arXiv subjects

David R. Pitts

Publications and source records attributed to David R. Pitts.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Regular ideals, Ideal Intersections and Quotients II

Let $B \subseteq A$ be a regular inclusion of C*-algebras satisfying the ideal intersection property and with a faithful invariant pseudo-expectation. A complete description of the regular ideals of $A$ is given using the invariant regular ideals of $B$ and the pseudo-expectation. Further, necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a quotient by a regular ideal to preserve the faithful unique pseudo-expectation property. Special attention is given throughout to pseudo-Cartan inclusions, i.e. regular inclusions with the faithful unique pseudo-expectation property, equivalently, having a Cartan envelope. We show that the quotient of a pseudo-Cartan inclusion by a regular ideal is again a pseudo-Cartan inclusion, and we describe the Cartan envelope of the quotient.

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arXiv2025

Pseudo-Cartan Inclusions

A pseudo-Cartan inclusion is a regular inclusion having a Cartan envelope. Unital pseudo-Cartan inclusions were classified by Pitts; we extend this classification to include the non-unital case. The class of pseudo-Cartan inclusions coincides with the class of regular inclusions having the faithful unique pseudo-expectation property and can also be described using the ideal intersection property. We describe the twisted groupoid associated with the Cartan envelope of a pseudo-Cartan inclusion. These results significantly extend previous results obtained for the unital setting. We explore properties of pseudo-Cartan inclusions and the relationship between a pseudo-Cartan inclusion and its Cartan envelope. For example, if $\mathcal D\subseteq \mathcal C$ is a pseudo-Cartan inclusion with Cartan envelope $\mathcal B\subseteq \mathcal A$, then $\mathcal C$ is simple if and only if $\mathcal A$ is simple. Also every regular $*$-automorphism of $\mathcal C$ uniquely extends to a $*$-automorphism of $\mathcal A$. We show that the inductive limit of pseudo-Cartan inclusions with suitable connecting maps is a pseudo-Cartan inclusion, and the minimal tensor product of pseudo-Cartan inclusions is a pseudo-Cartan inclusion. Further, we describe the Cartan envelope of pseudo-Cartan inclusions arising from these constructions. We conclude with some applications and a few open questions.

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arXiv2023

Irreducible Maps and Isomorphisms of Boolean Algebras of Regular Open Sets and Regular Ideals

Let $π: Y\rightarrow X$ be a continuous surjection between compact Hausdorff spaces $Y$ and $X$ which is irreducible in the sense that if $F\subsetneq Y$ is closed, then $π(F)\neq X$. We exhibit isomorphisms between various Boolean algebras associated to this data: the regular open sets of $X$, the regular open sets of $Y$, the regular ideals of $C(X)$ and the regular ideals of $C(Y)$. We call $X$ and $Y$ Boolean equivalent if the regular open sets of $X$ and the regular open sets of $Y$ are isomorphic Boolean algebras. We give a characterization of when two compact metrizable spaces are Boolean equivalent; this characterization may be viewed as a topological version of the characterization of standard Borel spaces.

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arXiv2023

Regular ideals, ideal intersections, and quotients

Let $B \subseteq A$ be an inclusion of C$^*$-algebras. We study the relationship between the regular ideals of $B$ and regular ideals of $A$. We show that if $B \subseteq A$ is a regular C$^*$-inclusion and there is a faithful invariant conditional expectation from $A$ onto $B$, then there is an isomorphism between the lattice of regular ideals of $A$ and invariant regular ideals of $B$. We study properties of inclusions preserved under quotients by regular ideals. This includes showing that if $D \subseteq A$ is a Cartan inclusion and $J$ is a regular ideal in $A$, then $D/(J\cap D)$ is a Cartan subalgebra of $A/J$. We provide a description of regular ideals in reduced crossed products $A \rtimes_r Γ$.

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arXiv2023

Norming in Discrete Crossed Products

Let $G \curvearrowright A$ be an action of a discrete group on a unital $C^*$-algebra by $*$-automorphisms. In this note, we give two sufficient dynamical conditions for the $C^*$-inclusion $A \subseteq A \rtimes_r G$ to be norming in the sense of Pop, Sinclair, and Smith. As a consequence of our results, when $A$ is separable or simple, the inclusion $A \subseteq A \rtimes_r G$ is norming provided it has a unique pseudo-expectation in the sense of Pitts.

