The local index formula in semifinite Von Neumann algebras I: Spectral flow

We generalise the local index formula of Connes and Moscovici to the case of spectral triples for a *-subalgebra A of a general semifinite von Neumann algebra. In this setting it gives a formula for spectral flow along a path joining an unbounded self-adjoint Breuer-Fredholm operator, affiliated to the von Neumann algebra, to a unitarily equivalent operator. Our proof is novel even in the setting of the original theorem and relies on the introduction of a function valued cocycle which is ‘almost’ a (b,B)-cocycle in the cyclic cohomology of A.     

The local index formula in semifinite von Neumann algebras II: The even case

We generalise the even local index formula of Connes and Moscovici to the case of spectral triples for a *-subalgebra A of a general semifinite von Neumann algebra. The proof is a variant of that for the odd case which appears in Part I. To allow for algebras with a non-trivial centre we have to establish a theory of unbounded Fredholm operators in a general semifinite von Neumann algebra and in particular prove a generalised McKean-Singer formula.     

Quasi-multipliers and algebrizations of an operator space

Let X be an operator space, let φ be a product on X, and let (X,φ) denote the algebra that one obtains. We give necessary and sufficient conditions on the bilinear mapping φ for the algebra (X,φ) to have a completely isometric representation as an algebra of operators on some Hilbert space. In particular, we give an elegant geometrical characterization of such products by using the Haagerup tensor product. Our result makes no assumptions about identities or approximate identities. Our proof is independent of the earlier result of Blecher, Ruan and Sinclair [D.P. Blecher, Z.-J. Ruan, A.M. Sinclair, A characterization of operator algebras, J. Funct. Anal. 89 (1) (1990) 188-201] which solved the case when the bilinear mapping has an identity of norm one, and our result is used to give a simple direct proof of this earlier result. We also develop further the connections between quasi-multipliers of operator spaces and their representations on a Hilbert space or their embeddings in the second dual, and show that the quasi-multipliers of operator spaces defined in [M. Kaneda, V.I. Paulsen, Quasi-multipliers of operator spaces, J. Funct. Anal. 217 (2) (2004) 347-365] coincide with their C^∗-algebraic counterparts.     

On subspaces of non-commutative Lp-spaces

We study some structural aspects of the subspaces of the non-commutative (Haagerup) L_p-spaces associated with a general (non-necessarily semi-finite) von Neumann algebra . If a subspace X of contains uniformly the spaces ?_pⁿ, n?1, it contains an almost isometric, almost 1-complemented copy of ?_p. If X contains uniformly the finite dimensional Schatten classes S_pⁿ, it contains their ?_p-direct sum too. We obtain a version of the classical Kadec-Pe?czyński dichotomy theorem for L_p-spaces, p?2. We also give operator space versions of these results. The proofs are based on previous structural results on the ultrapowers of , together with a careful analysis of the elements of an ultrapower which are disjoint from the subspace . These techniques permit to recover a recent result of N. Randrianantoanina concerning a subsequence splitting lemma for the general non-commutative L_p spaces. Various notions of p-equiintegrability are studied (one of which is equivalent to Randrianantoanina's one) and some results obtained by Haagerup, Rosenthal and Sukochev for L_p-spaces based on finite von Neumann algebras concerning subspaces of containing ?_p are extended to the general case.     

A note on spectral triples and quasidiagonality

Spectral triples (of compact type) are constructed on arbitrary separable quasidiagonal C^*$C^{*}$-algebras. On the other hand an example of a spectral triple on a non-quasidiagonal algebra is presented.     

Dirac operators and spectral triples for some fractal sets built on curves

We construct spectral triples and, in particular, Dirac operators, for the algebra of continuous functions on certain compact metric spaces. The triples are countable sums of triples where each summand is based on a curve in the space. Several fractals, like a finitely summable infinite tree and the Sierpinski gasket, fit naturally within our framework. In these cases, we show that our spectral triples do describe the geodesic distance and the Minkowski dimension as well as, more generally, the complex fractal dimensions of the space. Furthermore, in the case of the Sierpinski gasket, the associated Dixmier-type trace coincides with the normalized Hausdorff measure of dimension log3/log2.     

