Group C*-algebras, metrics and an operator theoretic inequality

In this article we follow the main idea of A. Connes for the construction of a metric in the state space of a C*-algebra. We focus in the reduced algebra of a discrete group $\Gamma$, and prove some equivalences and relations between two central objects of this category: the word-length growth (connected with the degree of the extension of $\Gamma$ when the group is an extension of Z by a finite group), and the topological equivalence between the w*-topology and the one intro...

Let $L$ be a length function on a group $G$, and let $M_L$ denote the operator of pointwise multiplication by $L$ on $\ell^2(G)$. Following Connes, $M_L$ can be used as a "Dirac" operator for the reduced group C*-algebra $C_r^*(G)$. It defines a Lipschitz seminorm on $C_r^*(G)$, which defines a metric on the state space of $C_r^*(G)$. We show that for any length function of a strong form of polynomial growth on a discrete group, the topology from this metric coincides with th...

Let $\ell$ be a length function on a group $G$, and let $M_{\ell}$ denote the operator of pointwise multiplication by $\ell$ on $\bell^2(G)$. Following Connes, $M_{\ell}$ can be used as a ``Dirac'' operator for $C_r^*(G)$. It defines a Lipschitz seminorm on $C_r^*(G)$, which defines a metric on the state space of $C_r^*(G)$. We investigate whether the topology from this metric coincides with the weak-* topology (our definition of a ``compact quantum metric space''). We give a...

Let $\ell$ be a length function on a group G, and let $M_{\ell}$ denote the operator of pointwise multiplication by $\ell$ on $\bell^2(G)$. Following Connes, $M_{\ell}$ can be used as a ``Dirac'' operator for $C_r^*(G)$. It defines a Lipschitz seminorm on $C_r^*(G)$, which defines a metric on the state space of $C_r^*(G)$. We show that if G is a hyperbolic group and if $\ell$ is a word-length function on G, then the topology from this metric coincides with the weak-* topology...

Let a compact Lie group act ergodically on a unital $C^*$-algebra $A$. We consider several ways of using this structure to define metrics on the state space of $A$. These ways involve length functions, norms on the Lie algebra, and Dirac operators. The main thrust is to verify that the corresponding metric topologies on the state space agree with the weak-$*$ topology.

In this paper we generalize the concept of classical spectral triples by extending the framework from Hilbert spaces to $L^p$-spaces, and from C*-algebras to $L^p$-operator algebras, $p \in [1, \infty)$. Specifically, we construct $L^p$-spectral triples for reduced group $L^p$-operator algebras and for $L^p$ UHF-algebras of infinite tensor product type. Furthermore, inspired by Christensen and Ivan's construction of a Dirac operator on AF C*-algebras, we provide an $L^p$ vers...

Let Gamma be a discrete group satisfying the rapid decay property with respect to a length function which is conditionally negative. Then the reduced C*-algebra of Gamma has the metric approximation property. The central point of our proof is an observation that the proof of the same property for free groups due to Haagerup transfers directly to this more general situation. Examples of groups satisfying the hypotheses include free groups, surface groups, finitely generated ...

Metric noncommutative geometry, initiated by Alain Connes, has known some great recent developments under the impulsion of Rieffel and the introduction of the category of compact quantum metric spaces topologized thanks to the quantum Rieffel-Gromov-Hausdorff distance. In this paper, we undertake the first step to generalize such results and constructions to locally compact quantum metric spaces. Our present work shows how to generalize the construction of the bounded-Lipschi...

In the context of metric geometry, we introduce a new necessary and sufficient condition for the convergence of an inductive sequence of quantum compact metric spaces for the Gromov-Hausdorff propinquity, which is a noncommutative analogue of the Gromov-Hausdorff distance for compact metric spaces. This condition is easy to verify in many examples, such as quantum compact metric spaces associated to AF algebras or certain twisted convolution C*-algebras of discrete inductive ...

A countable group is C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is a simple algebra. Since Powers recognised in 1975 that non-abelian free groups are C*-simple, large classes of groups which appear naturally in geometry have been identified, including non-elementary Gromov hyperbolic groups and lattices in semisimple groups. In this exposition, C*-simplicity for countable groups is shown to be an extreme case of non-amenability. The basic examples are described and several open pr...