Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / ib / Paper 3 / 9G / d / Solution

Proceed by induction on $\dim V$. Over $\mathbb{C}$, $\alpha$ has an eigenvector $v$, say $\alpha v=\lambda v$. The normal operator $\alpha -\lambda I$ satisfies the norm equality from part (c), soThus ${\alpha }^{\ast }v=\overline{\lambda }v$. Part (a) now shows that $v^{\perp }$ is invariant under both $\alpha$ and ${\alpha }^{\ast }$. The restriction of $\alpha$ to $v^{\perp }$ is normal. By induction it has an orthonormal eigenbasis, and adjoining the normalized vector $v$ proves the finite-dimensional spectral theorem for normal operators.

Hence