We provide a new large class of countable icc groups $\mathcal A$ for which the product rigidity result from [CdSS15] holds: if $Γ_1,\dots,Γ_n\in\mathcal A$ and $Λ$ is any group such that $L(Γ_1\times\dots\timesΓ_n)\cong L(Λ)$, then there exists a product decomposition $Λ=Λ_1\times\dots\times Λ_n$ such that $L(Λ_i)$ is stably isomorphic to $L(Γ_i)$, for any $1\leq i\leq n$. Class $\mathcal A$ consists of groups $Γ$ for which $L(Γ)$ admits an s-malleable deformation in the sense of Sorin Popa and it includes all non-amenable groups $Γ$ such that either (a) $Γ$ admits an unbounded 1-cocycle into its left regular representation, or (b) $Γ$ is an arbitrary wreath product group with amenable base. As a byproduct of these results, we obtain new examples of W$^*$-superrigid groups and new rigidity results in the C$^*$-algebra theory.
We consider cross-product II$_1$ factors $M = N\rtimes_σ G$, with $G$ discrete ICC groups that contain infinite normal subgroups with the relative property (T) and $σ: G \to {\text{\rm Aut}}N$ trace preserving actions of $G$ on finite von Neumann algebras $N$ that are ``malleable'' and mixing. Examples are the weighted Bernoulli and Bogoliubov shifts. We prove a rigidity result for such factors, showing the uniqueness of the position of $L(G)$ inside $M$. We use this to calculate the fundamental group $\mycal F(M)$ in terms of the weights of the shift, for certain arithmetic groups $G$ such as…
We prove that any isomorphism $θ:M_0\simeq M$ of group measure space II$_1$ factors, $M_0=L^\infty(X_0, μ_0) \rtimes_{σ_0} G_0$, $M=L^\infty(X, μ) \rtimes_σ G$, with $G_0$ containing infinite normal subgroups with the relative property (T) of Kazhdan-Margulis (i.e. $G_0$ {\it w-rigid}) and $G$ an ICC group acting by Bernoulli shifts $σ$, essentially comes from an isomorphism of probability spaces which conjugates the actions. Moreover, any isomorphism $θ$ of $M_0$ onto a ``corner'' $pMp$ of $M$, for $p\in M$ an idempotent, forces $p=1$. In particular, all group measure space factors associated…
We single out a large class of groups ${\mathscr{M}}$ for which the following unique prime factorization result holds: if $Γ_1,\dots,Γ_n\in {\mathscr{M}}$ and $Γ_1\times\dots\timesΓ_n$ is measure equivalent to a product $Λ_1\times\dots\timesΛ_m$ of infinite icc groups, then $n \ge m$, and if $n = m$ then, after permutation of the indices, $Γ_i$ is measure equivalent to $Λ_i$, for all $1\leq i\leq n$. This provides an analogue of Monod and Shalom's theorem \cite{MS02} for groups that belong to ${\mathscr{M}}$. Class ${\mathscr{M}}$ is constructed using groups whose von Neumann algebras admit an…
We survey some of the progress made recently in the classification of von Neumann algebras arising from countable groups and their measure preserving actions on probability spaces. We emphasize results which provide classes of (W$^*$-superrigid) actions that can be completely recovered from their von Neumann algebras and II$_1$ factors that have a unique Cartan subalgebra. We also present cocycle superrigidity theorems and some of their applications to orbit equivalence. Finally, we discuss several recent rigidity results for von Neumann algebras associated to groups.
In this talk, I will survey recent progress made on the classification of von Neumann algebras arising from countable groups and their actions on probability spaces. In particular, I will present the first results which provide classes of (superrigid) groups and actions that can be entirely reconstructed from their von Neumann algebras.
In this note, we will point out, as a corollary of Popa's rigidity theory, that the crossed product von Neumann algebras for Bernoulli shifts cannot have relative property T. This is an operator algebra analogue of the theorem shown by Neuhauser and Cherix-Martin-Valette for discrete groups. Our proof is different from that for groups.