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arXiv2022

Exotic Ideals in Free Transformation Group $C^*$-Algebras

Let $Γ$ be a discrete group acting freely via homeomorphisms on the compact Hausdorff space $X$ and let $C(X) \rtimes_ηΓ$ be the completion of the convolution algebra $C_c(Γ,C(X))$ with respect to a $C^*$-norm $η$. A non-zero ideal $J \unlhd C(X) \rtimes_ηΓ$ is exotic if $J \cap C(X) = \{0\}$. We show that exotic ideals are present whenever $Γ$ is non-amenable and there is an invariant probability measure on $X$. This fact, along with the recent theory of exotic crossed product functors, allows us to provide answers to two questions of K. Thomsen. Using the Koopman representation and a recent theorem of Elek, we show that when $Γ$ is a countably-infinite group having property (T) and $X$ is the Cantor set, there exists a free and minimal action of $Γ$ on $X$ and a $C^*$-norm $η$ on $C_c(Γ, C(X))$ such that $C(X)\rtimes_ηΓ$ contains the compact operators as an exotic ideal. We use this example to provide a positive answer to a question of A. Katavolos and V. Paulsen. The opaque and grey ideals in $C(X)\rtimes_ηΓ$ have trivial intersection with $C(X)$, and a result from arXiv:1901.09683 shows they coincide when the action of $Γ$ is free, however the problem of whether these ideals can be non-zero was left unresolved. We present an example of a free action of $Γ$ on a compact Hausdorff space $X$ along with a $C^*$-norm $η$ for which these ideals are non-trivial, in particular, they are exotic ideals.

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arXiv2022

Normalizers and Approximate Units for Inclusions of C*-Algebras

For an inclusion of C*-algebras $D\subseteq A$ with $D$ abelian, we show that when $n\in A$ normalizes $D$, $n^*n$ and $nn^*$ commute with $D$. As a corollary, when $D$ is a regular MASA in $A$, every approximate unit for $D$ is also an approximate unit for $A$. This permits removal of the non-degeneracy hypothesis from the definition of a Cartan MASA in the non-unital case. We give examples of singular MASA inclusions: for some, every approximate unit for $D$ is an approximate unit for $A$, while for others, no approximate unit for $D$ is an approximate unit for $A$. Our results imply that if the unitization of an inclusion $D\subseteq A$ is a C*-diagonal, then $D$ is regular in $A$. In contrast, we give an example of a non-regular inclusion whose unitization is a Cartan inclusion. If $D$ is a MASA in $A$, we ask when $A$ is a subalgebra of $B$ with $D$ a regular MASA in $B$. When $D$ is a MASA in $\mathcal B(\ell^2(\mathbb N))$, no such $B$ exists.

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arXiv2020

Structure for Regular Inclusions. II: Cartan envelopes, pseudo-expectations and twists

We introduce the notion of a Cartan envelope for a regular inclusion (C,D). When a Cartan envelope exists, it is the unique, minimal Cartan pair into which (C,D) regularly embeds. We prove a Cartan envelope exists if and only if (C,D) has the unique faithful pseudo-expectation property and also give a characterization of the Cartan envelope using the ideal intersection property. For any covering inclusion, we construct a Hausdorff twisted groupoid using appropriate linear functionals and we give a description of the Cartan envelope for (C,D) in terms of a twist whose unit space is a set of states on C constructed using the unique pseudo-expectation. For a regular MASA inclusion, this twist differs from the Weyl twist; in this setting, we show that the Weyl twist is Hausdorff precisely when there exists a conditional expectation of C onto D. We show that a regular inclusion with the unique pseudo-expectation property is a covering inclusion and give other consequences of the unique pseudo-expectation property.

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arXiv2020

Regular ideals of graph algebras

Let $C^*(E)$ be the graph C$^*$-algebra of a row-finite graph $E$. We give a complete description of the vertex sets of the gauge-invariant regular ideals of $C^*(E)$. It is shown that when $E$ satisfies Condition (L) the regular ideals $C^*(E)$ are a class of gauge-invariant ideals which preserve Condition (L) under quotients. That is, we show that if $E$ satisfies Condition (L) then a regular ideal $J \unlhd C^*(E)$ is necessarily gauge-invariant. Further, if $J \unlhd C^*(E)$ is a regular ideal, it is shown that $C^*(E)/J \simeq C^*(F)$ where $F$ satisfies Condition (L).

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arXiv2019

Intermediate C*-algebras of Cartan Embeddings

Let $A$ be a C$^*$-algebra and let $D$ be a Cartan subalgebra of $A$. We study the following question: if $B$ is a C$^*$-algebra such that $D \subseteq B \subseteq A$, is $D$ a Cartan subalgebra of $B$? We give a positive answer in two cases: the case when there is a faithful conditional expectation from $A$ onto $B$, and the case when $A$ is nuclear and $D$ is a C$^*$-diagonal of $A$. In both cases there is a one-to-one correspondence between the intermediate C$^*$-algebras $B$, and a class of open subgroupoids of the groupoid $G$, where $Σ\rightarrow G$ is the twist associated with the embedding $D \subseteq A$.

