Operator Algebras Seminar, Winter 2001

  • Date: 1/17/01 (Wednesday) Room: SH 6635, Time: 1-3 pm (Note: Special date and time!)
    • Speaker: Yasuyuki Kawahigashi, University of Tokyo
    • Title: Subfactors and extensions of endomorphisms
    • Abstract: Extensions of endomorphisms of a subfactor to
      the ambient factor have turned out to be a quite useful and
      interesing method in the theory of subfactors in connection to
      conformal field theory, quantum doubles, and also within
      subfactor theory itself. We will present applications of
      this idea.
  • Date: 1/18/01 (Thursday) (Note: Mathematics Colloquium!)
    • Speaker: Yasuyuki Kawahigashi, University of Tokyo
    • Title: Operator algebras and topological quantum field theory
    • Abstract:
      Since the discovery of the Jones polynomial for links, the theory
      of operator algebras has provided several interesting tools
      to study topological structures in 3-dimensions. We will
      present the current status of such applications and explain
      how useful operator algebraic approaches are.

  • Date: 1/19/01
    • Speaker: Keiko Kawamuro, University of Tokyo
    • Title: An extension of completely positive maps compatible with
      Jones basic construction
  • Date: 1/26/01
    • no meeting due to the MSRI workshop on free probability theory
  • Date: 2/2/01
    • Speaker: Imre Tuba, UCSB
    • Title: Low-dimensional braid representations
    • Abstract:
      We have classified all simple representations of the braid group $B_3$ with dime
      nsion $d \leq 5$ over any algebraically closed field. In particular, we proved t
      hat a simple $d$-dimensional representation is determined up to isomorphism by t
      he eigenvalues of the image of the two braid generators and a choice of a root o
      f their product for $d=4$ and $5$. We also showed that such representations exis
      t whenever the eigenvalues are not zeros of certain explicitly given polynomials
      and constructed the matrices via which the generators act.

      We have found a necessary and sufficient condition for the unitarizability of si
      mple representations of $B_3$ of dimension $d \leq 5$. In particular, we showed
      that a simple representation is
      unitarizable if and only if the eigenvalues are distinct of norm $1$, and satisf
      y certain inequalities, which can be computed explicitly.

      We have used these results to compute categorical dimensions of objects in braid
      ed tensor categories. Kazhdan and Wenzl characterized tensor categories of Lie t
      ype A, using Hecke algebras. We expect to use these results in classifying braid
      ed tensor categories whose Grothendieck semiring is isomorphic to the one of the
      representation category of a classical Lie group or one of its associated fusio
      n categories.
  • Date: 2/9/01
    • Speaker: Davide Castelvecchi, UCSB
    • Title: Noncommutative invariants of foliations
    • Abstract:
      I will describe certain measure-theoretic objects on a foliation that
      can be seen as tracial weights on suitable von Neumann algebras. I apply
      the theory to proving foliated Morse inequalities which involve
      Connes’ L2 Betti numbers.
  • Date: 2/16/01
    • no meeting due to job talk by Timofeyev
  • Date: 2/23/01
    • Speaker: Huaxin Lin, University of Oregon (visiting UCSB)
    • Title: Classification of simple C*-algebras
      of tracial rank zero
    • Abstract:
      We use $K$-theoretical invariant
      to give a classification result for
      simple nuclear C*-algebras of tracial rank zero.
  • Date: 3/2/01
    • Time:3:00-4:00 pm
    • Speaker: Mihai Pimsner, University of Pennsylvania
    • Title: Hilbert C*-bimodules and subfactors
    • Time:4:15 pm
    • Speaker: Sorin Popa, UCLA
    • Title: A new characterization of the standard invariant of a
      subfactor
  • Date: 3/9/01
    • Speaker: Mikael Rordam, University of Copenhagen (visiting UCSB)
    • Title: On Elliott’s classification program
  • Date: 3/16/01
    • Speaker: Uffe Haagerup, Odense University
    • Title: The Invariant Subspace Problem Relative to a von Neumann Factor of
      type II1
    • Abstract:
      The invariant subspace problem relative to a von Neumann algebra M (on
      a Hilbert space H) can be formulated in the following way: Does every
      operator T in M have a non-trivial closed invariant subspace E affiliated
      with M (i.e. of the form E = P(H) for a projection P in M).

      Recently we have shown, that under the assumption that M is embedable in
      an ultrapower R-omega of the hyperfinite II1 factor (which
      might well be
      true for all II1 factors) one can to EVERY operator T in M and EVERY
      Borelset in the complex plane associate a closed T-invariant subspace
      E(T,B) of H affiliated with M.

      In comparison with the classical Apostol-Foias decomposition theory, the
      key new idea is to replace the spectrum of an operator with L.G.Brown’s
      spectral distribution measure mu(T), and the space E(T,B) we construct is
      the unique closed T-invariant subspace affiliated with M, which “cut” the
      Brown measure mu(T) into a part concentrated on B and another part
      concentrated on the complement C\B.

      This shows in particular, that unless mu(T) is concentrated in a single
      point, T has a non-trivial closed invariant subspace affiliated with M.
  • Back Home   

    Contact

    Noncommutative Geometry and Operator Algebras
    Department of Mathematics
    Vanderbilt University
    Stevenson Center 1326
    Nashville, TN 37240
    U.S.A. Phone: (615) 322-6672
    Fax: (615) 343-0215
    E-mail: ncgoa[at]vanderbilt[dot]edu