Operator algebra

Last updated September 28, 2024

In functional analysis, a branch of mathematics, an operator algebra is an algebra of continuous linear operators on a topological vector space, with the multiplication given by the composition of mappings.

The results obtained in the study of operator algebras are often phrased in algebraic terms, while the techniques used are often highly analytic.^[1] Although the study of operator algebras is usually classified as a branch of functional analysis, it has direct applications to representation theory, differential geometry, quantum statistical mechanics, quantum information, and quantum field theory.

Overview

Operator algebras can be used to study arbitrary sets of operators with little algebraic relation simultaneously. From this point of view, operator algebras can be regarded as a generalization of spectral theory of a single operator. In general, operator algebras are non-commutative rings.

An operator algebra is typically required to be closed in a specified operator topology inside the whole algebra of continuous linear operators. In particular, it is a set of operators with both algebraic and topological closure properties. In some disciplines such properties are axiomatized and algebras with certain topological structure become the subject of the research.

Though algebras of operators are studied in various contexts (for example, algebras of pseudo-differential operators acting on spaces of distributions), the term operator algebra is usually used in reference to algebras of bounded operators on a Banach space or, even more specially in reference to algebras of operators on a separable Hilbert space, endowed with the operator norm topology.

In the case of operators on a Hilbert space, the Hermitian adjoint map on operators gives a natural involution, which provides an additional algebraic structure that can be imposed on the algebra. In this context, the best studied examples are self-adjoint operator algebras, meaning that they are closed under taking adjoints. These include C*-algebras, von Neumann algebras, and AW*-algebras. C*-algebras can be easily characterized abstractly by a condition relating the norm, involution and multiplication. Such abstractly defined C*-algebras can be identified to a certain closed subalgebra of the algebra of the continuous linear operators on a suitable Hilbert space. A similar result holds for von Neumann algebras.

Commutative self-adjoint operator algebras can be regarded as the algebra of complex-valued continuous functions on a locally compact space, or that of measurable functions on a standard measurable space. Thus, general operator algebras are often regarded as a noncommutative generalizations of these algebras, or the structure of the base space on which the functions are defined. This point of view is elaborated as the philosophy of noncommutative geometry, which tries to study various non-classical and/or pathological objects by noncommutative operator algebras.

Examples of operator algebras that are not self-adjoint include:

nest algebras,
many commutative subspace lattice algebras,
many limit algebras.

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In mathematics, especially functional analysis, a Banach algebra, named after Stefan Banach, is an associative algebra $over the real or complex numbers that at the same time is also a Banach space, that is, a normed space that is complete in the metric induced by the norm. The norm is required to satisfy$

In mathematics, specifically in functional analysis, a C^∗-algebra is a Banach algebra together with an involution satisfying the properties of the adjoint. A particular case is that of a complex algebra A of continuous linear operators on a complex Hilbert space with two additional properties:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Functional analysis</span> Area of mathematics

Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure and the linear functions defined on these spaces and suitably respecting these structures. The historical roots of functional analysis lie in the study of spaces of functions and the formulation of properties of transformations of functions such as the Fourier transform as transformations defining, for example, continuous or unitary operators between function spaces. This point of view turned out to be particularly useful for the study of differential and integral equations.

In mathematics, a von Neumann algebra or W*-algebra is a *-algebra of bounded operators on a Hilbert space that is closed in the weak operator topology and contains the identity operator. It is a special type of C*-algebra.

Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of spaces that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions, possibly in some generalized sense. A noncommutative algebra is an associative algebra in which the multiplication is not commutative, that is, for which $does not always equal; or more generally an algebraic structure in which one of the principal binary operations is not commutative; one also allows additional structures, e.g. topology or norm, to be possibly carried by the noncommutative algebra of functions.$

In functional analysis, a discipline within mathematics, given a C*-algebra A, the Gelfand–Naimark–Segal construction establishes a correspondence between cyclic *-representations of A and certain linear functionals on A. The correspondence is shown by an explicit construction of the *-representation from the state. It is named for Israel Gelfand, Mark Naimark, and Irving Segal.

In mathematics, the Gelfand representation in functional analysis is either of two things:

In functional analysis, a state of an operator system is a positive linear functional of norm 1. States in functional analysis generalize the notion of density matrices in quantum mechanics, which represent quantum states, both mixed states and pure states. Density matrices in turn generalize state vectors, which only represent pure states. For M an operator system in a C*-algebra A with identity, the set of all states ofM, sometimes denoted by S(M), is convex, weak-* closed in the Banach dual space M^*. Thus the set of all states of M with the weak-* topology forms a compact Hausdorff space, known as the state space of M.