We use malleable deformations combined with spectral gap rigidity theory, in the framework of Popa's deformation/rigidity theory to prove unique tensor product decomposition results for II$_1$ factors arising as tensor product of wreath product factors. We also obtain a similar result regarding measure equivalence decomposition of direct products of such groups.
We prove that the free product pair of any finitely many copies of the unique amenable type III$_1$ factor endowed with weakly mixing states remembers the number of free components and the given states.
We obtain new Bass-Serre type rigidity results for ${\rm II_1}$ equivalence relations and their von Neumann algebras, coming from free ergodic actions of free products of groups on the standard probability space. As an application, we show that any non-amenable factor arising as an amalgamated free product of von Neumann algebras $\mathcal{M}_1 \ast_B \mathcal{M}_2$ over an abelian von Neumann algebra $B$, is prime, i.e. cannot be written as a tensor product of diffuse factors. This gives, both in the type ${\rm II_1}$ and in the type ${\rm III}$ case, new examples of prime factors.
Let $I$ be any nonempty set and $(M_i, φ_i)_{i \in I}$ any family of nonamenable factors, endowed with arbitrary faithful normal states, that belong to a large class $\mathcal C_{\rm anti-free}$ of (possibly type III) von Neumann algebras including all nonprime factors, all nonfull factors and all factors possessing a Cartan subalgebra. For the free product $(M, φ) = \ast_{i \in I} (M_i, φ_i)$, we show that the free product von Neumann algebra $M$ retains the cardinality $|I|$ and each nonamenable factor $M_i$ up to stably inner conjugacy, after permutation of the indices. Our main theorem uni…
We introduce the notion of L^2-rigidity for von Neumann algebras, a generalization of property (T) which can be viewed as an analogue for the vanishing of 1-cohomology into the left regular representation of a group. We show that L^2-rigidity passes to normalizers and is satisfied by nonamenable II_1 factors which are non-prime, have property $Γ$, or are weakly rigid. As a consequence we obtain that if $M$ is a free product of diffuse von Neumann algebras, or if $M = LΓ$ where $Γ$ is a finitely generated group with $b_1^{(2)}(Γ) > 0$, then any nonamenable regular subfactor of $M$ is prime and …
We prove that if a countable discrete group $Γ$ is {\it w-rigid}, i.e. it contains an infinite normal subgroup $H$ with the relative property (T) (e.g. $Γ= SL(2,\Bbb Z) \ltimes \Bbb Z^2$, or $Γ= H \times H'$ with $H$ an infinite Kazhdan group and $H'$ arbitrary), and $\Cal V$ is a closed subgroup of the group of unitaries of a finite von Neumann algebra (e.g. $\Cal V$ countable discrete, or separable compact), then any $\Cal V$-valued measurable cocycle for a measure preserving action $Γ\curvearrowright X$ of $Γ$ on a probability space $(X,μ)$ which is weak mixing on $H$ and {\it s-malleable} …
We survey Sorin Popa's recent work on Bernoulli actions. The paper was written on the occasion of the Bourbaki seminar. Using very original methods from operator algebras, Sorin Popa has shown that the orbit structure of the Bernoulli action of a property (T) group, completely remembers the group and the action. This information is even essentially contained in the crossed product von Neumann algebra, yielding the first von Neumann strong rigidity theorem in the literature. The same methods allow Popa to obtain II_1 factors with prescribed countable fundamental group.
