We prove that weak amenability of a locally compact group imposes a strong condition on its amenable closed normal subgroups. This extends non weak amenability results of Haagerup (1988) and Ozawa--Popa (2010). A von Neumann algebra analogue is also obtained.
We completely characterize connected Lie groups all of whose countable subgroups are weakly amenable. We also provide a characterization of connected semisimple Lie groups that are weakly amenable. Finally, we show that a connected Lie group is weakly amenable if the group is weakly amenable as a discrete group.
We show that if $H \leq G$ is a closed amenable and cocompact subgroup of a unimodular locally compact group, then the reduced group C*-algebra of $G$ is not simple. Equivalently, there are unitary representations of $G$ that are weakly contained in the left-regular representation, but not weakly equivalent to it. We discuss applications of this result and pose the problem to construct non-discrete topologically simple groups with a cocompact amenable closed subgroup but without a Gelfand pair.
We prove that Wang's free orthogonal and free unitary quantum groups are weakly amenable and that their Cowling-Haagerup constant is equal to 1. This is achieved by estimating the completely bounded norm of the projections on the coefficients of irreducible representations of their compact duals. An argument of monoidal equivalence then allows us to extend this result to quantum automorphism groups of finite spaces and even yields some examples of weakly amenable non-unimodular discrete quantum groups with the Haagerup property.
A well known result of Haagerup from 1983 states that every C*-algebra A is weakly amenable, that is, every (associative) derivation from A into its dual is inner. A Banach algebra B is said to be ternary weakly amenable if every continuous Jordan triple derivation from B into its dual is inner. We show that commutative C*-algebras are ternary weakly amenable, but that B(H) and K(H) are not, unless H is finite dimensional. More generally, we inaugurate the study of weak amenability for Jordan Banach triples, focussing on commutative JB*-triples and some Cartan factors.
Following an approach of Ozawa, we show that several semidirect products are not weakly amenable. As a consequence, we are able to characterize the simply connected Lie groups that are weakly amenable.
We generalize the notion of an approximate indicator for a closed subgroup $H$ of a locally compact group $G$ introduced by Aristov, Runde, and Spronk and extend their characterization of the existence of such nets in terms of the approximability of $χ_{H}$ in an appropriate ${weak}^{*}$ topology. We find that this equivalent condition is satisfied whenever $H$ is weakly amenable and $χ_{H}$, considered as acting on $\ell^{1}(G)$ by multiplication, extends to a bounded map on $VN(G)$. This occurs in particular when a natural projection $VN(G)arrow I(A(G),H)^{\perp}$ exists. Applications are ob…
Let $G$ be a locally compact group, and let $A_\cb(G)$ denote the closure of $A(G)$, the Fourier algebra of $G$, in the space of completely bounded multipliers of $A(G)$. If $G$ is a weakly amenable, discrete group such that $\cstar(G)$ is residually finite-dimensional, we show that $A_\cb(G)$ is operator amenable. In particular, $A_\cb(F_2)$ is operator amenable even though $F_2$, the free group in two generators, is not an amenable group. Moreover, we show that, if $G$ is a discrete group such that $A_\cb(G)$ is operator amenable, a closed ideal of $A(G)$ is weakly completely complemented in…
We show that, if $G$ is an amenable group and $H$ is a hyperbolic group, then the free product $G\ast H$ is weakly amenable. A key ingredient in the proof is the fact that $G\ast H$ is orbit equivalent to $\mathbb{Z}\ast H$.
It is shown that the action of ${\rm SL}(3,\mathbb{Z})$ on the Stone-uCech boundary of ${\rm SL}(3,\mathbb{Z}) / {\rm SL}(2,\mathbb{Z}) $ is amenable. This confirms a prediction by Bekka and Kalantar.
Let $G$ be a locally compact group, and let $WAP(G)$ denote the space of weakly almost periodic functions on $G$. We show that, if $G$ is a $[SIN]$-group, but not compact, then the dual Banach algebra $WAP(G)^\ast$ does not have a normal, virtual diagonal. Consequently, whenever $G$ is an amenable, non-compact $[SIN]$-group, $WAP(G)^\ast$ is an example of a Connes-amenable, dual Banach algebra without a normal,virtual diagonal.