In mathematics, noncommutative topology is a term used for the relationship between topological and C*-algebraic concepts. The term has its origins in the Gelfand–Naimark theorem, which implies the duality of the category of locally compact Hausdorff spaces and the category of commutative C*-algebras. Noncommutative topology is related to analytic noncommutative geometry.

In abstract algebra, a Jordan algebra is a nonassociative algebra over a field whose multiplication satisfies the following axioms:

$.$

In functional analysis, an abelian von Neumann algebra is a von Neumann algebra of operators on a Hilbert space in which all elements commute.

The word 'algebra' is used for various branches and structures of mathematics. For their overview, see Algebra.

In the theory of von Neumann algebras, a part of the mathematical field of functional analysis, Tomita–Takesaki theory is a method for constructing modular automorphisms of von Neumann algebras from the polar decomposition of a certain involution. It is essential for the theory of type III factors, and has led to a good structure theory for these previously intractable objects.

In mathematics, a space is a set endowed with a structure defining the relationships among the elements of the set. A subspace is a subset of the parent space which retains the same structure. While modern mathematics uses many types of spaces, such as Euclidean spaces, linear spaces, topological spaces, Hilbert spaces, or probability spaces, it does not define the notion of "space" itself.

In mathematics, operator K-theory is a noncommutative analogue of topological K-theory for Banach algebras with most applications used for C*-algebras.

In mathematics, a commutation theorem for traces explicitly identifies the commutant of a specific von Neumann algebra acting on a Hilbert space in the presence of a trace.

In the mathematical field of functional analysis, a nuclear C*-algebra is a C*-algebra $A$ such that for every C*-algebra $B$ the injective and projective C*-cross norms coincides on the algebraic tensor product $A \otimes B$ and the completion of $A \otimes B$ with respect to this norm is a C*-algebra. This property was first studied by Takesaki (1964) under the name "Property T", which is not related to Kazhdan's property T.

In mathematics, Jordan operator algebras are real or complex Jordan algebras with the compatible structure of a Banach space. When the coefficients are real numbers, the algebras are called Jordan Banach algebras. The theory has been extensively developed only for the subclass of JB algebras. The axioms for these algebras were devised by Alfsen, Shultz & Størmer (1978). Those that can be realised concretely as subalgebras of self-adjoint operators on a real or complex Hilbert space with the operator Jordan product and the operator norm are called JC algebras. The axioms for complex Jordan operator algebras, first suggested by Irving Kaplansky in 1976, require an involution and are called JB* algebras or Jordan C* algebras. By analogy with the abstract characterisation of von Neumann algebras as C* algebras for which the underlying Banach space is the dual of another, there is a corresponding definition of JBW algebras. Those that can be realised using ultraweakly closed Jordan algebras of self-adjoint operators with the operator Jordan product are called JW algebras. The JBW algebras with trivial center, so-called JBW factors, are classified in terms of von Neumann factors: apart from the exceptional 27 dimensional Albert algebra and the spin factors, all other JBW factors are isomorphic either to the self-adjoint part of a von Neumann factor or to its fixed point algebra under a period two *-anti-automorphism. Jordan operator algebras have been applied in quantum mechanics and in complex geometry, where Koecher's description of bounded symmetric domains using Jordan algebras has been extended to infinite dimensions.

This is a glossary for the terminology in a mathematical field of functional analysis.

References

↑ Theory of Operator Algebras I By Masamichi Takesaki, Springer 2012, p vi

v t e Spectral theory and ^*-algebras
Basic concepts	Involution/-algebra Banach algebra B-algebra C-algebra Noncommutative topology Projection-valued measure Spectrum Spectrum of a C-algebra Spectral radius Operator space
Main results	Gelfand–Mazur theorem Gelfand–Naimark theorem Gelfand representation Polar decomposition Singular value decomposition Spectral theorem Spectral theory of normal C*-algebras
Special Elements/Operators	Isospectral Normal operator Hermitian/Self-adjoint operator Unitary operator Unit
Spectrum	Krein–Rutman theorem Normal eigenvalue Spectrum of a C*-algebra Spectral radius Spectral asymmetry Spectral gap
Decomposition	Decomposition of a spectrum Continuous Point Residual Approximate point Compression Direct integral Discrete Spectral abscissa
Spectral Theorem	Borel functional calculus Min-max theorem Positive operator-valued measure Projection-valued measure Riesz projector Rigged Hilbert space Spectral theorem Spectral theory of compact operators Spectral theory of normal C*-algebras
Special algebras	Amenable Banach algebra With an Approximate identity Banach function algebra Disk algebra Nuclear C*-algebra Uniform algebra Von Neumann algebra Tomita–Takesaki theory
Finite-Dimensional	Alon–Boppana bound Bauer–Fike theorem Numerical range Schur–Horn theorem
Generalizations	Dirac spectrum Essential spectrum Pseudospectrum Structure space (Shilov boundary)
Miscellaneous	Abstract index group Banach algebra cohomology Cohen–Hewitt factorization theorem Extensions of symmetric operators Fredholm theory Limiting absorption principle Schröder–Bernstein theorems for operator algebras Sherman–Takeda theorem Unbounded operator
Examples	Wiener algebra
Applications	Almost Mathieu operator Corona theorem Hearing the shape of a drum (Dirichlet eigenvalue) Heat kernel Kuznetsov trace formula Lax pair Proto-value function Ramanujan graph Rayleigh–Faber–Krahn inequality Spectral geometry Spectral method Spectral theory of ordinary differential equations Sturm–Liouville theory Superstrong approximation Transfer operator Transform theory Weyl law Wiener–Khinchin theorem

