Maximal injective subalgebras of tensor products of free group factors

In this article, we prove the following results. Let L(F(n_i)) be the free group factor on n_i generators (n_i2) and λ(g_i) be one of standard generators of L(F(n_i)) for 1iN. Let be the abelian von Neumann subalgebra of L(F(n_i)) generated by λ(g_i). Then the abelian von Neumann subalgebra is a maximal injective von Neumann subalgebra of . When N is equal to infinity, we obtain strongly stable II₁ factors (or called McDuff factors) that contain maximal injective abelian von Neumann subalgebras.     

Strongly solid group factors which are not interpolated free group factors

We give examples of non-amenable infinite conjugacy classes groups Γ with the Haagerup property, weakly amenable with constant Λ_cb(Γ) = 1, for which we show that the associated II₁ factors L(Γ) are strongly solid, i.e. the normalizer of any diffuse amenable subalgebra P ì L(G){P \subset L(\Gamma)} generates an amenable von Neumann algebra. Nevertheless, for these examples of groups Γ, L(Γ) is not isomorphic to any interpolated free group factor L(F _t ), for 1 < t ≤  ∞.     

On a free group of transformations defined by an automaton

We prove that three automorphisms of the rooted binary tree defined by a certain 3-state automaton generate a free non-Abelian group of rank 3. Both authors are supported by the NSF grants DMS-0308985 and DMS-0456185. Yaroslav Vorobets is supported by a Clay Research Scholarship.     

Free subgroups of free products and combinatorial hypermaps

We derive a generating series for the number of free subgroups of finite index in ${\Delta }^{+}={\mathbb{Z}}_{p}1{\mathbb{Z}}_q$ by using a connection between free subgroups of ${\Delta }^{+}$ and certain hypermaps (also known as ribbon graphs or “fat” graphs), and show that this generating series is transcendental. We provide non-linear recurrence relations for the above numbers based on differential equations that are part of the Riccati hierarchy.We also study the generating series for conjugacy classes of free subgroups of finite index in ${\Delta }^{+}$, which correspond to isomorphism classes of hypermaps. Asymptotic formulas are provided for the numbers of free subgroups of given finite index, conjugacy classes of such subgroups, or, equivalently, various types of hypermaps and their isomorphism classes.     

An Alternative to Free Entropy for Free Group Factors

In this paper we define a very simple invariant η(V^-) for a k-tuple V^-of unitaries in a finite factor von Neumann algebra, and we show how this invariant can replace free entropy in many of the important applications. We also introduce a notion of metric free entropy and some related concepts.We include proofs, using η, of the theorems of Liming Ge and of D. Voiculescu, respectively, on the primeness of and on the absence of Cartan snbalgebras in the noncommutative free group factors.     

Two-state free Brownian motions

In a two-state free probability space (A,φ,ψ), we define an algebraic two-state free Brownian motion to be a process with two-state freely independent increments whose two-state free cumulant generating function Rφ,ψ(z) is quadratic. Note that a priori, the distribution of the process with respect to the second state ψ is arbitrary. We show, however, that if A is a von Neumann algebra, the states φ, ψ are normal, and φ is faithful, then there is only a one-parameter family of such processes. Moreover, with the exception of the actual free Brownian motion (corresponding to φ=ψ), these processes only exist for finite time.     

Values of the Pukánszky invariant in free group factors and the hyperfinite factor

Let AMB(L²(M)) be a maximal abelian self-adjoint subalgebra (masa) in a type II₁ factor M in its standard representation. The abelian von Neumann algebra generated by A and JAJ has a type I commutant which contains the projection onto L²(A). Then decomposes into a direct sum of type I_n algebras for n{1,2,…,∞}, and those n's which occur in the direct sum form a set called the Pukánszky invariant, Puk(A), also denoted Puk_M(A) when the containing factor is ambiguous. In this paper we show that this invariant can take on the values S{∞} when M is both a free group factor and the hyperfinite factor, and where S is an arbitrary subset of . The only previously known values for masas in free group factors were {∞} and {1,∞}, and some values of the form S{∞} are new also for the hyperfinite factor.We also consider a more refined invariant (that we will call the measure-multiplicity invariant), which was considered recently by Neshveyev and Størmer and has been known to experts for a long time. We use the measure-multiplicity invariant to distinguish two masas in a free group factor, both having Pukánszky invariant {n,∞}, for arbitrary .     