We provide a fairly large family of amalgamated free product groups $Γ=Γ_1\ast_ΣΓ_2$ whose amalgam structure can be completely recognized from their von Neumann algebras. Specifically, assume that $Γ_i$ is a product of two icc non-amenable bi-exact (e.g., hyperbolic) groups, and $Σ$ is icc amenable and has trivial one-sided commensurator in $Γ_i$, for every $i\in\{1,2\}$. Then $Γ$ satisfies the following rigidity property: any group $\La$ such that $L(\La)$ is isomorphic to $L(\G)$ admits an amalgamated free product decomposition $\La=\La_1\ast_Δ\La_2$ such that the inclusions $L(Δ)\subseteq L…
Motivated by Popa's seminal work \cite{Po04}, in this paper, we provide a fairly large class of examples of group actions $Γ\curvearrowright X$ satisfying the extended Neshveyev-Størmer rigidity phenomenon \cite{NS03}: whenever $Λ\curvearrowright Y$ is a free ergodic pmp action and there is a $\ast$-isomorphism $Θ:L^\infty(X)\rtimes Γ\rightarrow L^\infty(Y)\rtimes Λ$ such that $Θ(L(Γ))=L(Λ)$ then the actions $Γ\curvearrowright X$ and $Λ\curvearrowright Y$ are conjugate (in a way compatible with $Θ$). We also obtain a complete description of the intermediate subalgebras of all (possibly non-fre…
We say that a countable discrete group $Γ$ satisfies the invariant von Neumann subalgebras rigidity (ISR) property if every $Γ$- invariant von Neumann subalgebra $\mathcal{M}$ in $L(Γ)$ is of the form $L(Λ)$ for some normal subgroup $Λ\lhd Γ$. We show many ``negatively curved" groups, including all torsion free non-amenable hyperbolic groups and torsion free groups with positive first $L^2$-Betti number under a mild assumption, and certain finite direct product of them have this property. We also discuss whether the torsion-free assumption can be relaxed.
We give a survey of recent classification results for crossed product von Neumann algebras arising from measure preserving group actions on probability spaces. This includes II_1 factors with uncountable fundamental groups and the construction of W*-superrigid actions where the crossed product entirely remembers the initial group action that it was constructed from.
We prove the first rigidity and classification theorems for crossed product von Neumann algebras given by actions of non-discrete, locally compact groups. We prove that for arbitrary free probability measure preserving actions of connected simple Lie groups of real rank one, the crossed product has a unique Cartan subalgebra up to unitary conjugacy. We then deduce a W* strong rigidity theorem for irreducible actions of products of such groups. More generally, our results hold for products of locally compact groups that are nonamenable, weakly amenable and that belong to Ozawa's class S.
In this article we study property (T) groups arising from Rips construction in geometric group theory in the spirit of \cite{CDK19} and certain inductive limit groups from this class. Using interplay between Popa's deformation/rigidity and methods in geometric group theory we are able to extend the class of groups considered in \cite{CDK19} that remembers semidirect product features while passing to the group von Neumann algebras. Combining these results with the method developed in \cite{CDHK20} we are able to produce more examples of property (T) group factors with trivial fundamental group.…
We show that if $Γ= Γ_1\times\dotsb\times Γ_n$ is a product of $n\geq 2$ non-elementary ICC hyperbolic groups then any discrete group $Λ$ which is $W^*$-equivalent to $Γ$ decomposes as a $k$-fold direct sum exactly when $k=n$. This gives a group-level strengthening of Ozawa and Popa's unique prime decomposition theorem by removing all assumptions on the group $Λ$. This result in combination with Margulis' normal subgroup theorem allows us to give examples of lattices in the same Lie group which do not generate stably equivalent II$_1$ factors.
We use deformation-rigidity theory in von Neumann algebra framework to study probability measure preserving actions by wreath product groups. In particular, we single out large families of wreath products groups satisfying various type of orbit equivalence (OE) rigidity. For instance, we show that whenever $H$, $K$, $\G$, $\La$ are icc, property (T) groups such that $H\wr \G$ is measure equivalent to $K\wr \La$ then automatically $\G$ is measure equivalent to $\La$ and $H^{\G}$ is measure equivalent to $K^{\La}$. Rigidity results for von Neumann algebras arising from certain actions of such gr…
We consider crossed product von Neumann algebras arising from free Bogoljubov actions of the integers. We describe several presentations of them as amalgamated free products and cocycle crossed products and give a criterion for factoriality. A number of isomorphism results for free Bogoljubov crossed products are proved, focusing on those arising from almost periodic representations. We complement our isomorphism results by rigidity results yielding non-isomorphic free Bogoljubov crossed products and by a partial characterisation of strong solidity of a free Bogoljubov crossed products in term…
Using Popa's deformation/rigidity theory, we investigate prime decompositions of von Neumann algebras of the form $L(\mathcal{R})$ for countable probability measure preserving equivalence relations $\mathcal{R}$. We show that $L(\mathcal{R})$ is prime whenever $\mathcal{R}$ is nonamenable, ergodic, and admits an unbounded 1-cocycle into a mixing orthogonal representation weakly contained in the regular representation. This is accomplished by constructing the $\textit{Gaussian extension }\tilde{\mathcal{R}}$ of $\mathcal{R}$ and subsequently an s-malleable deformation of the inclusion $L(\mathc…
We prove that the notion of relative property (T) (or rigidity) for inclusions of finite von Neumann algebras defined in [Po1] is equivalent to a weaker property, in which no ``continuity constants'' are required. The proof is by contradiction and uses infinite products of completely positive maps, regarded as correspondences.
