L 2-Cohomology for Von Neumann Algebras

We study L ²-Betti numbers for von Neumann algebras, as defined by D. Shlyakhtenko and A. Connes in [CoS]. We give a definition of L ²-cohomology and show how the study of the first L ²-Betti number can be related to the study of derivations with values in a bi-module of affiliated operators. We show several results about the possibility of extending derivations from sub-algebras and about uniqueness of such extensions. In particular, we show that the first L ²-Betti number of a tracial von Neumann algebra coincides with the corresponding number for an arbitrary weakly dense sub-C*-algebra. Along the way, we prove some results about the dimension function of modules over rings of affiliated operators which are of independent interest. Received: March 2006 Revision: October 2006 Accepted: October 2006     

L 2-topological invariants of 3-manifolds

Summary We give results on theL ²-Betti numbers and Novikov-Shubin invariants of compact manifolds, especially 3-manifolds. We first study the Betti numbers and Novikov-Shubin invariants of a chain complex of Hilbert modules over a finite von Neumann algebra. We establish inequalities among the Novikov-Shubin invariants of the terms in a short exact sequence of chain complexes. Our algebraic results, along with some analytic results on geometric 3-manifolds, are used to compute theL ²-Betti numbers of compact 3-manifolds which satisfy a weak form of the geometrization conjecture, and to compute or estimate their Novikov-Shubin invariants.Oblatum 6-V-1993 & 20-VI-1994Partially supported by NSF-grant DMS 9101920Partially supported by NSF-grant DMS 9103327     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>-Betti numbers of one-relator groups

We determine the L ²-Betti numbers of all one-relator groups and all surface-plus-one-relation groups. We also obtain some information about the L ²-cohomology of left-orderable groups, and deduce the non-L ² result that, in any left-orderable group of homological dimension one, all two-generator subgroups are free. Warren Dicks was Funded by the DGI (Spain) through Project BFM2003-06613.     

Amenable groups, topological entropy and Betti numbers

We investigate an analogue of theL ²-Betti numbers for amenable linear subshifts. The role of the von Neumann dimension shall be played by the topological entropy. Partially supported by OTKA grant T 25004 and the Bolyai Fellowship.     

On Turing dynamical systems and the Atiyah problem

Main theorems of the article concern the problem of Atiyah on possible values of \(l^2\) -Betti numbers. It is shown that all non-negative real numbers are \(l^2\) -Betti numbers, and that “many” (for example all non-negative algebraic) real numbers are \(l^2\) -Betti numbers of simply connected manifolds with respect to a free cocompact action. Also an explicit example is constructed which leads to a simply connected manifold with a transcendental \(l^2\) -Betti number with respect to an action of the threefold direct product of the lamplighter group \(\,\mathbb {Z}{/2\mathbb {Z}}\,\wr \mathbb {Z}\) . The main new idea is embedding Turing machines into integral group rings. The main tool developed generalizes known techniques of spectral computations for certain random walk operators to arbitrary operators in groupoid rings of discrete measured groupoids.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>-invariants of Riemannian foliations

For a Riemannian foliation on a closed manifold M, we define L ²-spectral sequence Betti numbers and spectral sequence Novikov–Shubin invariants. The spectral sequence of the lift of to the universal covering of M is used in the definitions. These invariants are natural extensions of the L ²-Betti numbers and the Novikov–Shubin invariants of differentiable manifolds. It is shown that these numbers are invariant by foliated homotopy equivalences, and they are computed for several examples.      

A cohomological description of property (T) for quantum groups

We prove a Delorme-Guichardet type theorem for discrete quantum groups expressing property (T) of the quantum group in question in terms of its first cohomology groups. As an application, we show that the first L²-Betti number of a discrete property (T) quantum group vanishes.     

Marcinkiewicz–Zygmund Inequalities and Polynomial Approximation from Scattered Data on SO(3)

We consider scattered data approximation problems on SO(3). To this end, we construct a new operator for polynomial approximation on the rotation group. This operator reproduces Wigner-D functions up to a given degree and has uniformly bounded L ^p -operator norm for all 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞. The operator provides a polynomial approximation with the same approximation degree of the best polynomial approximation. Moreover, the operator together with a Markov type inequality for Wigner-D functions enables us to derive scattered data L ^p -Marcinkiewicz–Zygmund inequalities for these functions for all 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞. As a major application of such inequalities, we consider the stability of the weighted least squares approximation problem on SO(3).     

Topological Structure of the Set of Weighted Composition Operators on Weighted Bergman Spaces of Infinite Order

We consider the topological space of all weighted composition operators on weighted Bergman spaces of infinite order endowed with the operator norm. We show that the set of compact weighted composition operators is path connected. Furthermore, we find conditions to ensure that two weighted composition operators are in the same path connected component if the difference of them is compact. Moreover, we compare the topologies induced by L(H^∞) and L(H^∞_v) on the space of bounded composition operators and give a sufficient condition for a composition operator to be isolated.     

Dimension-Independent Estimates for Heat Operators and Harmonic Functions

We establish dimension-independent estimates related to heat operators e ^tL on manifolds. We first develop a very general contractivity result for Markov kernels which can be applied to diffusion semigroups. Second, we develop estimates on the norm behavior of harmonic and non-negative subharmonic functions. We apply these results to two examples of interest: when L is the Laplace–Beltrami operator on a Riemannian manifold with Ricci curvature bounded from below, and when L is an invariant subelliptic operator of Hörmander type on a Lie group. In the former example, we also obtain pointwise bounds on harmonic and subharmonic functions, while in the latter example, we obtain pointwise bounds on harmonic functions when a generalized curvature-dimension inequality is satisfied.     

