Geometric significance of Toeplitz kernels

Let $L^2$ be the Lebesgue space of square-integrable functions on the unit circle. We show that the injectivity problem for Toeplitz operators is linked to the existence of geodesics in the Grassmann manifold of $L^2$. We also investigate this connection in the context of restricted Grassmann manifolds associated to $p$-Schatten ideals and essentially commuting projections.