Every unital nonselfadjoint operator algebra possesses canonical and functorial classes of faithful (even completely isometric) Hilbert space representations satisfying a double commutant theorem generalizing von Neumann's classical result. Examples and complementary results are given.
Richard Kadison showed that not every commutative von Neumann subalgebra of a factor von Neumann algebra is equal to its relative double commutant. We prove that every commutative C*-subalgebra of a centrally prime C*-algebra $B$ equals its relative approximate double commutant. If $B$ is a von Neumann algebra, there is a related distance formula.
We extend work of the first author concering relative double commutants and approximate double commutants of unital subalgebras of unital C*-algebras, including metric versions involving distance estimates. We prove metric results for AH subalgebras of von Neumann algebras or AF subalgebras of primitive C*-algebras. We prove other general results, including some for nonselfadjoint commutative subalgebras, using C*-algebraic versions of the Stone-Weierstrass and Bishop-Stone-Weierstrass theorems.
First, we construct the Jones tower and tunnel of the central sequence subfactor arising from a hyperfinite type II_1 subfactor with finite index and finite depth, and prove each algebra has the double commutant property in the ultraproduct of the enveloping II_1 factor. Next, we show the equivalence between Popa's strong amenability and the double commutant property of the central sequence factor for subfactors as above without assuming the finite depth condition.
In this paper we study the Toeplitz algebra, which is generated by Toeplitz operators with bounded symbols on the Fock space $F^p_α$. We show that the Toeplitz algebra coincides with each of the algebras generated by band-dominated, sufficiently localized and weakly localized operators, respectively. Moreover, we determine its essential commutant and its essential bicommutant. For $p = 2$ these results were obtained recently by Xia. However, Xia's ideas are mostly connected to Hilbert space theory and methods which are not applicable for $p \neq 2$. Instead, we use a recent result of Fulsche t…
We survey the operator algebras arising as commutants modulo normed ideals of finite sets of hermitian operators and connections to perturbations of operators and noncommutative geometry.
The category of von Neumann correspondences from B to C (or von Neumann B-C-modules) is dual to the category of von Neumann correspondences from C' to B' via a functor that generalizes naturally the functor that sends a von Neumann algebra to its commutant and back. We show that under this duality, called commutant, Rieffel's Eilenberg-Watts theorem (on functors between the categories of representations of two von Neumann algebras) switches into Blecher's Eilenberg-Watts theorem (on functors between the categories of von Neumann modules over two von Neumann algebras) and back.
We take a new look at dilation theory for nonself-adjoint operator algebras. Among the extremal (co)extensions of a representation, there is a special property of being fully extremal. This allows a refinement of some of the classical notions which are important when one moves away from standard examples. We show that many algebras including graph algebras and tensor algebras of C*-correspondences have the semi-Dirichlet property which collapses these notions and explains why they have a better dilation theory. This leads to variations of the notions of commutant lifting and Ando's theorem. Th…
Let $C(K)$ be the space of all real or complex valued continuous functions on a compact Hausdorff space $K$. We are interested in the following property of $K$: for any real valued $f \in C(K)$ the double commutant of the corresponding multiplication operator $F$ coincides with the norm closed algebra generated by $F$ and $I$. In this case we say that $K \in \mathcal{DCP}$. It was proved in \cite{Ki} that any locally connected metrizable continuum is in $\mathcal{DCP}$. In this paper we indicate a class of arc connected but not locally connected continua that are in $\mathcal{DCP}$. We also co…
We consider non-selfadjoint operator algebras $\mathfrak{L}(G,λ)$ generated by weighted creation operators on the Fock-Hilbert spaces of countable directed graphs $G$. These algebras may be viewed as noncommutative generalizations of weighted Bergman space algebras, or as weighted versions of the free semigroupoid algebras of directed graphs. A complete description of the commutant is obtained together with broad conditions that ensure the double commutant property. It is also shown that the double commutant property may fail for $\mathfrak{L}(G,λ)$ in the case of the single vertex graph with …
The generating abelian subalgebras arsing from vectors in the ergodic component of Hiai's construction of the q-deformed Araki-Woods von Neumann algebras are quasi-split.
We answer a question of E. Kirchberg (personal communication): does the relative commutant of a separable C*-algebra in its ultrapower depend on the choice of the ultrafilter?