A note on the sunouchi operator with respect to the walsh—kaczmarz system

An analogue of the so—called Sunouchi operator with respect to the Walsh—Kaczmarz system will be investigated. We show the boundedness of this operator if we take it as a map from the dyadic Hardy space H ^p to L ^p for all 0<p≤1.. For the proof we consider a multiplier operator and prove its (H ^p H ^p)—boundedness for 0<p≤1. Since the multiplier is obviously bounded from L ² to L ², a theorem on interpolation of operators can be applied to show that our multiplier is of weak type (1,1) and of type (q q) for all 1<q<∞. The same statements follow also for the Sunouchi operator.     

Decoupling of Modes for the Elastic Wave Equation in Media of Limited Smoothness

We establish a decoupling result for the P and S waves of linear, isotropic elasticity, in the setting of twice-differentiable Lamé parameters. Precisely, we show that the P?S components of the wave propagation operator are regularizing of order one on L ² data, by establishing the diagonalization of the elastic system modulo a L ²-bounded operator. Effecting the diagonalization in the setting of twice-differentiable coefficients depends upon the symbol of the conjugation operator having a particular structure.     

The Vector-Valued Big <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>-Jacobi Transform

Big q-Jacobi functions are eigenfunctions of a second-order q-difference operator L. We study L as an unbounded self-adjoint operator on an L ²-space of functions on ℝ with a discrete measure. We describe explicitly the spectral decomposition of L using an integral transform ℱ with two different big q-Jacobi functions as a kernel, and we construct the inverse of ℱ.      

Pointwise bounds for L 2 eigenfunctions on locally symmetric spaces

We prove pointwise bounds for L ² eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on locally symmetric spaces with -rank one if the corresponding eigenvalues lie below the continuous part of the L ² spectrum. Furthermore, we use these bounds in order to obtain some results concerning the L ^p spectrum.     

Unitary mappings between multiresolution analyses of L2 (R) and a parametrization of low-pass filters

This article provides classes of unitary operators of L²(R) contained in the commutant of the Shift operator, such that for any pair of multiresolution analyses of L²(R) there exists a unitary operator in one of these classes, which maps all the scaling functions of the first multiresolution analysis to scaling functions of the other. We use these unitary operators to provide an interesting class of scaling functions. We show that the Dai-Larson unitary parametrization of orthonormal wavelets is not suitable for the study of scaling functions. These operators give an interesting relation between low-pass filters corresponding to scaling functions, which is implemented by a special class of unitary operators acting on L²([−π, π)), which we characterize. Using this characterization we recapture Daubechies' orthonormal wavelets bypassing the spectral factorization process. Acknowledgements and Notes. Partially supported by NSF Grant DMS-9157512, and Linear Analysis and Probability Workshop, Texas A&M University Dedicated to the memory of Professor Emeritus Vassilis Metaxas.     

Index theory on locally homogeneous spaces

We describe how the equivariant K homology class of an invariant elliptic operator on a homogeneous space of a linear semisimple Lie group determines the L ²-index of the associated operator on a finite volume locally homogeneous space. The machinery of equivariant K homology and of KK theory can be used to prove theorems about L ²-indices. We give an application motivated by the problem of calculating multiplicities of subrepresentations of quasi-regular representations.Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMS-8903472.Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMS-8901436.     

Amenability and vanishing of L2-Betti numbers: An operator algebraic approach

We introduce a Følner condition for dense subalgebras in finite von Neumann algebras and prove that it implies dimension flatness of the inclusion in question. It is furthermore proved that the Følner condition naturally generalizes the existing notions of amenability and that the ambient von Neumann algebra of a Følner algebra is automatically injective. As an application, we show how our techniques unify previously known results concerning vanishing of $L^2$-Betti numbers for amenable groups, quantum groups and groupoids and moreover provide a large class of new examples of algebras with vanishing $L^2$-Betti numbers.     

Homogeneous trees are bilipschitz equivalent

We prove that any two locally finite homogeneous trees with valency greater than 3 are bilipschitz equivalent. This implies that the quotienth ¹(G)/h ^k (G), whereh ^k (G) is thekthL ₂-Betti number ofG, is not a quasi-isometry invariant.     

Spectrum Problems for Singular Integral Operators with Carleman Shift

In this paper we are concerned with the complete spectral analysis for the operator 𝒯 = 𝒳𝒮𝒰 in the space L_p(𝕋) (𝕋 denoting the unit circle), where 𝒳 is the characteristic function of some arc of 𝕋, 𝒮 is the singular integral operator with Cauchy kernel and 𝒰 is a Carleman shift operator which satisfies the relations 𝒰² = I and 𝒮𝒰 = ±𝒰𝒮, where the sign + or — is taken in dependence on whether 𝒰 is a shift operator on L_p(𝕋) preserving or changing the orientation of 𝕋. This includes the identification of the Fredholm and essential parts of the spectrum of the operator 𝒯, the determination of the defect numbers of 𝒯 — λI, for λ in the Fredholm part of the spectrum, as well as a formula for the resolvent operator.     

Windowed-Kontorovich-Lebedev transforms

The aim of this paper is to study the boundedness of the windowed-Kontorovich-Lebedev transforms. For this purpose, we first define the translation associated to the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform and a generalized convolution product, then obtain some harmonic analysis results. We present a sufficient and necessary condition for the boundedness of the windowed-Kontorovich-Lebedev transform. Finally, we define the corresponding Weyl operator, and study the boundedness and compactedness of the Weyl operator with symbols in L ^q (q ∈ [1, 2]) acting on L ^p .