LINEAR MAPPINGS THAT PRESERVE THE DERIVATIONAL STRUCTURE OF C*-ALGEBRAS

Abstract

Given a C*-algebra A and a suitable set of derivations on A, we consider the algebras A _n of n-differentiable elements of A as described in [B], before passing to an analysis of important classes of bounded linear maps between two such spaces. We show that even in this general framework, all the main features of the theory for the case C^(m)(U) → C ^(p) (V) where U and V are open balls in suitable Banach spaces, are preserved (see for example [A-G-L], [Gu-L], [Ja] and [L]). As part of the theory developed we obtain a non-trivial extension of the Kleinecke-Shirokov theorem in the category of C*-algebras to unbounded partially defined *-derivations. This indicates the existence of a single mathematical principle governing both the non-increasibility of differentiability by continuous homomorphisms and the untenability of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle for bounded observables.     

Cohomological dimension of Markov compacta

We rephrase Gromov's definition of Markov compacta, introduce a subclass of Markov compacta defined by one building block and study cohomological dimensions of these compacta. We show that for a Markov compactum X, dimZ(p)X=dimQX for all but finitely many primes p where Z(p) is the localization of Z at p. We construct Markov compacta of arbitrarily large dimension having dimQX=1 as well as Markov compacta of arbitrary large rational dimension with dimZpX=1 for a given p.     

The product of operators with closed range in Hilbert C-modules

Suppose T and S are bounded adjointable operators with close range between Hilbert C^∗-modules, then TS has closed range if and only if Ker(T)+Ran(S) is an orthogonal summand, if and only if Ker(S^∗)+Ran(T^∗) is an orthogonal summand. Moreover, if the Dixmier (or minimal) angle between Ran(S) and Ker(T)∩[Ker(T)∩Ran(S)]^⊥ is positive and is an orthogonal summand then TS has closed range.     

Equivariant Spectral Triples on the Quantum SU(2) Group

We characterize all equivariant odd spectral triples for the quantum SU(2) group acting on its L ₂-space and having a nontrivial Chern character. It is shown that the dimension of an equivariant spectral triple is at least three, and given any element of the K-homology group of SU_q(2), there is an equivariant odd spectral triple of dimension 3 inducing that element. The method employed to get equivariant spectral triples in the quantum case is then used for classical SU(2), and we prove that for p < 4, there does not exist any equivariant spectral triple with nontrivial K-homology class and dimension p acting on the L ₂-space.The first author would like to acknowledge support from the National Board of Higher Mathematics, India.     

Duality and operator algebras: automatic weak* continuity and applications

We investigate some subtle and interesting phenomena in the duality theory of operator spaces and operator algebras, and give several applications of the surprising fact that certain maps are always weak^*-continuous on dual spaces. In particular, if X is a subspace of a C^*-algebra A, and if a∈A satisfies aX⊂X, then we show that the function x?ax on X is automatically weak^* continuous if either (a) X is a dual operator space, or (b) a^*X⊂X and X is a dual Banach space. These results hinge on a generalization to Banach modules of Tomiyama's famous theorem on contractive projections onto a C^*-subalgebra. Applications include a new characterization of the σ-weakly closed (possibly nonunital and nonselfadjoint) operator algebras, and a generalization of the theory of W^*-modules to the framework of modules over such algebras. We also give a Banach module characterization of σ-weakly closed spaces of operators which are invariant under the action of a von Neumann algebra.     

Boundary amenability of relatively hyperbolic groups

Let K be a fine hyperbolic graph and Γ be a group acting on K with finite quotient. We prove that Γ is exact provided that all vertex stabilizers are exact. In particular, a relatively hyperbolic group is exact if all its peripheral groups are exact. We prove this by showing that the group Γ acts amenably on a compact topological space. We include some applications to the theories of group von Neumann algebras and of measurable orbit equivalence relations.     

Vector-valued multiparameter singular integrals and pseudodifferential operators

We consider multiparameter singular integrals and pseudodifferential operators acting on mixed-norm Bochner spaces Lp₁,…,pN(Rn₁×?×RnN;X) where X is a UMD Banach space satisfying Pisier's property (α). These geometric conditions are shown to be necessary. We obtain a vector-valued version of a result by R. Fefferman and Stein, also providing a new, inductive proof of the original scalar-valued theorem. Then we extend a result of Bourgain on singular integrals in UMD spaces with an unconditional basis to a multiparameter situation. Finally we carry over a result of Yamazaki on pseudodifferential operators to the Bochner space setting, improving the known vector-valued results even in the one-parameter case.     

Singly generated planar algebras of small dimension, Part II

We classified in Bisch and Jones (Duke Math. J. 101 (2000) 41) all spherical C∗-planar algebras generated by a non-trivial 2-box subject to the condition that the dimension of N′∩M₂ is ?12. We showed that they are given by the Fuss-Catalan systems discovered in Bisch and Jones (Invent. Math. 128 (1997) 89) and one exceptional planar algebra. In the present paper, we extend these results and show that there is only one spherical C∗-planar algebra generated by a single non-trivial 2-box if the dimension of N′∩M₂ is 13. It is given by the standard invariant of the crossed product subfactor , where D₅ denotes the dihedral group with 10 elements.     

