 Reducing subspace of a Hilbert-space operator

A closed subspace of a Hilbert space reduces a bounded operator when both the operator and its adjoint leave the subspace invariant. Equivalently, the orthogonal projection onto it commutes with the operator: the adjoint invariance makes its orthogonal complement invariant too. For a star-closed algebra of operators, the closed span of the orbit of any vector is reducing for the whole algebra. This enables an orthogonal direct-sum decomposition into cyclic actions when constructing Borel functional calculus for a normal operator.