An essay on noncommutative topology (Q1824885)

By ``noncommutative topology'' the authors mean \textit{C. J. Mulvey}'s theory of quantales [Rend. Circ. Mat. Palermo., II. Ser., Suppl. 12, 99- 104 (1986; Zbl 0633.46065)]. This was originally introduced in the hope of providing a ``Gelfand-type'' representation for noncommutative \(C^*\)-algebras. The present paper carries this programme forward by setting up a category of ``quantum spaces'' having the same relation to quantales as topological spaces do to locales, and then showing that the spectrum (i.e. the set of pure states) of a noncommutative \(C^*\)-algebra may be given the structure of a quantum space. The Gelfand-Naimark theorem is reinterpreted in this context. The result is interesting, but too complicated to quote here.