C Algebras 1943 1993

The book contains carefully written expository and research articles by leaders in the field, including a reprint of the original 1943 paper on C[* algebras by Gelfand and Neumark.

The techniques of universal algebra are applied to the category of C*-algebras. An important difference, central to this book, is that one can consider approximate representations of relations and approximately commuting diagrams. Moreover, the highly algebraic approach does not exclude applications to very geometric C*-algebras. K-theory is avoided, but universal properties and stability properties of specific C*-algebras that have applications to K-theory are considered. Index theory arises naturally, and very concretely, as an obstruction to stability for almost commuting matrices. Multiplier algebras are studied in detail, both in the setting of rings and of C*-algebras. Recent results about extensions of C*-algebras are discussed, including a result linking amalgamated products with the Busby/Hochshild theory.

This book contains a collection of articles provided by the participants of the SFB-workshop on C*-algebras, March 8 - March 12, 1999 which was held at the Sonderforschungsbereich "Geometrische Strukturen in der reinen Mathematik" of the University of Münster, Germany. The aim of the workshop was to bring together leading experts in the theory of C* -algebras with promising young researchers in the field, and to provide a stimulating atmosphere for discussions and interactions between the participants. There were 19 one-hour lectures on various topics like - classification of nuclear C* -algebras, - general K-theory for C* -algebras, - exact C* -algebras and exact groups, - C*-algebras associated to (infinite) matrices and C*-correspondences, - noncommutative prob ability theory, - deformation quantization, - group C* -algebras and the Baum-Connes conjecture, giving a broad overview of the latest developments in the field, and serving as a basis for discussions. We, the organizers of the workshop, were greatly pleased with the excellence of the lectures and so were led to the idea of publishing the proceedings of the conference. There are basically two kinds of contributions. On one side there are several articles giving surveys and overviews on new developments and im portant results of the theory, on the other side one finds original articles with interesting new results.

Like the first Abel Symposium, held in 2004, the Abel Symposium 2015 focused on operator algebras. It is interesting to see the remarkable advances that have been made in operator algebras over these years, which strikingly illustrate the vitality of the field. A total of 26 talks were given at the symposium on a variety of themes, all highlighting the richness of the subject. The field of operator algebras was created in the 1930s and was motivated by problems of quantum mechanics. It has subsequently developed well beyond its initial intended realm of applications and expanded into such diverse areas of mathematics as representation theory, dynamical systems, differential geometry, number theory and quantum algebra. One branch, known as “noncommutative geometry”, has become a powerful tool for studying phenomena that are beyond the reach of classical analysis. This volume includes research papers that present new results, surveys that discuss the development of a specific line of research, and articles that offer a combination of survey and research. These contributions provide a multifaceted portrait of beautiful mathematics that both newcomers to the field of operator algebras and seasoned researchers alike will appreciate.

Various subsets of the tracial state space of a unital C$*$-algebra are studied. The largest of these subsets has a natural interpretation as the space of invariant means. II$ 1$-factor representations of a class of C$*$-algebras considered by Sorin Popa are also studied. These algebras are shown to have an unexpected variety of II$ 1$-factor representations. In addition to developing some general theory we also show that these ideas are related to numerous other problems inoperator algebras.