We show that for a connected Lie group $G$, its Fourier algebra $A(G)$ is weakly amenable only if $G$ is abelian. Our main new idea is to show that weak amenability of $A(G)$ implies that the anti-diagonal, $\checkΔ_G=\{(g,g^{-1}):g\in G\}$, is a set of local synthesis for $A(G\times G)$. We then show that this cannot happen if $G$ is non-abelian. We conclude for a locally compact group $G$, that $A(G)$ can be weakly amenable only if it contains no closed connected non-abelian Lie subgroups. In particular, for a Lie group $G$, $A(G)$ is weakly amenable if and only if its connected component of…
We give an example of a non-compact, locally compact group $G$ such that its Fourier-Stieltjes algebra $B(G)$ is operator amenable. Furthermore, we characterize those $G$ for which $A^*(G)$ - the spine of $B(G)$ as introduced by M. Ilie and the second named author - is operator amenable and show that $A^*(G)$ is operator weakly amenable for each $G$.
By giving an interesting characterisation of amenable multiplicative unitaries in term of one dimensional representations, we show in a simple way that bicrossproducts of amenable locally compact groups is both amenable and coamenable.
We show the equivalence of several amenability type conditions for C*-dynamical systems. As an application, based on the Pimsner--Meyer construction, we give a new method to produce amenable actions on simple C*-algebras.
Let $G$ be a locally compact group. We show that its Fourier algebra $A(G)$ is amenable if and only if $G$ has an abelian subgroup of finite index, and that its Fourier-Stieltjes algebra $B(G)$ is amenable if and only if $G$ has a compact, abelian subgroup of finite index. We then show that $A(G)$ is weakly amenable if the component of the identity of $G$ is abelian, and we prove some partial results towards the converse.
A reduction $φ$ of an ordered group $(G,P)$ to another ordered group is an order homomorphism which maps each interval $[1,p]$ bijectively onto $[1, φ(p)]$. We show that if $(G,P)$ is weakly quasi-lattice ordered and reduces to an amenable ordered group, then there is a gauge-invariant uniqueness theorem for $P$-graph algebras. We also consider the class of ordered groups which reduce to an amenable ordered group, and show this class contains all amenable ordered groups and is closed under direct products, free products, and hereditary subgroups.
We construct examples of principal groupoids that have weak containment but are not amenable, thus answering questions by Claire Anantharaman-Delaroche and Rufus Willett.
This paper includes a series of structural results for von Neumann algebras arising from measure preserving actions by product groups on probability spaces. Expanding upon the methods used earlier by the first two authors \cite{CS}, we obtain new examples of strongly solid factors as well as von Neumann algebras with unique or no Cartan subalgebra. For instance we show that every II$_1$ factor associated with a weakly amenable group in the class $\mathcal S$ of Ozawa is strongly solid, \cite{OzSolid}. There is also the following product version of this result: any maximal abelian $\star$-subal…
We show that any stationary symmteric $α$-stable ($SαS$) random field indexed by a countable amenable group $G$ is weakly mixing if and only if it is generated by a null action, extending works of Samorodnitsky and Wang-Roy-Stoev for abelian groups to all amenable groups. This enables us to improve significantly the domain of a recently discovered connection to von Neumann algebras. We also establish ergodicity of stationary $SαS$ fields associated with boundary and double boundary actions of a hyperbolic group $G$, where the boundary is equipped with either the Patterson-Sullivan or the hitti…
In this short note, further to Ng's study, we extend Bekka amenability and weak Bekka amenability to general locally compact quantum groups. We generalize some Ng's results to the general case. In particular, we show that, a locally compact quantum group $\mathbb{G}$ is co-amenable if and only if the contra-corepresentation of its fundamental multiplicative unitary $W_{\mathbb{G}}$ is Bekka amenable, and $\mathbb{G}$ is amenable if and only if its dual quantum group's fundamental multiplicative unitary $W_{\widehat{\mathbb{G}}}$ is weakly Bekka amenable.
We define a strengthening of the Haagerup-Kraus approximation property by means of the subalgebras of Herz-Schur multipliers $M_d(G)$ ($d\geq 2$) introduced by Pisier. We show that unitarisable groups satisfying this property for all $d\geq 2$ are amenable. Moreover, we show that groups acting properly on finite-dimensional CAT(0) cube complexes satisfy $M_d$-AP for all $d\geq 2$. We also give examples of non-weakly amenable groups satisfying $M_d$-AP for all $d\geq 2$.
