We summarize the known obstructions to subfactors with principal graphs which begin with a triple point. One is based on Jones's quadratic tangles techniques, although we apply it in a novel way. The other two are based on connections techniques; one due to Ocneanu, and the other previously unpublished, although likely known to Haagerup.
We then apply these obstructions to the classification of subfactors with index below 5. In particular, we eliminate three of the five families of possible principal graphs called "weeds" in the classification from arXiv:1007.1730.
We develop an analog of Jones' planar calculus for II_1-factor bimodules with arbitrary left and right von Neumann dimension. We generalize to bimodules Burns' results on rotations and extremality for infinite index subfactors. These results are obtained without Jones' basic construction and the resulting Jones projections.
We provide a family of group measure space II_1 factors for which all finite index subfactors can be explicitly listed. In particular, the set of all indices of irreducible subfactors can be computed. Concrete examples show that this index set can be any set of natural numbers that is closed under taking divisors.
By utilizing an irreducible inclusion of type III$_{q^{2}} $ factors coming from a free-product type action of the quantum group $ SU_{q}(2) $, we show that the free group factor $ L(\mathbb {F}_{\infty}) $ possesses irreducible subfactors of arbitrary index $ >4 $. Combined with earlier results of Radulescu, this shows that $ L(\mathbb {F}_{\infty}) $ has irreducible subfactors with any index value in $ \{4\cos ^{2}(π/n):n\geq 3\}\cup [4,+\infty) $.
We calssify actions of discrete abelian groups on some inclusions of von Neumann algebras, up to cocycle conjugacy. As an application, we classify actions of compact abelian groups on the inclusions of AFD factors of type II_1 with index less than 4, up to stable conjugacy.
Subfactors where the initial branching point of the principal graph is 3-valent are subject to strong constraints called triple point obstructions. Since more complicated initial branches increase the index of the subfactor, triple point obstructions play a key role in the classification of small index subfactors. There are two strong triple point obstructions called the triple-single obstruction and the quadratic tangles obstruction. Although these obstructions are very closely related, neither is strictly stronger. In this paper we give a more general triple-point obstruction which subsumes …
We call a subfactor trivial if it is isomorphic with the obvious inclusion of N into matrices over N. We prove the existence of type II_1 factors M without non-trivial finite index subfactors. Equivalently, every M-M-bimodule with finite coupling constant, both as a left and as a right M-module, is a multiple of L^2(M). Our results rely on the recent work of Ioana, Peterson and Popa, who proved the existence of type II_1 factors without outer automorphisms.
We examine the notion of $α$-strong singularity for subfactors of a \IIi factor, which is a metric quantity that relates the distance between a unitary in the factor and a subalgebra with the distance between that subalgebra and its unitary conjugate. Through planar algebra techniques, we demonstrate the existence of a finite index singular subfactor of the hyperfinite \IIi factor that cannot be strongly singular with $α=1$, in contrast to the case for masas. Using work of Popa, Sinclair, and Smith, we show that there exists an absolute constant $0<c<1$ such that all singular subfactors are $c…
Let $M_0 \subset M_1$ be a finite-index infinite-depth hyperfinite $II_1$ subfactor and $ω$ a free ultrafilter of the natural numbers. We show that if this subfactor is constructed from a commuting square then the central sequence inclusion $M_0^ω \cap M_1' \subset (M_0)_ω$ has infinite Pimnser-Popa index. We will also demonstrate this result for certain infinite-depth hyperfinite subfactors coming from groups.
We eliminate 38 infinite families of possible principal graphs as part of the classification of subfactors up to index 5. A number-theoretic result of Calegari-Morrison-Snyder, generalizing Asaeda-Yasuda, reduces each infinite family to a finite number of cases. We provide algorithms for computing the effective constants that are required for this result, and we obtain 28 possible principal graphs. The Ostrik d-number test and an algebraic integer test reduce this list to 7 graphs in the index range (4,5) which actually occur as principal graphs.
Subfactors of the hyperfinite II$_1$ factor with ''exotic'' properties can be constructed from nondegenerate commuting squares of multi-matrix algebras. We show that the subfactor planar algebra of these commuting square subfactors necessarily embeds into Jones' graph planar algebra associated to one of the inclusion graphs in the commuting square. This leads to a powerful obstruction for the standard invariant of the subfactor, and we use it to give an example of a hyperfinite subfactor with Temperley-Lieb-Jones standard invariant and index $\frac{5+\sqrt{13}}{2}$, i.e. the index of the Haage…
We construct irreducible hyperfinite subfactors of index 6 with a prescribed fundamental group from a large family containing all countable and many uncountable subgroups of R_+. We also prove that there are unclassifiably many irreducible hyperfinite group-type subfactors of index 6 that all have the same standard invariant. More precisely, we associate such a subfactor to every ergodic measure preserving automorphism of the interval [0,1] and prove that the resulting subfactors are isomorphic if and only if the automorphisms are conjugate.
