Self-adjoint

In mathematics, and more specifically in abstract algebra, an element x of a *-algebra is self-adjoint if . A self-adjoint element is also Hermitian, though the reverse doesn't necessarily hold. A collection C of elements of a star-algebra is self-adjoint if it is closed under the involution operation. For example, if then since in a star-algebra, the set {x,y} is a self-adjoint set even though x and y need not be self-adjoint elements. In functional analysis, a linear operator on a Hilbert space is called self-adjoint if it is equal to its own adjoint A^∗. See self-adjoint operator for a detailed discussion. If the Hilbert space is finite-dimensional and an orthonormal basis has been chosen, then the operator A is self-adjoint if and only if the matrix describing A with respect to this basis is Hermitian, i.e. if it is equal to its own conjugate transpose. Hermitian matrices are also called self-adjoint. In a , a morphism is called self-adjoint if ; this is possible only for an endomorphism .