We introduce the weak Haagerup property for locally compact groups and prove several hereditary results for the class of groups with this approximation property. The class contains a priori all weakly amenable groups and groups with the (usual) Haagerup property, but examples are given of groups with the weak Haagerup property which are not weakly amenable and do not have the Haagerup property. In the second part of the paper we introduce the weak Haagerup property for finite von Neumann algebras, and we prove several hereditary results here as well. Also, a discrete group has the weak Haageru…
Let $G$ be a countable discrete amenable group, ${\cal M}$ a McDuff factor von Neumann algebra, and $A$ a separable nuclear weakly dense C$^*$-subalgebra of ${\cal M}$. We show that if two centrally free actions of $G$ on ${\cal M}$ differ up to approximately inner automorphisms then they are outer conjugate by an approximately inner automorphism, in the operator norm topology, which makes $A$ invariant. In addition, when $A$ is unital, simple, and with a unique tracial state and $α$ is an automorphism of $A$ we also show that the aperiodicity of $α$ on the von Neumann algebra is equivalent to…
We prove that for any infinite, maximal amenable subgroup $H$ in a hyperbolic group $G$, the von Neumann subalgebra $LH$ is maximal amenable inside $LG$. It provides many new, explicit examples of maximal amenable subalgebras in II$_1$ factors. We also prove similar maximal amenability results for direct products of relatively hyperbolic groups and orbit equivalence relations arising from measure-preserving actions of such groups.
A countable group is C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is simple. It is well known that C*-simplicity implies that the amenable radical of the group must be trivial. We show that the converse does not hold by constructing explicit counter-examples. We additionally prove that every countable group embeds into a countable group with trivial amenable radical and that is not C*-simple.
In this last article of the series on outer actions of a countable dicrete amenable group on AFD factors, we analyze outer actions of a countable discrete free abelian group on an AFD factor of type $\text{III}_λ$, $0<λ< 1$, and compute outer conjugacy invariants. As a byproduct, we discover the asymmetrization technique for coboundary condition on a $\Bbb T$-valued cocycle of a torsion free abelian group, which might have been known by the group cohomologists. As the asymmetrization technique gives us a very handy criteria for coboundaries, we present it here in detail in the second section.
We outline a simple proof of Hulanicki's theorem, that a locally compact group is amenable if and only if the left regular representation weakly contains all unitary representations. This combines some elements of the literature which have not appeared together, before.
We show that certain amenable subgroups inside $\tilde{A}_2$-groups are singular in the sense of Boutonnet and Carderi. This gives a new family of examples of singular group von Neumann subalgebras. We also give a geometric proof that if $G$ is an acylindrically hyperbolic group, $H$ is an infinite amenable subgroup containing a loxodromic element, then $H<G$ is singular. Finally, we present (counter)examples to show both situations happen concerning maximal amenability of $LH$ inside $LG$ if $H$ does not contain loxodromic elements.
We examine rigidity phenomena for representations of amenable operator algebras which have an ideal of compact operators. We establish that a generalized version of Kadison's conjecture on completely bounded homomorphisms holds for the algebra if the associated quotient is abelian. We also prove that injective completely bounded representations of the algebra are similar to complete isometries. The main motivating example for these investigations is the recent construction of Choi, Farah and Ozawa of an amenable operator algebra that is not similar to a $C^*$-algebra, and we show how it fits i…
Let $F\subseteq H\subseteq G$ be closed subgroups of a locally compact group. In response to a 1972 question by Eymard, we construct an example where the homogeneous factor-space $G/F$ is amenable in the sense of Eymard-Greenleaf, while $H/F$ is not. (In our example, $G$ is discrete.) As a corollary which answers a 1990 question by Bekka, the induced representation $\ind_H^G(ρ)$ can be amenable in the sense of Bekka even if $ρ$ is not amenable. The second example, answering another question by Bekka, shows that $\ind_H^G(ρ)$ need not be amenable even if both the representation $ρ$ and the cose…
We study actions of countable discrete groups which are amenable in the sense that there exists a mean on X which is invariant under the action of G. Assuming that G is nonamenable, we obtain structural results for the stabilizer subgroups of amenable actions which allow us to relate the first l2-Betti number of G with that of the stabilizer subgroups. An analogous relationship is also shown to hold for cost. This relationship becomes even more pronounced for transitive amenable actions, leading to a simple criterion for vanishing of the first l2-Betti number and triviality of cost. Moreover, …
We introduce inner amenability for discrete p.m.p. groupoids and investigate its basic properties, examples, and the connection with central sequences in the full group of the groupoid or central sequences in the von Neumann algebra associated with the groupoid. Among other things, we show that every free ergodic p.m.p. compact action of an inner amenable group gives rise to an inner amenable orbit equivalence relation. We also obtain an analogous result for compact extensions of equivalence relations which either are stable or have a non-trivial central sequence in their full group.