Growing out of the initial connections between subfactors and knot theory that gave rise to the Jones polynomial, Jones' axiomatization of the standard invariant of an extremal finite index $II_1$ subfactor as a spherical $C^*$-planar algebra, presented in arXiv:math.QA/9909027, is the most elegant and powerful description available. We make the natural extension of this axiomatization to the case of finite index subfactors of arbitrary type. We also provide the first steps toward a limited planar structure in the infinite index case. The central role of rotations, which provide the main non-t…
This article proves the existence and uniqueness of a subfactor planar algebra with principal graph consisting of a diamond with arms of length 2 at opposite sides, which we call 2D2. We also prove the uniqueness of the subfactor planar algebra with principal graph 4442. We conjecture this will complete the list of subfactor planar algebras at index $3+\sqrt{5}$.
Progress on classifying small index subfactors has revealed an almost empty landscape. In this paper we give some evidence that this desert continues up to index 3+\sqrt{5}. There are two known quantum-group subfactors with index in this interval, and we show that these subfactors are the only way to realize the corresponding principal graphs. One of these subfactors is 1-supertransitive, and we demonstrate that it is the only 1-supertransitive subfactor with index between 5 and 3+\sqrt{5}. Computer evidence shows that any other subfactor in this interval would need to have rank at least 38. W…
We give the classification of subfactor planar algebras at index exactly 5. All the examples arise as standard invariants of subgroup subfactors. Some of the requisite uniqueness results come from work of Izumi in preparation. The non-existence results build upon the classification of subfactor planar algebras with index less than 5, with some additional analysis of special cases.
We consider noncommuting pairs P,Q of intermediate subfactors of an irreducible, finite-index inclusion N in M of II_1 factors such that P and Q are supertransitive with Jones index less than 4 over N. We show that up to isomorphism of the standard invariant, there is a unique such pair corresponding to each even value [P:N]=4cos^2(pi/2n) but none for the odd values [P:N]=4cos^2 (pi/(2n+1)). We also classify the angle values which occur between pairs of intermediate subfactors with small index over their intersection: if [P:N] < 4, then the unique nontrivial angle value is always cos^-1 (1/([P…
In this series of papers we show that there are exactly ten subfactors, other than $A_\infty$ subfactors, of index between 4 and 5. Previously this classification was known up to index $3+\sqrt{3}$. In the first paper we give an analogue of Haagerup's initial classification of subfactors of index less than $3+\sqrt{3}$, showing that any subfactor of index less than 5 must appear in one of a large list of families. These families will be considered separately in the three subsequent papers in this series.
A subfactor is an inclusion $N \subset M$ of von Neumann algebras with trivial centers. The simplest example comes from the fixed points of a group action $M^G \subset M$, and subfactors can be thought of as fixed points of more general group-like algebraic structures. These algebraic structures are closely related to tensor categories and have played important roles in knot theory, quantum groups, statistical mechanics, and topological quantum field theory. There's a measure of size of a subfactor, called the index. Remarkably the values of the index below 4 are quantized, which suggests that…
We classify irreducible II_1 subfactors A \subset B such that B \ominus A is reducible as an A-A bimodule, with index at most 6+1/5, leaving aside the composite subfactors at index exactly 6. Previous work has already achieved this up to index 3+\sqrt{5} \approx 5.23. We find there are exactly three such subfactors with index in (3+\sqrt{5}, 6+1/5], all with index 3+2\sqrt{2}. One of these comes from SO(3)_q at a root of unity, while the other two appear to be closely related, and are `braided up to a sign'.
Subfactor standard invariants encode quantum symmetries. The small index subfactor classification program has been a rich source of interesting quantum symmetries. We give the complete classification of subfactor standard invariants to index $5\frac{1}{4}$, which includes $3+\sqrt{5}$, the first interesting composite index.