We investigate factoriality, Connes' type ${\rm III}$ invariants and fullness of arbitrary amalgamated free product von Neumann algebras using Popa's deformation/rigidity theory. Among other things, we generalize many previous structural results on amalgamated free product von Neumann algebras and we obtain new examples of full amalgamated free product factors for which we can explicitely compute Connes' type ${\rm III}$ invariants.
We show that any infinite collection $(Γ_n)_{n\in \mathbb N}$ of icc, hyperbolic, property (T) groups satisfies the following von Neumann algebraic \emph{infinite product rigidity} phenomenon. If $Λ$ is an arbitrary group such that $L(\oplus_{n\in \mathbb N} Γ_n)\cong L(Λ)$ then there exists an infinite direct sum decomposition $Λ=(\oplus_{n \in \mathbb N} Λ_n )\oplus A$ with $A$ icc amenable such that, for all $n\in \mathbb N$, up to amplifications, we have $L(Γ_n) \cong L(Λ_n)$ and $L(\oplus_{k\geq n} Γ_k )\cong L((\oplus_{k\geq n} Λ_k) \oplus A)$. The result is sharp and complements the pre…
D. Bures had defined a metric on the set of normal states on a von Neumann algebra using GNS representations of states. This notion has been extended to completely positive maps between $C^*$-algebras by D. Kretschmann, D. Schlingemann and R. F. Werner. We present a Hilbert $C^*$-module version of this theory. We show that we do get a metric when the completely positive maps under consideration map to a von Neumann algebra. Further, we include several examples and counter examples. We also prove a rigidity theorem, showing that representation modules of completely positive maps which are close…
The notion of strong 1-boundedness for finite von Neumann algebras was introduced by Jung in arXiv:math/0510576 . This framework provided a free probabilistic approach to study rigidity properties and classification of finite von Neumann algebras. In this paper, we prove that tracial von Neumann algebras with a finite Kazhdan set are strongly 1-bounded. This includes all Property (T) von Neumann algebras with finite dimensional center and group von Neumann algebras of Property (T) groups. This result generalizes all the previous results in this direction due to Voiculescu, Ge, Ge-Shen, Connes-…
We study the Haagerup property for C*-algebras. We first give new examples of C*-algebras with the Haagerup property. A nuclear C*-algebra with a faithful tracial state always has the Haagerup property, and the permanence of the Haagerup property for C*-algebras is established. As a consequence, the class of all C*-algebras with the Haagerup property turns out to be quite large. We then apply Popa's results and show the C*-algebras with property (T) have a certain rigidity property. Unlike the case of von Neumann algebras, for the reduced group C*-algebras of groups with relative property (T),…
We consider II$_1$ factors of the form $M=\bar{\bigotimes}_{G}N\rtimes G$, where either i) $N$ is a non-hyperfinite II$_1$ factor and $G$ is an ICC amenable group or ii) $N$ is a weakly rigid II$_1$ factor and $G$ is ICC group and where $G$ acts on $\bar{\bigotimes}_{G}N$ by Bernoulli shifts. We prove that isomorphism of two such factors implies cocycle conjugacy of the corresponding Bernoulli shift actions. In particular, the groups acting are isomorphic. As a consequence, we can distinguish between certain classes of group von Neumann algebras associated to wreath product groups.