We establish new results on the weak containment of quasi-regular and Koopman representations of a second countable locally compact group $G$ associated with non-singular $G$-spaces. We deduce that any two boundary representations of a hyperbolic locally compact group are weakly equivalent. We also show that non-amenable hyperbolic locally compact groups with a cocompact amenable subgroup are characterized by the property that any two proper length functions are homothetic up to an additive constant. Combining those results with the work of Ł. Garncarek on the irreducibility of boundary repres…
In this paper, we give examples of maximal amenable subalgebras of the free group factor of two generators. More precisely, we consider two copies of the hyperfinite factor $R_i$ of type $\mathrm{II}_1$. From each $R_i$, we take a Haar unitary $u_i$ which generates a Cartan subalgebra of it. We show that the von Neumann subalgebra generated by the self-adjoint operator $u_1+u_1^{-1}+u_2+u_2^{-1}$ is maximal amenable in the free product. This provides infinitely many non-unitary conjugate maximal amenable MASAs.
We associate a cohomological invariant to each outer action of a group on a factor, and classify them by the invariant in the case that the group is a countable discrete amenable group and the factor is appoximately finite dimensional. The invariant defined for the group Out(M)=Aut(M)/Int(M) is called the intrinsic modular obstruction. The invariant for an outer action alpha is given as the pull back of the intrinsic modular obstruction, which is called the modular obstruction of alpha and denoted by Ob_m(alpha). This is the first part of the theory and presents general theory. In the case tha…
We prove that the $L^1$-algebra of any non-Kac type compact quantum group does not satisfy operator biflatness. Since operator amenability implies operator biflatness, this result shows that any co-amenable, non-Kac type compact quantum group gives a counter example to the conjecture that $L^1(\Gb)$ is operator amenable if and only if $\Gb$ is amenable and co-amenable for any locally compact quantum group $\Gb$. The result also implies that the $L^1$-algebra of a locally compact quantum group is operator biprojective if and only if $\Gb$ is compact and of Kac type.
We study weak amenability for locally compact quantum groups in the sense of Kustermans and Vaes. In particular, we focus on non-discrete examples. We prove that a coamenable quantum group is weakly amenable if there exists a net of positive, scaling invariant elements in the Fourier algebra A(G) whose representing multipliers form an approximate identity in C_0(G) that is bounded in the M_0A(G) norm; the bound being an upper estimate for the associated Cowling-Haagerup constant. As an application, we find the appropriate approximation properties of the extended quantum SU(1,1) group and its d…
We define, for a locally compact quantum group $G$ in the sense of Kustermans--Vaes, the space of $LUC(G)$ of left uniformly continuous elements in $L^\infty(G)$. This definition covers both the usual left uniformly continuous functions on a locally compact group and Granirer's uniformly continuous functionals on the Fourier algebra. We show that $LUC(G)$ is an operator system containing the $C^*$-algebra $C_0(G)$ and contained in its multiplier algebra $M(C_0(G))$. We use this to partially answer an open problem by Bedos--Tuset: if $G$ is co-amenable, then the existence of a left invariant me…
We prove that if G is a discrete group that admits a metrically proper action on a finite-dimensional CAT(0) cube complex X, then G is weakly amenable. We do this by constructing uniformly bounded Hilbert space representations for which the quantities z^{l(g)} are matrix coefficients. Here l is a length function on G obtained from the combinatorial distance function on the complex X.
We construct a locally compact groupoid with the properties in the title. Our example is based closely on constructions used by Higson, Lafforgue, and Skandalis in their work on counterexamples to the Baum-Connes conjecture. It is a bundle of countable groups over the one point compactification of the natural numbers, and is Hausdorff, second countable and étale.
We introduce an equivariant version of the weak expectation property (WEP) at the level of operator modules over completely contractive Banach algebras $A$. We prove a number of general results---for example, a characterization of the $A$-WEP in terms of an appropriate $A$-injective envelope, and also a characterization of those $A$ for which $A$-WEP implies WEP. In the case of $A=L^1(G)$, we recover the $G$-WEP for $G$-$C^*$-algebras in recent work of Buss--Echterhoff--Willett. When $A=A(G)$, we obtain a dual notion for operator modules over the Fourier algebra. These dual notions are related…