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arXiv2018

Cartan Triples

We introduce the class of Cartan triples as a generalization of the notion of a Cartan MASA in a von Neumann algebra. We obtain a one-to-one correspondence between Cartan triples and certain Clifford extensions of inverse semigroups. Moreover, there is a spectral theorem describing bimodules in terms of their support sets in the fundamental inverse semigroup and, as a corollary, an extension of Aoi's theorem to this setting. This context contains that of Fulman's generalization of Cartan MASAs and we discuss his generalization in an appendix.

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arXiv2015

Unique Pseudo-Expectations for $C^*$-Inclusions

Given an inclusion D $\subseteq$ C of unital C*-algebras, a unital completely positive linear map $Φ$ of C into the injective envelope I(D) of D which extends the inclusion of D into I(D) is a pseudo-expectation. The set PsExp(C,D) of all pseudo-expectations is a convex set, and for abelian D, we prove a Krein-Milman type theorem showing that PsExp(C,D) can be recovered from its extreme points. When C is abelian, the extreme pseudo-expectations coincide with the homomorphisms of C into I(D) which extend the inclusion of D into I(D), and these are in bijective correspondence with the ideals of C which are maximal with respect to having trivial intersection with D. Natural classes of inclusions have a unique pseudo-expectation (e.g., when D is a regular MASA in C). Uniqueness of the pseudo-expectation implies interesting structural properties for the inclusion. For example, when D $\subseteq$ C $\subseteq$ B(H) are W*-algebras, uniqueness of the pseudo-expectation implies that D' $\cap$ C is the center of D; moreover, when H is separable and D is abelian, we characterize which W*-inclusions have the unique pseudo-expectation property. For general inclusions of C*-algebras with D abelian, we characterize the unique pseudo-expectation property in terms of order structure; and when C is abelian, we are able to give a topological description of the unique pseudo-expectation property. Applications include: a) if an inclusion D $\subseteq$ C has a unique pseudo-expectation $Φ$ which is also faithful, then the C*-envelope of any operator space X with D $\subseteq$ X $\subseteq$ C is the C*-subalgebra of C generated by X; b) for many interesting classes of C*-inclusions, having a faithful unique pseudo-expectation implies that D norms C. We give examples to illustrate the theory, and conclude with several unresolved questions.

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arXiv2014

Von Neumann Algebras and Extensions of Inverse Semigroups

In the 1970s, Feldman and Moore classified separably acting von Neumann algebras containing Cartan MASAs using measured equivalence relations and 2-cocycles on such equivalence relations. In this paper, we give a new classification in terms of extensions of inverse semigroups. Our approach is more algebraic in character and less point-based than that of Feldman-Moore. As an application, we give a restatement of the spectral theorem for bimodules in terms of subsets of inverse semigroups. We also show how our viewpoint leads naturally to a description of maximal subdiagonal algebras.

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arXiv2013

Isomorphisms of Lattices of Bures-Closed Bimodules over Cartan MASAs

For i=1,2, let (M_i,D_i) be pairs consisting of a Cartan MASA D_i in a von Neumann algebra M_i, let atom(D_i) be the set of atoms of D_i, and let S_i be the lattice of Bures-closed D_i bimodules in M_i. We show that when M_i have separable preduals, there is a lattice isomorphism between S_1 and S_2 if and only if the sets {(Q_1, Q_2) \in atom(D_i) x atom(D_i): Q_1 M_i Q_2 \neq (0)} have the same cardinality. In particular, when D_i is non-atomic, S_i is isomorphic to the lattice of projections in L^\infty([0,1],m) where m is Lebesgue measure, regardless of the isomorphism classes of M_1 and M_2.

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arXiv2013

Bimodules over Cartan MASAs in von Neumann Algebras, Norming Algebras, and Mercer's Theorem

In a 1991 paper, R. Mercer asserted that a Cartan bimodule isomorphism between Cartan bimodule algebras A_1 and A_2 extends uniquely to a normal *-isomorphism of the von Neumann algebras generated by A_1 and A_2 [13, Corollary 4.3]. Mercer's argument relied upon the Spectral Theorem for Bimodules of Muhly, Saito and Solel [15, Theorem 2.5]. Unfortunately, the arguments in the literature supporting [15, Theorem 2.5] contain gaps, and hence Mercer's proof is incomplete. In this paper, we use the outline in [16, Remark 2.17] to give a proof of Mercer's Theorem under the additional hypothesis that the given Cartan bimodule isomorphism is weak-* continuous. Unlike the arguments contained in [13, 15], we avoid the use of the Feldman-Moore machinery from [8]; as a consequence, our proof does not require the von Neumann algebras generated by the algebras A_i to have separable preduals. This point of view also yields some insights on the von Neumann subalgebras of a Cartan pair (M,D), for instance, a strengthening of a result of Aoi [1]. We also examine the relationship between various topologies on a von Neumann algebra M with a Cartan MASA D. This provides the necessary tools to parametrize the family of Bures-closed bimodules over a Cartan MASA in terms of projections in a certain abelian von Neumann algebra; this result may be viewed as a weaker form of the Spectral Theorem for Bimodules, and is a key ingredient in the proof of our version of Mercer's theorem. Our results lead to a notion of spectral synthesis for weak-* closed bimodules appropriate to our context, and we show that any von Neumann subalgebra of M which contains D is synthetic. We observe that a result of Sinclair and Smith shows that any Cartan MASA in a von Neumann algebra is norming in the sense of Pop, Sinclair and Smith.