Bimodules in crossed products of von Neumann algebras

In this paper, we study bimodules over a von Neumann algebra M   in the context of an inclusion M⊆M_?αG$M\subseteq M{?}_{\alpha }G$, where G is a discrete group acting on a factor M by outer ?-automorphisms. We characterize the M  -bimodules X⊆M_?αG$X\subseteq M{?}_{\alpha }G$ that are closed in the Bures topology in terms of the subsets of G  . We show that this characterization also holds for w^?$w^{?}$-closed bimodules when G has the approximation property (AP  ), a class of groups that includes all amenable and weakly amenable ones. As an application, we prove a version of Mercer's extension theorem for certain w^?$w^{?}$-continuous surjective isometric maps on X.     

The lattice of closed ideals in the Banach algebra of operators on certain Banach spaces

Very few Banach spaces E are known for which the lattice of closed ideals in the Banach algebra of all (bounded, linear) operators on E is fully understood. Indeed, up to now the only such Banach spaces are, up to isomorphism, Hilbert spaces and the sequence spaces c₀ and ?_p for 1?p<∞. We add a new member to this family by showing that there are exactly four closed ideals in for the Banach space E?(⊕?₂ⁿ)_c0, that is, E is the c₀-direct sum of the finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces ?₂¹,?₂²,…,?₂ⁿ,… .     

Compactness in Vector-valued Banach Function Spaces

We give a new proof of a recent characterization by Diaz and Mayoral of compactness in the Lebesgue-Bochner spaces L_X^p, where X is a Banach space and 1≤ p<∞, and extend the result to vector-valued Banach function spaces E_X, where E is a Banach function space with order continuous norm. The author is supported by the ‘VIDI subsidie’ 639.032.201 in the ‘Vernieuwingsimpuls’ programme of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and by the Research Training Network HPRN-CT-2002-00281.     

Isometries, Fock spaces, and spectral analysis of Schrödinger operators on trees

We construct conjugate operators for the real part of a completely non-unitary isometry and we give applications to the spectral and scattering theory of a class of operators on (complete) Fock spaces, natural generalizations of the Schrödinger operators on trees. We consider C^*-algebras generated by such Hamiltonians with certain types of anisotropy at infinity, we compute their quotient with respect to the ideal of compact operators, and give formulas for the essential spectrum of these Hamiltonians.     

Operator space structure and amenability for Figà-Talamanca-Herz algebras

Column and row operator spaces—which we denote by COL and ROW, respectively—over arbitrary Banach spaces were introduced by the first-named author; for Hilbert spaces, these definitions coincide with the usual ones. Given a locally compact group G and p,p′∈(1,∞) with , we use the operator space structure on to equip the Figà-Talamanca-Herz algebra A_p(G) with an operator space structure, turning it into a quantized Banach algebra. Moreover, we show that, for p?q?2 or 2?q?p and amenable G, the canonical inclusion A_q(G)⊂A_p(G) is completely bounded (with cb-norm at most , where is Grothendieck's constant). As an application, we show that G is amenable if and only if A_p(G) is operator amenable for all—and equivalently for one—p∈(1,∞); this extends a theorem by Ruan.     

Counterexamples to Kauffman's conjectures on slice knots

In the late 1960s Jerome Levine classified the odd high-dimensional knot concordance groups in terms of a linking matrix associated to an arbitrary bounding manifold for the knot. His proof fails for classical knots in S³$S^3$. Yet this philosophy has remained the only known strategy for understanding the classical knot concordance group. We show that this strategy is fundamentally flawed. Specifically, in 1982, in support of Levine's philosophy, Louis Kauffman conjectured that if a knot in S³$S^3$ is a slice knot then on any Seifert surface for that knot there exists a homologically essential simple closed curve of self-linking zero which is itself a slice knot, or at least has Arf invariant zero. Since that time, considerable evidence has been amassed in support of this conjecture. In particular, many invariants that obstruct a knot from being a slice knot have been explicitly expressed in terms of invariants of such curves on its Seifert surface. We give counterexamples to Kauffman's conjecture, that is, we exhibit (smoothly) slice knots that admit (unique minimal genus) Seifert surfaces on which every homologically essential simple closed curve of self-linking zero has non-zero Arf invariant and non-zero signatures.