Noncommutative simplicial complexes and the Baum-Connes conjecture (Q1606013)

This paper initiates the study of new classes of \(C^*\)-algebras, called noncommutative simplicial complexes. The author associates to each locally finite simplicial complex a noncommutative \(C^*\)-algebra \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma\) defined by generators and relations. The classical commutative \(C^*\)-algebra of continuous functions vanishing at infinity on the geometric realization of \(\Sigma\) is just the abelianization \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{ab}\) of \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma\). Most of the second section is devoted to the study of natural filtrations by ideals of these two \(C^*\)-algebras, which play an important role in \(K\)-theory computations. The main result of this section is that for a finite-dimensional locally finite simplicial complex \(\Sigma\) and a group \(G\) acting simplicially on \(\Sigma\), the canonical quotient map \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma \rightarrow {\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{ab}\) is a \(KK^G\)-equivalence. In the next section, noncommutative flag complexes \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{\text{flag}}\) are defined in such a way that one has canonical surjective maps \({\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{\text{flag}} \rightarrow {\mathcal C}_\Sigma \rightarrow {\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{ab}\). The definition is illustrated by the computation of the \(K\)-theory of an archetypical example: vertices \(\{ 0^+,1^+,\dots,n^+,0^-,\dots,n^- \}\) and the condition that exactly the edges \(\{ i^+,i^- \}\) do not belong to \(\Sigma\) give a simplicial model for the \(n\)-sphere \(S^n\). In this case, the corresponding flag complex \(S_n^{nc}={\mathcal C}_\Sigma^{\text{flag}}\) is isomorphic to the universal \(C^*\)-algebra generated by selfadjoint elements \(x_0,x_1,\dots,x_n\) satisfying the relation \(x_0^2+x_1^2+\cdots +x_n^2=1\). The final section is concerned with noncommutative simplicial complexes associated with finite subsets in discrete groups. Let \(\Gamma\) be a discrete group. For each finite subset \(F\) in \(\Gamma\) (such that \(1\in F\) and \(F^{-1}=F\)), one considers the full locally finite simplicial complex \(\Sigma_F\), with vertex set \(\Gamma\), and which contains the subsets \(\{s_0,\dots,s_n\}\subset \Gamma\) for which \(s_i^{-1}s_j \in F\), \(i,j=0,\dots,n\). Put \({\mathcal E}_F^s ={\mathcal C}_{\Sigma_F}\) and \({\mathcal E}_F={\mathcal C}_{\Sigma_F}^{flag}\). Consider also the universal \(C^*\)-algebra \(P_F\) generated by self-adjoint projections \(p_s\), \(s\in F\), subject to relations \(p_s^*=p_s^{-1}\) and \(p_t=\sum_{s\in \Gamma} p_s p_{s^{-1}t}\), the quotient \(P_F^s\) of \(P_F\) under the additional relation \(p_{s_1}p_{s_2}\dots p_{s_n}=0\) whenever \(s_1s_2\dots s_n \notin F\), and the \(C^*\)-algebra \(P_F^{\text{red}}\) generated by \(p_s\otimes \lambda_s\), \(s\in F\), in \(P_F \otimes C^*_{\text{red}} \Gamma\). The coaction \(s\mapsto p_s \otimes \lambda_s\), \(s\in F\), induces \(\widehat{\Gamma}\)-algebra structures on both \(P_F^s\) and \(P_F^{\text{red}}\). The main result is that the following three are pairs of \(\widehat{\Gamma}\)-equivariant Morita equivalent \(C^*\)-algebras: \(P_F\) and the full crossed-product \({\mathcal E}_F \rtimes \Gamma\), \(P_F^{\text{red}}\) and the reduced crossed-product \({\mathcal E}_F \rtimes_r \Gamma\), \(P_F^s\) and the crossed-product \({\mathcal E}_F^s \rtimes \Gamma \cong {\mathcal E}_F^s \rtimes_r \Gamma\). Using Baaj-Skandalis duality [\textit{S. Baaj}, K-Theory 2, 683--721 (1989; Zbl 0683.46048)], one also gets that \({\mathcal E}_F\) is \(\Gamma\)-equivariantly Morita equivalent to \(P_F^s \rtimes_r \widehat{\Gamma}\) and \({\mathcal E}_F^s\) is \(\Gamma\)-equivariantly Morita equivalent to \(P_F^s \rtimes_r \widehat{\Gamma}\). These results are applied to identify the Baum-Connes map with the natural from the \(K\)-theory with strongly finite support to the ordinary \(K\)-theory of the reduced crossed product.