Let $α:G \curvearrowright M$ be a spatial action of countable abelian group on a "spatial" von Neumann algebra $M$ and $S$ be its unital subsemigroup with $G=S^{-1}S$. We explicitly compute the essential commutant and the essential fixed-points, modulo the Schatten $p$-class or the compact operators, of the w$^*$-semicrossed product of $M$ by $S$ when $M'$ contains no non-zero compact operators. We also prove a weaker result when $M$ is a von Neumann algebra on a finite dimensional Hilbert space and $(G,S)=(\mathbb{Z},\mathbb{Z}_{+})$, which extends a famous result due to Davidson (1977) for t…
The relative commutant $A'\cap A^{\mathcal{U}}$ of a strongly self-absorbing algebra $A$ is indistinguishable from its ultrapower $A^{\mathcal{U}}$. This applies both to the case when $A$ is the hyperfinite II$_1$ factor and to the case when it is a strongly self-absorbing C*-algebra. In the latter case we prove analogous results for $\ell_\infty(A)/c_0(A)$ and reduced powers corresponding to other filters on $\bf N$. Examples of algebras with approximately inner flip and approximately inner half-flip are provided, showing the optimality of our results. We also prove that strongly self-absorbi…
Consider a bounded strongly pseudo-convex domain $Ω$ with a smooth boundary in $\mathbb{C}^n$. Let $\mathcal{T}$ be the Toeplitz algebra on the Bergman space $L^2_a(Ω)$. That is, $\mathcal{T}$ is the $C^\ast $-algebra generated by the Toeplitz operators $\{T_f : f \in L^\infty (Ω)\}$. Extending previous work in the special case of the unit ball, we show that on any such $Ω$, $\mathcal{T}$ and $\{T_f : f \in {\text{VO}}_{\text{bdd}}\} + \mathcal{K}$ are essential commutants of each other. On a general $Ω$ considered in this paper, the proofs require many new ideas and techniques. These same tec…
Our two principle goals are generalizations of the commutant lifting theorem and the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation theorem to the context of Hardy algebras built from $W^*$-correspondences endowed with a sequence of weights. These theorems generalize theorems of Muhly and Solel from 1998 and 2004, respectively, which were proved in settings without weights. Of special interest is the fact that commutant lifting in our setting is a consequence of Parrott's Lemma; it is inspired by work of Arias.
We show that for a commuting n-tuple of hermitian operators, with perfect spectrum, the essential centre of the algebra of operators commuting with the n-tuple mod a diagonalization ideal arises from the C*-algebra of the n-tuple. This answers a question for normal operators and the Hilbert-Schmidt class connected to K-theory for almost normal operators.
Let X be a proper metric space, which has finite asymptotic dimension in the sense of Gromov (or more generally, straight finite decomposition complexity of Dranishnikov and Zarichnyi). New descriptions are provided of the Roe algebra of X: (i) it consists exactly of operators which essentially commute with diagonal operators coming from Higson functions (that is, functions on X whose oscillation tends to 0 at infinity) and (ii) it consists exactly of quasi-local operators, that is, ones which have finite epsilon propogation (in the sense of Roe) for every epsilon>0. These descriptions hold bo…
Collective rotation channels are a fundamental class of channels in quantum computing and quantum information theory. The commutant of the noise operators for such a channel is a C*-algebra which is equal to the set of fixed points for the channel. Finding the precise spatial structure of the commutant algebra for a set of noise operators associated with a channel is a core problem in quantum error prevention. We draw on methods of operator algebras, quantum mechanics and combinatorics to explicitly determine the structure of the commutant for the class of collective rotation channels.
Given a von Neumann algebra $M$ and a $W^{\ast}$-correspondence $E$ over $M$, we construct an algebra $H^{\infty}(E)$ that we call the Hardy algebra of $E$. When $M=\mathbb{C}=E$, then $H^{\infty}(E)$ is the classical Hardy space $H^{\infty}(\mathbb{T})$ of bounded analytic functions on the unit disc. We show that given any faithful normal representation $σ$ of $M$ on a Hilbert space $H$ there is a natural correspondence $E^σ$ over the commutant $σ(M)^{\prime}$, called the $σ$-dual of $E$, and that $H^{\infty}(E)$ can be realized in terms of ($B(H)$-valued) functions on the open unit ball $\ma…
We study uniform perturbations of intermediate C*-subalgebras of inclusions of simple C*-algebras. If a unital simple C*-algebra has a simple C*-subalgebra of finite index, then sufficiently close simple intermediate C*-subalgebras are unitarily equivalent. These C*-subalgebras need not to be nuclear. The unitary can be chosen in the relative commutant algebra. An imediate corollary is the following: If the relative commutant is trivial, then the set of intermediate C*-subagebras is a finite set.