We introduce a new notion of angle between intermediate subfactors and prove various interesting properties of the angle and relate it with the Jones' index. We prove a uniform 60 to 90 degree bound for the angle between minimal intermediate subfactors of a finite index irreducible subfactor. From this rigidity we can bound the number of minimal (or maximal) intermediate subfactors by the kissing number in geometry. As a consequence, the number intermediate subfactors of an irreducible subfactor has at most exponential growth with respect to the Jones index. This answers a question of Longo pu…
For an inclusion of the form $\Bbb C\subseteq M_n(\Bbb C)$, where $M_n(\Bbb C)$ is endowed with a state with diagonal weights $λ=(λ_1, ..., λ_n)$, we use Popa's construction, for non-tracial states, to obtain an irreducible inclusion of $II_1$ factors, $N^λ(Q)\subseteq M^λ(Q) $ of index $\sum \frac{1}{λ_i}$. $M^λ(Q)$ is identified with a subfactor inside the centralizer algebra of the canonical free product state on $Q\star M_N(\Bbb C)$. Its structure is described by ``infinite'' semicircular elements as in \cite{Ra3}. The irreducible subfactor inclusions obtained by this method are similar to…
An inclusion of II$_1$ factors $N \subset M$ with finite Jones index gives rise to a powerful set of invariants that can be approached successfully in a number of different ways. We describe Jones' pictorial description of the standard invariant of a subfactor as a so-called planar algebra and show how this point of view leads to new structure results for subfactors.
We consider the infinite symmetric group and its infinite index subgroup given as the stabilizer subgroup of one element under the natural action on a countable set. This inclusion of discrete groups induces a hyperfinite subfactor for each finite factorial representation of the larger group. We compute subfactor invariants of this construction in terms of the Thoma parameter.
The principal graph $X$ of a subfactor with finite Jones index is one of the important algebraic invariants of the subfactor. If $Δ$ is the adjacency matrix of $X$ we consider the equation $Δ=U+U^{-1}$. When $X$ has square norm $\leq 4$ the spectral measure of $U$ can be averaged by using the map $u\to u^{-1}$, and we get a probability measure $ε$ on the unit circle which does not depend on $U$. We find explicit formulae for this measure $ε$ for the principal graphs of subfactors with index $\le 4$, the (extended) Coxeter-Dynkin graphs of type $A$, $D$ and $E$. The moment generating function o…
We prove that finiteness of the index of the intersection of a finite set of finite index subalgebras in a von Neumann algebra (with small centre) is equivalent to the finite dimensionality of the algebra generated by the conditional expectations onto the subalgebras.
Determining which bipartite graphs can be principal graphs of subfactors is an important and difficult question in subfactor theory. Using only planar algebra techniques, we prove a triple point obstruction which generalizes all known initial triple point obstructions to possible principal graphs. We also prove a similar quadruple point obstruction with the same technique. Using our obstructions, we eliminate some infinite families of possible principal graphs with initial triple and quadruple points which were a major hurdle in extending subfactor classification results above index 5.
A {\it W$^*$-representation} of a II$_1$ subfactor $N\subset M$ with finite Jones index, $[M:N]<\infty$, is a non-degenerate commuting square embedding of $N\subset M$ into an inclusion of atomic von Neumann algebras $\oplus_{i\in I} \Cal B(\Cal K_i)=\Cal N \subset^{\Cal E} \Cal M=\oplus_{j\in J} \Cal B(\Cal H_j)$. We undertake here a systematic study of this notion, first introduced in [P92], giving examples and considering invariants such as the (bipartite) {\it inclusion graph} $Λ_{\Cal N \subset \Cal M}$, the {\it coupling vector} $(\text{\rm dim}(_M\Cal H_j))_j$ and the {\it RC-algebra} (…
We prove that the very simple lattices which consist of a largest, a smallest and $2n$ pairwise incomparable elements where $n$ is a positive integer can be realized as the lattices of intermediate subfactors of finite index and finite depth. Using the same techniques, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for subfactors coming from Loop groups of type $A$ at generic levels to be maximal.
One major obstacle in extending the classification of small index subfactors beyond 3+\sqrt{3} is the appearance of infinite families of candidate principal graphs with 4-valent vertices (in particular, the "weeds" Q and Q' from Part 1 (arXiv:1007.1730)). Thus instead of using triple point obstructions to eliminate candidate graphs, we need to develop new quadruple point obstructions. In this paper we prove two quadruple point obstructions. The first uses quadratic tangles techniques and eliminates the weed Q' immediately. The second uses connections, and when combined with an additional numbe…
For any abstract subfactor planar algebra $P$, there exists a finite index extremal subfactor $M_0 \subset M_1$ with $P$ as its standard invariant. In this paper, we classify the automorphism group of a bipartite graph planar algebra, and obtain subfactor planar subalgebras by taking fixed points under groups of automorphisms. This construction provides both new examples of subfactors and new descriptions of the planar algebras of previously known examples.
