Almost-invertible Toeplitz operators and K-theory (Q1187755)

Let \(G\) be a discrete ordered abelian group, and suppose \(\varphi=(\varphi_{ij})\in M_ n(C(\hat G))\), where \(C(\hat G)\) is the set of all continuous functions on \(\hat G\). An operator is called almost invertible if it is the sum of an invertible and a compact operator. The author shows that the Toeplitz operator \(T_ \varphi\) is almost invertible if and only if \(\varphi\) is invertible in \(M_ n(C(\hat G))\), and its topological index is zero. This theorem is a generalization of that of \(G=Z\) or \(R_ d\). His proof is much simpler than that in \(G=R_ d\).