  We give a Riemannian structure to the set $\Sigma$ of positive invertible
unitized Hilbert-Schmidt operators, by means of the trace inner product. This
metric makes of $\Sigma$ a nonpositively curved, simply connected and
metrically complete Hilbert manifold. The manifold $\Sigma$ is a universal
model for symmetric spaces of the noncompact type: any such space can be
isometrically embedded into $\Sigma$. We give an intrinsic algebraic
characterization of convex closed submanifolds $M$. We study the group of
isometries of such submanifolds: we prove that $G_M$, the Banach-Lie group
generated by $M$, acts isometrically and transitively on $M$. Moreover, $G_M$
admits a polar decomposition relative to $M$, namely $G_M\simeq M\times K$ as
Hilbert manifolds (here $K$ is the isotropy of $p=1$ for the action $I_g:
p\mapsto gpg^*$), and also $G_M/K\simeq M$ so $M$ is an homogeneous space. We
obtain several decomposition theorems by means of geodesically convex
submanifolds $M$. These decompositions are obtained \textit{via} a nonlinear
but analytic orthogonal projection $\Pi_M:\Sigma\to M$, a map which is a
contraction for the geodesic distance. As a byproduct, we prove the isomorphism
$NM\simeq\Sigma$ (here $NM$ stands for the normal bundle of a convex closed
submanifold $M$). Writing down the factorizations for fixed ${\rm e}^a$, we
obtain ${\rm e}^a={\rm e}^x{\rm e}^v{\rm e}^x$ with ${\rm e}^x\in M$ and $v$
orthogonal to $M$ at $p=1$. As a corollary we obtain decompositions for the
full group of invertible elements $G\simeq M\times \exp(T_1M^{\perp})\times K$.