An open question of Sorin Popa asks whether or not every $R^{\mathcal{U}}$-embeddable factor admits an embedding into $R^{\mathcal{U}}$ with factorial relative commutant. We show that there is a locally universal McDuff II$_1$ factor $M$ such that every property (T) factor admits an embedding into $M^{\mathcal{U}}$ with factorial relative commutant. We also discuss how our strategy could be used to settle Popa's question for property (T) factors if a certain open question in the model theory of operator algebras has a positive solution.
The effect of noise on a quantum system can be described by a set of operators obtained from the interaction Hamiltonian. Recently it has been shown that generalized quantum error correcting codes can be derived by studying the algebra of this set of operators. This led to the discovery of noiseless subsystems. They are described by a set of operators obtained from the commutant of the noise generators. In this paper we derive a general method to compute the structure of this commutant in the case of unital noise.
Given an n-tuple of multiplication operators on the Bergman space of a bounded pseudoconvex domain in C^n, we study the algebra of their commutants. In particular, we give a geometric description of the maximal C*-subalgebra of this algebra.
We consider compact group actions on C*- and W*- algebras. We prove results that relate the duality property of the action (as defined in the Introduction) with other relevant properties of the system such as the relative commutant of the fixed point algebras being trivial (called the irreducibility of the inclusion) and also to the Galois correspondence between invariant C*-subalgebras containing the fixed point algebra and the class of closed normal subgroups of the compact group.
Given locally compact quantum groups $\G_1$ and $\G_2$, we show that if the convolution algebras $L^1(\G_1)$ and $L^1(\G_2)$ are isometrically isomorphic as algebras, then $\G_1$ is isomorphic either to $\G_2$ or the commutant $\G_2'$. Furthermore, given an isometric algebra isomorphism $θ:L^1(\G_2) \rightarrow L^1(\G_1)$, the adjoint is a *-isomorphism between $L^\infty(\G_1)$ and either $L^\infty(\G_2)$ or its commutant, composed with a twist given by a member of the intrinsic group of $L^\infty(\G_2)$. This extends known results for Kac algebras (although our proofs are somewhat different) …
We apply the free product construction to various local algebras in algebraic quantum field theory. If we take the free product of infinitely many identical half-sided modular inclusions with ergodic canonical endomorphism, we obtain a half-sided modular inclusion with ergodic canonical endomorphism and trivial relative commutant. On the other hand, if we take Möbius covariant nets with trace class property, we are able to construct an inclusion of free product von Neumann algebras with large relative commutant, by considering either a finite family of identical inclusions or an infinite famil…
In this paper, we study the structure of operators in a type $\mathrm{I}_{n}$ von Neumann algebra $\mathscr{A}$. Inspired by the Jordan canonical form theorem, our main motivation is to figure out the relation between the structure of an operator $A$ in $\mathscr{A}$ and the property that a bounded maximal abelian set of idempotents contained in the relative commutant $\{A\}^{\prime} \cap\mathscr{A}$ is unique up to similarity. Furthermore, we classify this class of operators with the property by $K$-theory for Banach algebras. Some views and techniques are from von Neumann's reduction theory.
Let E be a W*-algebra, H a selfdual Hilbert right E-module, L(H) the W*-algebra of adjointable operators on H, and F an involutive unital subalgebra of L(H). We prove that the double commutant of F is the W*-subalgebra of L(H) generated by F. The proofs work simultaneously for the real and for the complex case. If E is the field of real or complex numbers then H is a Hilbert space and this result becomes the well-known classical double commutation theorem.
Higher-rank graph generalisations of the Popescu-Poisson transform are constructed, allowing us to develop a dilation theory for higher rank operator tuples. These dilations are joint dilations of the families of operators satisfying relations encoded by the graph structure which we call $Λ$-contractions or $Λ$-coisometries. Besides commutant lifting results and characterisations of pure states on higher rank graph algebras several applications to the structure theory of non-selfadjoint graph operator algebras are presented generalising recent results in special cases.
We obtain intertwining dilation theorems for noncommutative regular domains D_f and noncommutative varieties V_J of n-tuples of operators, which generalize Sarason and Sz.-Nagy--Foias commutant lifting theorem for commuting contractions. We present several applications including a new proof for the commutant lifting theorem for pure elements in the domain D_f (resp. variety V_J) as well as a Schur type representation for the unit ball of the Hardy algebra associated with the variety V_J. We provide Ando type dilations and inequalities for bi-domains D_f \times D_g and bi-varieties V_J \times V…
A Fejér-type theorem is proved within the framework of $C^*$-algebras associated with certain irreversible algebraic dynamical systems. This makes it possible to strengthen a result on the structure of the relative commutant of a family of generating isometries in a boundary quotient.
