 Unitary extension of a finite-dimensional isometry

A linear isometry from a subspace of a finite-dimensional Hilbert space into the same ambient space extends to a unitary operator. Complete an orthonormal basis of the input subspace and its isometric image to full orthonormal bases, then map the first to the second. The equal complement dimensions make this possible. Orthogonality of the specified image columns, not normalization alone, is essential. In an infinite-dimensional space arbitrary isometries need not be surjective; the finite-dimensional same-space hypothesis cannot be dropped.