Abstract
The polar decomposition for a matrix A is A=UB, where B is a positive Hermitian matrix and U is unitary (or, if A is not square, an isometry). This paper shows that the ability to apply a Hamiltonian 0 A^† A 0 translates into the ability to perform the transformations e^-iBt and U in a deterministic fashion. We show how to use the quantum polar decomposition algorithm to solve the quantum Procrustes problem, to perform pretty good measurements, to find the positive Hamiltonian closest to any Hamiltonian, and to perform a Hamiltonian version of the quantum singular value transformation.