Suppose $N$ is a diffuse, property T von Neumann algebra and X is an arbitrary finite generating set of selfadjoint elements for N. By using rigidity/deformation arguments applied to representations of N in full matrix algebras, we deduce that the microstate spaces of X are asymptotically discrete up to unitary conjugacy. We use this description to show that the free entropy dimension of X, $δ_0(X)$, is less than or equal to 1. It follows that when N embeds into the ultraproduct of the hyperfinite $\mathrm{II}_1$-factor, then $δ_0(X)=1$ and otherwise, $δ_0(X)=-\infinity$. This generalizes the …
Consider a countable group Gamma acting ergodically by measure preserving transformations on a probability space (X,mu), and let R_Gamma be the corresponding orbit equivalence relation on X. The following rigidity phenomenon is shown: there exist group actions such that the equivalence relation R_Gamma on X determines the group Gamma and the action (X,mu,Gamma) uniquely, up to finite groups. The natural action of SL_n(Z) on the n-torus R^n/Z^n, for n>2, is one of such examples. The interpretation of these results in the context of von Neumann algebras provides some support to the conjecture of…
We establish several properties of the free Stein dimension, an invariant for finitely generated unital tracial $*$-algebras. We give formulas for its behaviour under direct sums and tensor products with finite dimensional algebras. Among a given set of generators, we show that (approximate) algebraic relations produce (non-approximate) bounds on the free Stein dimension. Particular treatment is given to the case of separable abelian von Neumann algebras, where we show that free Stein dimension is a von Neumann algebra invariant. In addition, we show that under mild assumptions $L^2$-rigidity …
Given a discrete group $Γ$, a finite factor $\mathcal N$ and a real number $p\in [1, +\infty)$ with $p\neq 2,$ we are concerned with the rigidity of actions of $Γ$ by linear isometries on the $L_p$-spaces $L_p(\mathcal N)$ associated to $\mathcal N$. More precisely, we show that, when $Γ$ and $\mathcal N$ have both Property (T) and under some natural ergodicity condition, such an action $π$ is locally rigid in the group $G$ of linear isometries of $L_p(\mathcal N)$, that is, every sufficiently small perturbation of $π$ is conjugate to $π$ under $G$. As a consequence, when $Γ$ is an ICC Kazhdan…
We introduce a wide class of countable groups, called properly proximal, which contains all non-amenable bi-exact groups, all non-elementary convergence groups, and all lattices in non-compact semi-simple Lie groups, but excludes all inner amenable groups. We show that crossed product II$_1$ factors arising from free ergodic probability measure preserving actions of groups in this class have at most one weakly compact Cartan subalgebra, up to unitary conjugacy. As an application, we obtain the first $W^*$-strong rigidity results for compact actions of $SL_d(\mathbb Z)$ for $d \geq 3$.
A group $G$ is called $W^*$-superrigid (resp. $C^*$-superrigid) if it is completely recognizable from its von Neumann algebra $L(G)$ (resp. reduced $C^*$-algebra $C_r^*(G)$). Developing new technical aspects in Popa's deformation/rigidity theory we introduce several new classes of $W^*$-superrigid groups which appear as direct products, semidirect products with non-amenable core and iterations of amalgamated free products and HNN-extensions. As a byproduct we obtain new rigidity results in $C^*$-algebra theory including additional examples of $C^*$-superrigid groups and explicit computations o…
This is a continuation of our previous paper studying the structure of Cartan subalgebras of von Neumann factors of type II_1. We provide more examples of II_1 factors having either zero, one or several Cartan subalgebras. We also prove a rigidity result for some group measure space II_1 factors.
In the past two decades, Sorin Popa's breakthrough deformation/rigidity theory has produced remarkable rigidity results for von Neumann algebras $M$ which can be deformed inside a larger algebra $\widetilde M \supseteq M$ by an action $α: \mathbb{R} \to {\rm Aut}(\widetilde M)$, while simultaneously containing subalgebras $Q$ {\it rigid} with respect to that deformation, that is, such that $α_t \to {\rm id}$ uniformly on the unit ball of $Q$ as $t \to 0$. However, it has remained unclear how to exploit the interplay between distinct rigid subalgebras not in specified relative position. We show…
