Free nilpotent groups are C*-superrigid

Abstract

The free nilpotent group $G_{m,n}$ of class $m$ and rank $n$ is the free object on $n$ generators in the category of nilpotent groups of class at most $m$. We show that $G_{m,n}$ can be recovered from its reduced group $C^*$-algebra, in the sense that if $H$ is any group such that $C^*_r(H)$ is isomorphic to $C^*_r(G_{m,n})$, then $H$ must be isomorphic to $G_{m,n}$.