and verify .
Worked example
Compute , and the unitary from the SVD, and show that the two factors share no diagonalizing orthonormal basis.
A common diagonalizing basis exactly when is normal
For , build and from an orthonormal eigenbasis of a normal , and prove the converse from the product of two diagonal matrices.