$k$-Regular Factorizations and Joint Invariant Subspaces of Completely Non-Coisometric Row Contractions

This article investigates $k$-regular factorizations of characteristic functions associated with completely non-coisometric row contractions. In this setting, a one-to-one correspondence is established between chains of joint invariant subspaces $${\mathcal{M}}_1\subseteq \cdots \subseteq {\mathcal{M}}_{k-1}$$ and $k$-regular factorizations of the characteristic function of a completely non-coisometric row contraction. A functional model corresponding to a given $k$-regular factorization of a purely contractive multi-analytic operator satisfying the Szegő condition is further constructed, and the associated chain of joint invariant subspaces is characterized in terms of the underlying multi-analytic factors. Finally, it is shown that any such chain of joint invariant subspaces induces a block upper-triangular decomposition of the underlying row contraction, and that the characteristic function of each diagonal block coincides with the purely contractive part of the corresponding factor in the $k$-regular factorization.