Spectral isometries onto algebras having a separating family of finite-dimensional irreducible representations

Abstract

We prove that if $\mathcal{A}$ is a complex, unital semisimple Banach algebra and $\mathcal{B}$ is a complex, unital Banach algebra having a separating family of finite-dimensional irreducible representations, then any unital linear operator from $\mathcal{A}$ onto $\mathcal{B}$ which preserves the spectral radius is a Jordan morphism.