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arXiv2012

Structure for Regular Inclusions

We study pairs (C,D) of unital C*-algebras where D is a regular abelian C*-subalgebra of C. When D is a MASA in C, we prove the existence and uniqueness of a completely positive unital map E of C into the injective envelope I(D) of D whose restriction to D is the identity on D. We show that the left kernel of E, L(C,D), is the unique closed two-sided ideal of C maximal with respect to having trivial intersection with D. When L(C,D)=0, we show the MASA D norms C. We apply these results to extend existing results in the literature on isometric isomorphisms of norm-closed subalgebras which lie between D and C. The map E can be used as a substitute for a conditional expectation in the construction of coordinates for C relative to D. Coordinate constructions of Kumjian and Renault may partially be extended to settings where no conditional expectation exists. As an example, we consider the situation in which C is the reduced crossed product of a unital abelian C*-algebra D by an arbitrary discrete group acting as automorphisms of D. We characterize when the relative commutant, D', of D in C is abelian in terms of the dynamics of the action of the group and show that when D' is abelian, L(C,D')=0. This setting produces examples where no conditional expectation of C onto D' exists. When C is separable, and D is a regular MASA in C, we show the set of pure states on D with unique state extensions to C is dense in D. We introduce a new class of well behaved state extensions, the compatible states; we identify compatible states when D is a MASA in C in terms of groups constructed from local dynamics near a pure state on D. A particularly nice class of regular inclusions is the class of C*-diagonals. We show that the pair (C,D) regularly embeds into a C*-diagonal precisely when the intersection of the left kernels of the compatible states is trivial.

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arXiv2006

Norming Algebras and Automatic Complete Boundedness of Isomorphisms of Operator Algebras

We combine the notion of norming algebra introduced by Pop, Sinclair and Smith with a result of Pisier to show that if A_1 and A_2 are operator algebras, then any bounded epimorphism of A_1 onto A_2 is completely bounded provided that A_2 contains a norming C*-subalgebra. We use this result to give some insights into Kadison's Similarity Problem: we show that every faithful bounded homomorphism of a C*-algebra on a Hilbert space has completely bounded inverse, and show that a bounded representation of a C*-algebra is similar to a *-representation precisely when the image operator algebra λ-norms itself. We give two applications to isometric isomorphisms of certain operator algebras. The first is an extension of a result of Davidson and Power on isometric isomorphisms of CSL algebras. Secondly, we show that an isometric isomorphism between subalgebras A_i of C*-diagonals (C_i,D_i) (i=1,2) satisfying D_i \subseteq A_i \subseteq C_i extends uniquely to a *-isomorphism of the C*-algebras generated by A_1 and A_2; this generalizes results of Muhly-Qiu-Solel and Donsig-Pitts.

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arXiv2005

Coordinate Systems and Bounded Isomorphisms for Triangular Algebras

For a Banach D-bimodule M over an abelian unital C*-algebra D, we define E(M) as the collection of norm-one eigenvectors for the dual action of D on the Banach space dual of M. Equip E(M) with the weak-* topology. We develop general properties of E(M). It is properly viewed as a coordinate system for M when M is a subset of C, where C is a unital C*-algebra containing D as a regular MASA with the extension property; moreover, E(C) coincides with Kumjian's twist in the context of C*-diagonals. We identify the C*-envelope of a subalgebra A of a C*-diagonal which contains D. For triangular subalgebras, each containing the MASA, a bounded isomorphism induces an algebraic isomorphism of the coordinate systems which can be shown to be continuous in certain cases. For subalgebras, each containing the MASA, a bounded isomorphism that maps one MASA to the other MASA induces an isomorphism of the coordinate systems. We show that the weak operator closure of the image of a triangular algebra in an appropriate representation is a CSL algebra and that bounded isomorphism of triangular algebras extends to an isomorphism of these CSL algebras. We prove that for triangular algebras in our context, any bounded isomorphism is completely bounded. Our methods simplify and extend various known results; for example, isometric isomorphisms of the triangular algebras extend to isometric isomorphisms of the C*-envelopes, and the conditional expectation E of C onto D is multiplicative when restricted to a triangular subalgebra. Also, we use our methods to prove that the inductive limit of C*-diagonals with regular connecting maps is again a C*-diagonal.

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