On tensor products of certain group C1-algebras

If A and B are C¹-algebras there is, in general, a multiplicity of C¹-norms on their algebraic tensor product A ⊙ B, including maximal and minimal norms ν and α, respectively. A is said to be nuclear if α and ν coincide, for arbitrary B. The earliest example, due to Takesaki 11], of a nonnuclear C¹-algebra was $\text{C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$, the C¹-algebra generated by the left regular representation of the free group on two generators F₂. It is shown here that W¹-algebras, with the exception of certain finite type I's, are nonnuclear.If $\text{C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$ is the group C¹-algebra of F₂, there is a canonical homomorphism λ_l of $\text{C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$ onto $\text{C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$. The principal result of this paper is that there is a norm ζ on $\text{C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{) ⊙ C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$, distinct from α, relative to which the homomorphism $\text{λ ⊙ λ}{}_{\mathrm{l}}\text{: C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{) ⊙ C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{) → C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{) ⊙ C}{}_{\mathrm{l}}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$ is bounded ($\text{C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{) ⊙ C}{}^1\text{(F}{}_2\text{)}$ being endowed with the norm α). Thus quotients do not, in general, respect the norm α; a consequence of this is that the set of ideals of the α-tensor product of C¹-algebras A and B may properly contain the set of product ideals {$\text{I ? B + A ? J: I ? A, J ? B}$}.Let A and B be C¹-algebras. If A or B is a W¹-algebra there are on A ⊙ B certain C¹-norms, defined recently by Effros and Lance 3], the definitions of which take account of normality. In the final section of the paper it is shown by example that these norms, with α and ν, can be mutually distinct.