The non-microstates free entropy dimension of DT-operators

Dykema and Haagerup introduced the class of DT-operators (Amer. J. Math. 126 (2004) 121-189) and also showed that every DT-operator generate (J. Funct. Anal. 209 (2004) 332-366), the von Neumann algebra generated by the free group on two generators. In this paper, we prove that Voiculescu's non-microstates free entropy dimension is 2 for all DT-operators.     

Free Wishart Processes

Using a matrix approach, we define free Wishart processes of parameter > 0 and prove a free additivity property and invertibility for > 1. For 1, we show that a free Wishart process is a solution of a SDE of square Bessel process type, driven by a free complex Brownian motion. In the case > 1, we establish existence and uniqueness of a strong solution of such a SDE.     

A limit theorem for products of free unitary operators

This paper establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for the sequence of products of freely independent unitary operators to converge in distribution to the uniform law on the unit circle. The author would like to express his gratitude to Diana Bloom for her help with editing, and to Professor Raghu Varadhan for useful discussions.     

Quantum invariant families of matrices in free probability

We consider (self-adjoint) families of infinite matrices of noncommutative random variables such that the joint distribution of their entries is invariant under conjugation by a free quantum group. For the free orthogonal and hyperoctahedral groups, we obtain complete characterizations of the invariant families in terms of an operator-valued R-cyclicity condition. This is a surprising contrast with the Aldous-Hoover characterization of jointly exchangeable arrays.     

Free moment measures and laws

In [3], it was shown that convex, almost everywhere continuous functions coordinatize a broad class of probability measures on ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ by the map $U?{\left(\mathrm{?}U\right)}_{\mathrm{\#}}{e}^{?U}dx$. We consider whether there is a similar coordinatization of non-commutative probability spaces, with the Gibbs measure $e^{?U}dx$ replaced by the corresponding free Gibbs law. We call laws parameterized in this way free moment laws. We first consider the case of a single (and thus commutative) random variable and then the regime of n non-commutative random variables which are perturbations of freely independent semi-circular variables. We prove that free moment laws exist with little restriction for the one dimensional case, and for small even perturbations of free semi-circle laws in the general case.     

Free convolution operators and free Hall transform

We define an extension of the polynomial calculus on a W^?$W^{?}$-probability space by introducing an algebra C{_Xi:i∈I}$\mathbb{C}\{X_i:i\in I\}$ which contains polynomials. This extension allows us to define transition operators for additive and multiplicative free convolution. It also permits us to characterize the free Segal–Bargmann transform and the free Hall transform introduced by Biane, in a manner which is closer to classical definitions. Finally, we use this extension of polynomial calculus to prove two asymptotic results on random matrices: the convergence for each fixed time, as N   tends to ∞, of the ?-distribution of the Brownian motion on the linear group _GLN(C)${\mathit{GL}}_N(\mathbb{C})$ to the ?-distribution of a free multiplicative circular Brownian motion, and the convergence of the classical Hall transform on U(N)$U(N)$ to the free Hall transform.     

Jack polynomials and free cumulants

We study the coefficients in the expansion of Jack polynomials in terms of power sums. We express them as polynomials in the free cumulants of the transition measure of an anisotropic Young diagram. We conjecture that such polynomials have nonnegative integer coefficients. This extends recent results about normalized characters of the symmetric group.     

On the group of conjugating automorphisms of a free group

The group of conjugating automorphisms of a free group and certain subgroups of this group, namely, the group of McCool basis-conjugating automorphisms and the Artin braid group are considered. The Birman theorem on the representation of a braid group by matrices is sharpened. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 92–108, July, 1996.     

Computing test rank for a free solvable group

It is proved that test rank of a free solvable non-Abelian group of finite rank is 1 less than the rank of that group. This gives the answer to Question 14.88 posed in the Kourovka Notebook by Fine and Shpilrain, asking whether or not a free solvable group of rank 2 and solvability index n ≥ 3 has test elements. Supported by RFBR grant No. 05-01-00292. __________ Translated from Algebra i Logika, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 447–457, July–August, 2006.     

A free analogue of Shannon's problem on monotonicity of entropy

We prove a free probability analog of a result of [S. Artstein, K. Ball, F. Barthe, A. Naor, Solution of Shannon's problem on monotonicity of entropy, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 17 (2004) 975-982]. In particular, we prove that if X₁,X₂,… are freely independent identically distributed random variables, then the function