On similarity to contraction semigroups and tensor products, I

Abstract

In the context of finite tensor products of Hilbert spaces, we prove that similarity of a tensor product of operator semigroups to a contraction semigroup is equivalent to the corresponding similarity for each factor, after an appropriate rescaling. A similar result holds with contractivity replaced by quasi-contractivity. This splitting phenomenon allows us to construct new and, in a sense, the strongest possible examples of $C_0$-semigroups not similar to contractions, thus completing an important chapter of the theory. We also address the discrete setting and relate it to our results.