Dual operator algebras close to injective von Neumann algebras (Q1683518)

There is a conjecture by G.\,Pisier that a non-selfadjoint amenable operator algebra should be similar to a nuclear \(C^*\)-algebra. Meanwhile, \textit{R. V. Kadison} and \textit{D. Kastler} conjectured in [Am. J. Math. 94, 38--54 (1972; Zbl 0239.46070)] that sufficiently close \(C^*\)-algebras acting on the same Hilbert space are necessarily unitarily conjugate (here the distance \(d\) is defined as the Hausdorff distance between the unit balls). Both conjectures have drawn lots of attention over the years. The acticle under review concerns the above conjectures by showing the following: Let \(\mathcal {M,N}\subset \mathbb B(H)\) be two unital \(\omega^*\)-closed operator algebras. Suppose that \(\mathcal M\) admits a normal virtual diagonal \(u\) and \(\mathcal N\) is an injective von Neumann algebra. If \(d(\mathcal M,\mathcal N)<1/(656\| u\|)\), then there exists an invertible operator \(S\) in the \(\omega^*\)-closed algebra generated by \(\mathcal M\cup\mathcal N\) such that \(S\mathcal MS^{-1}=\mathcal N\). Moreover, \(\| S-I_H\|\leq 656\| u\| d(\mathcal M,\mathcal N)\). The theorem above is a generalization of a result by \textit{E. Christensen} [Invent. Math. 43, 1--13 (1977; Zbl 0366.46050)] by removing the requirement that \(\mathcal M\) is selfadjoint. Techniques from dual operator spaces and Banach algebras are the main tools in the proof.