Given C$^*$-algebras $A$ and $B$ acting cyclically on Hilbert spaces $\h$ and $\k$, respectively, we characterize completely isometric $A,B$-bimodule maps from $\bkh$ into operator $A,B$-bimodules. We determine cogenerators in some classes of operator bimodules. For an injective cogenerator $X$ in a suitable category of operator $A,B$-bimodules we show: if $A$, regarded as a C$^*$-subalgebra of $\al(X)$ (adjointable left multipliers on $X$), is equal to its relative double commutant in $\al(X)$, then $A$ must be a W$^*$-algebra.
Several authors have considered whether the ultrapower and the relative commutant of a C*-algebra or II_1 factor depend on the choice of the ultrafilter. We settle each of these questions, extending results of Ge-Hadwin and the first author.
We define a new notion of entropy for operators on Fock spaces and positive definite multi-Toeplitz kernels on free semigroups. This is studied in connection with factorization theorems for (multi-Toeplitz, multi-analytic, etc.) operators on Fock spaces. These results lead to entropy inequalities and entropy formulas for positive definite multi-Toeplitz kernels on free semigroups (resp.multi-Toeplitz operators) and consequences concerning the extreme points of the unit ball of the noncommutative analytic Toeplitz algebra F_n^\infty. We obtain several geometric characterizations of the multivar…
We study commutants modulo some normed ideal of n-tuples of operators which satisfy a certain approximate unit condition relative to the ideal. We obtain results about the quotient of these Banach algebras by their ideal of compact operators being C*-algebras which have the countable degree-1 saturation property in the model-theory sense of I. Farah and B. Hart. We also obtain results about quasicentral approximate units, multipliers and duality.
We define a canonical relative commutant planar algebra from a strongly Markov inclusion of finite von Neumann algebras. In the case of a connected unital inclusion of finite dimensional C*-algebras with the Markov trace, we show this planar algebra is isomorphic to the bipartite graph planar algebra of the Bratteli diagram of the inclusion. Finally, we show that a finite depth subfactor planar algebra is a planar subalgebra of the bipartite graph planar algebra of its principal graph.
The induction and reduction precesses of an O*-vector space $\M$ obtained by means of a projection taken, respectively, in $\M$ itself or in its weak bounded commutant $\M'_\w$ are studied. In the case where $\M$ is a partial GW*-algebra, sufficient conditions are given for the induced and the reduced spaces to be partial GW*-algebras again.
We show that an outer action of a finite abelian group on a simple Cuntz-Krieger algebra is strongly approximately inner in the sense of Izumi if the action is given by diagonal quasi-free automorphisms and the associated matrix is aperiodic. This is achieved by an approximate cohomology vanishing-type argument for the canonical shift restricted to the relative commutant of the set of domain projections of the canonical generating isometries in the fixed point algebra.
We consider two twisted actions of a countable discrete group on $σ$-unital $C^*$-algebras. Then by taking the reduced crossed products, we get two inclusions of $C^*$-algebras. We suppose that they are strongly Morita equivalent as inclusions of $C^*$-algebras. Also, we suppose that one of the inclusions is irreducible, that is, the relative commutant of one of the $σ$-unital $C^*$-algebra in the multiplier $C^*$-algebra of the reduced twisted crossed product is trivial. We show that the two actions are then strongly Morita equivalent up to some automorphism of the group.
In this paper we investigate the normalizer $\mathcal{N}_{\mathcal{O}_{n}}(A)$ of a $C^{*}$-subalgebra $A\subset \mathcal{F}_{n}$ where $\mathcal{F}_{n}$ is the canonical UHF-subalgebra of type $n^{\infty}$ in the Cuntz algebra $\mathcal{O}_{n}$. Under the assumption that the relative commutant $A'\cap \mathcal{F}_{n}$ is finite-dimensional, we show several facts for normalizers of $A$. In particular it is shown that the automorphism group $\{{\rm Ad}u|_{A}\ \ |\ u\in \mathcal{N}_{\mathcal{F}_{n}}(A)\}$ has a finite index in $\{{\rm Ad}U|_{A}\ \ |\ U\in \mathcal{N}_{\mathcal{O}_{n}}(A)\}$.