We classify fusion categories which are Morita equivalent to even parts of subfactors with index $3+\sqrt{5} $, and module categories over these fusion categories. For the fusion category $\mathcal{C} $ which is the even part of the self-dual $3^{\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z} } $ subfactor, we show that there are $30$ simple module categories over $ \mathcal{C}$; there are no other fusion categories in the Morita equivalence class; and the order of the Brauer-Picard group is $360$. The proof proceeds indirectly by first describing the Brauer-Picard groupoid of a $ \mathb…
In this paper, we develop the theory of bimodules over von Neumann algebras, with an emphasis on categorical aspects. We clarify the relationship between dualizability and finite index. We also show that, for von Neumann algebras with finite-dimensional centers, the Haagerup L^2-space and Connes fusion are functorial with respect to homorphisms of finite index. Along the way, we describe a string diagram notation for maps between bimodules that are not necessarily bilinear.
We obtain an estimate of free entropy of generators in a type ${II}_1$-factor $\mc{M}$ which has a subfactor $\mc{N}$ of finite index with a subalgebra $\mc{P}=\mc{P}_1\vee\mc{P}_2\subset\mc{N}$ where $\mc{P}_1=\mc{R}_1'\cap\mc{P}$, $\mc{P}_2=\mc{R}_2'\cap\mc{P}$ are diffuse, $\mc{R}_1,\mc{R}_2\subset\mc{P}$ are mutually commuting hyperfinite subfactors, and an abelian subalgebra $\mc{A}\subset\mc{N}$ such that the correspondence $_\mc{P}L^2(\mc{N},τ)_\mc{A}$ is $\mc{M}$-weakly contained in a subcorrespondence $_\mc{P}H_\mc{A}$ of $_\mc{P}L^2(\mc{M},τ)_\mc{A}$, generated by $v$ vectors. The (m…
Discrete subfactors include a particular class of infinite index subfactors and all finite index ones. A discrete subfactor is called local when it is braided and it fulfills a commutativity condition motivated by the study of inclusion of Quantum Field Theories in the algebraic Haag-Kastler setting. In [BDG21], we proved that every irreducible local discrete subfactor arises as the fixed point subfactor under the action of a canonical compact hypergroup. In this work, we prove a Galois correspondence between intermediate von Neumann algebras and closed subhypergroups, and we study the subfact…
Given a quadruple of finite index subfactors we explicitly compute the Pimsner-Popa probabilistic constant for the pair of intermediate subfactors and relate it with the corresponding Connes-Størmer relative entropy between them. This generalizes an old result of Pimsner and Popa.
Given a II$_1$-subfactor $A\subset B$ of arbitrary index, we show that the rectangular GICAR category, also called the rectangular planar rook category, faithfully embeds as $A-A$ bimodule maps among the bimodules $\bigotimes_A^n L^2(B)$. As a corollary, we get a lower bound on the dimension of the centralizer algebras $A_0'\cap A_{2n}$ for infinite index subfactors, and we also get that $A_0'\cap A_{2n}$ is nonabelian for $n\geq 2$, where $(A_n)_{n\geq 0}$ is the Jones tower for $A_0=A\subset B=A_1$. We also show that the annular GICAR/planar rook category acts as maps amongst the $A$-central…
The classification of subfactors of small index revealed several new subfactors. The first subfactor above index 4, the Haagerup subfactor, is increasingly well understood and appears to lie in a (discrete) infinite family of subfactors where the Z/3Z symmetry is replaced by other finite Abelian groups. The goal of this paper is to give a similarly good description of the Asaeda-Haagerup subfactor which emerged from our study of its Brauer-Picard groupoid. More specifically, we construct a new subfactor S which is a Z/4Z x Z/2Z analogue of the Haagerup subfactor and we show that the even parts…
It is well-known that the quantum double $D(N\subset M)$ of a finite depth subfactor $N\subset M$, or equivalently the Drinfeld center of the even part fusion category, is a unitary modular tensor category. Thus should arise in conformal field theory. We show that for every subfactor $N\subset M$ with index $[M:N]<4$ the quantum double $D(N\subset M)$ is realized as the representation category of a completely rational conformal net. In particular, the quantum double of $E_6$ can be realized as a $\mathbb Z_2$-simple current extension of $\mathrm{SU}(2)_{10}\times \mathrm{Spin}(11)_1$ and thus …
For a finite-index $\mathrm{II}_1$ subfactor $N \subset M$, we prove the existence of a universal Hopf $\ast$-algebra (or, a discrete quantum group in the analytic language) acting on $M$ in a trace-preserving fashion and fixing $N$ pointwise. We call this Hopf $\ast$-algebra the quantum Galois group for the subfactor and compute it in some examples of interest, notably for arbitrary irreducible finite-index depth-two subfactors. Along the way, we prove the existence of universal acting Hopf algebras for more general structures (tensors in enriched categories), in the spirit of recent work by …