v t e Banach space topics
Types of Banach spaces	Asplund Banach list Banach lattice Grothendieck Hilbert Inner product space Polarization identity (Polynomially) Reflexive Riesz L-semi-inner product (B Strictly Uniformly) convex Uniformly smooth (Injective Projective) Tensor product (of Hilbert spaces)
Banach spaces are:	Barrelled Complete F-space Fréchet tame Locally convex Seminorms/Minkowski functionals Mackey Metrizable Normed norm Quasinormed Stereotype
Function space Topologies	Banach–Mazur compactum Dual Dual space Dual norm Operator Ultraweak Weak polar operator Strong polar operator Ultrastrong Uniform convergence
Linear operators	Adjoint Bilinear form operator sesquilinear (Un)Bounded Closed Compact on Hilbert spaces (Dis)Continuous Densely defined Fredholm kernel operator Hilbert–Schmidt Functionals positive Pseudo-monotone Normal Nuclear Self-adjoint Strictly singular Trace class Transpose Unitary
Operator theory	Banach algebras C-algebras Operator space Spectrum C-algebra radius Spectral theory of ODEs Spectral theorem Polar decomposition Singular value decomposition
Theorems	Anderson–Kadec Banach–Alaoglu Banach–Mazur Banach–Saks Banach–Schauder (open mapping) Banach–Steinhaus (Uniform boundedness) Bessel's inequality Cauchy–Schwarz inequality Closed graph Closed range Eberlein–Šmulian Freudenthal spectral Gelfand–Mazur Gelfand–Naimark Goldstine Hahn–Banach hyperplane separation Kakutani fixed-point Krein–Milman Lomonosov's invariant subspace Mackey–Arens Mazur's lemma M. Riesz extension Parseval's identity Riesz's lemma Riesz representation Robinson-Ursescu Schauder fixed-point
Analysis	Abstract Wiener space Banach manifold bundle Bochner space Convex series Differentiation in Fréchet spaces Derivatives Fréchet Gateaux functional holomorphic quasi Integrals Bochner Dunford Gelfand–Pettis regulated Paley–Wiener weak Functional calculus Borel continuous holomorphic Measures Lebesgue Projection-valued Vector Weakly / Strongly measurable function
Types of sets	Absolutely convex Absorbing Affine Balanced/Circled Bounded Convex Convex cone (subset) Convex series related ((cs, lcs)-closed, (cs, bcs)-complete, (lower) ideally convex, (Hx), and (Hwx)) Linear cone (subset) Radial Radially convex/Star-shaped Symmetric Zonotope
Subsets /set operations	Affine hull (Relative) Algebraic interior (core) Bounding points Convex hull Extreme point Interior Linear span Minkowski addition Polar (Quasi) Relative interior
Examples	Absolute continuity AC $ba(\Sigma )$ c space Banach coordinate BK Besov $B_{p,q}^{s}(\mathbb {R} )$ Birnbaum–Orlicz Bounded variation BV Bs space Continuous C(K) with K compact Hausdorff Hardy H^p Hilbert H Morrey–Campanato $L^{\lambda ,p}(\Omega )$ ℓ^p $\ell ^{\infty }$ L^p $L^{\infty }$ weighted Schwartz $S\left(\mathbb {R} ^{n}\right)$ Segal–Bargmann F Sequence space Sobolev W^k,p Sobolev inequality Triebel–Lizorkin Wiener amalgam $W(X,L^{p})$
Applications	Differential operator Finite element method Mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) Validated numerics

Operator algebra

Contents

Overview

See also

Related Research Articles

References

Further reading