Consider a unital C*-algebra A, a von Neumann algebra M, a unital sub-C*-algebra C of A and a unital *-homomorphism $π$ from C to M. Let u: A --> M be a decomposable map (i.e. a linear combination of completely positive maps) which is a C-bimodule map with respect to $π$. We show that u is a linear combination of C-bimodule completely positive maps if and only if there exists a projection e in the commutant of $π(C)$ such that u is valued in eMe and $eπ(.)e$ has a completely positive extension A --> eMe.
It was shown recently by Conti, Rørdam and Szymański that there exist endomorphisms $λ_u$ of the Cuntz algebra $\mathcal{O}_n$ such that $λ_u (\mathcal{F}_n)\subseteq\mathcal{F}_n$ but $u\not\in\mathcal{F}_n$, and a question was raised if for such a $u$ there must always exist a unitary $v\in\mathcal{F}_n$ with $λ_u|_{\mathcal{F}_n} = λ_v|_{\mathcal{F}_n}$. In the present paper, we answer this question to the negative. To this end, we analyze the structure of such endomorphisms $λ_u$ for which the relative commutant $λ_u(\mathcal{F}_n)'\cap\mathcal{F}_n$ is finite dimensional.
A trace on a C*-algebra is amenable (resp. quasidiagonal) if it admits a net of completely positive, contractive maps into matrix algebras which approximately preserve the trace and are approximately multiplicative in the 2-norm (resp. operator norm). Using that the double commutant of a nuclear C*-algebras is hyperfinite, it is easy to see that traces on nuclear C*-algebras are amenable. A recent result of Tikuisis, White, and Winter shows that faithful traces on separable, nuclear C*-algebras in the UCT class are quasidiagonal. We give a new proof of this result using the extension theory of…
We introduce a generalized framework for private quantum codes using von Neumann algebras and the structure of commutants. This leads naturally to a more general notion of complementary channel, which we use to establish a generalized complementarity theorem between private and correctable subalgebras that applies to both the finite and infinite-dimensional settings. Linear bosonic channels are considered and specific examples of Gaussian quantum channels are given to illustrate the new framework together with the complementarity theorem.
For unital $C^*$-algebras $A$ and $B$, we completely characterize the isometric ($*$-) automorphisms of their Banach space projective tensor product $A\otimes^γB$. This leads to the characterization of inner and outer isometric $*$-automorphisms of $A\otimes^γB$, as well. As an application, we provide a partial affirmative answer to a question posed by Kaijser and Sinclair, viz., we prove that for unital $C^*$-algebras $A$ and $B$, the set of norm-one unitaries of $A\otimes^γB$ coincides with $U(A) \otimes U(B)$, where $U(A)$ is the unitary group of $A$. We also establish the fact that the rel…
In this work we study a new equivalence relation between w* closed algebras of operators on Hilbert spaces. The algebras A and B are called TRO equivalent if there exists a ternary ring of operators M (i.e. MM*M\subset M) such that A is the w*-closed span of M*BM and B is the w*-closed span of MAM*. We prove that two reflexive algebras are TRO equivalent if and only if there exists a * isomorphism between the commutants of their diagonals mapping the invariant projection lattice of the first algebra onto the lattice of the second one. We explore some consequences of TRO equivalence for CSL alg…
Noncommutative multivariable versions of weighted shifts arise naturally as `weighted' left creation operators acting on Fock space. We investigate the unital weak operator topology closed algebras they generate. The unweighted case yields noncommutative analytic Toeplitz algebras. The commutant can be described in terms of weighted right creation operators when the weights satisfy a condition specific to the noncommutative setting. We prove these algebras are reflexive when the eigenvalues for the adjoint algebra include an open set in complex $n$-space, and provide a new elementary proof of …
A holomorphic discrete series representation $(L_π,H_π)$ of a connected semi-simple real Lie group $G$ is associated with an irreducible representation $(π,V_π)$ of its maximal compact subgroup $K$. The underlying space $H_π$ can be realized as certain holomorphic $V_π$-valued functions on the bounded symmetric domain $\mathcal{D}\cong G/K$. By the Berezin quantization, we transfer $B(H_π)$ into End$(V_π)$-valued functions on $\mathcal{D}$. For a lattice $Γ$ of $G$, we give the formula of a faithful normal tracial state on the commutant $L_π(Γ)'$ of the group von Neumann algebra $L_π(Γ)''$. We…