The Galois group of the minimal polymonal of a Jones index value gives a new type of obstruction to a principal graph, thanks to a recent result of P.Etingof, D.Nikshych, and V.Ostrik. We show that the sequence of the graphs given by Haagerup as candidates of principal graphs of subfactors, are not realized as principal graphs for 7<n <= 27 using GAP program. We further utilize Mathematica to extend the statement to 27 <n <= 55. We conjecture that none of the graphs are principal graphs for all n>7, and give an evidence using Mathematica for smaller graphs among them for n>55. The problem for …
We consider normalizers of an irreducible inclusion $N\subseteq M$ of $\mathrm{II}_1$ factors. In the infinite index setting an inclusion $uNu^*\subseteq N$ can be strict, forcing us to also investigate the semigroup of one-sided normalizers. We relate these normalizers of $N$ in $M$ to projections in the basic construction and show that every trace one projection in the relative commutant $N'\cap < M,e_N>$ is of the form $u^*e_Nu$ for some unitary $u\in M$ with $uNu^*\subseteq N$. This enables us to identify the normalizers and the algebras they generate in several situations. In particular e…
We study a relation between the Hecke groups and the index of subfactors in a von Neumann algebra. Such a problem was raised by V. F. R. Jones. We solve the problem using the notion of a cluster C*-algebra.
Let $N\subset M$ be a finite Jones' index inclusion of II$_1$ factors, and denote by $U_N\subset U_M$ their unitary groups. In this paper we study the homogeneous space $U_M/U_N$, which is a (infinite dimensional) differentiable manifold, diffeomorphic to the orbit $$ {\cal O}(p) =\{u p u^*: u\in U_M\} $$ of the Jones projection $p$ of the inclusion. We endow ${\cal O}(p) $ with a Riemannian metric, by means of the trace on each tangent space. These are pre-Hilbert spaces (the tangent spaces are not complete), therefore ${\cal O}(p)$ is a weak Riemannian manifold. We show that ${\cal O}(p)$ en…
We describe the structure of the inclusions of factors A(E) contained in A(E')' associated with multi-intervals E of R for a local irreducible net A of von Neumann algebras on the real line satisfying the split property and Haag duality. In particular, if the net is conformal and the subfactor has finite index, the inclusion associated with two separated intervals is isomorphic to the Longo-Rehren inclusion, which provides a quantum double construction of the tensor category of superselection sectors of A. As a consequence, the index of A(E) in A(E')' coincides with the global index associated…
The notion of index for inclusions of von Neumann algebras goes back to a seminal work of Jones on subfactors of type ${I\!I}_1$. In the absence of a trace, one can still define the index of a conditional expectation associated to a subfactor and look for expectations that minimize the index. This value is called the minimal index of the subfactor. We report on our analysis, contained in [GL19], of the minimal index for inclusions of arbitrary von Neumann algebras (not necessarily finite, nor factorial) with finite-dimensional centers. Our results generalize some aspects of the Jones index for…
We construct a new subfactor planar algebra, and as a corollary a new subfactor, with the `extended Haagerup' principal graph pair. This completes the classification of irreducible amenable subfactors with index in the range $(4,3+\sqrt{3})$, which was initiated by Haagerup in 1993. We prove that the subfactor planar algebra with these principal graphs is unique. We give a skein theoretic description, and a description as a subalgebra generated by a certain element in the graph planar algebra of its principal graph. In the skein theoretic description there is an explicit algorithm for evaluati…
Dimensions of objects in fusion categories are cyclotomic integers, hence number theoretic results have implications in the study of fusion categories and finite depth subfactors. We give two such applications. The first application is determining a complete list of numbers in the interval (2, 76/33) which can occur as the Frobenius-Perron dimension of an object in a fusion category. The smallest number on this list is realized in a new fusion category which is constructed in the appendix written by V. Ostrik, while the others are all realized by known examples. The second application proves t…
A series of pairs of graphs (Gamma_k, Gamma'_k), k = 0,1,2,... has been considered as candidates for dual pairs of principal graphs of subfactors of small Jones index above 4 and it has recently been proved that the pair (Gamma_k, Gamma'_k) comes from a subfactor if and only if k = 0 or k =1. We show that nevertheless there exists a unique fusion system compatible with this pair of graphs for all non-negative integers k.
Using a Cayley complex (generalizing the Cayley graph) and Clifford algebras, we are able to give, for a large class of finitely presented groups, a uniform construction of spectral triples with $D_{+}$ of index 1.
