Symmetrization of Cuntz' picture for the Kasparov \(KK\)-bifunctor (Q1755980)

Let \(A\) and \(B\) be separable C*-algebras. A quasi-homomorphism from \(A\) to \(B\) is a pair of *-homomorphisms \((f,g)\) from \(A\) to a C*-algebra \(E\) that contains \(B\) as an ideal, such that \(g(a)-f(a) \in B\) for all \(a\in A\). Let \(\mathbb{K}\) denote the C*-algebra of compact operators on a separable Hilbert space. Cuntz described Kasparov's KK-group \(KK(A,B)\) as the set of homotopy classes of quasi-homomorphisms from \(A\) to \(B\otimes \mathbb{K}\). This article defines pseudohomomorphisms from \(A\) to \(B\) to make the notion of quasi-homomorphism more symmetric. A pseudohomomorphism from \(A\) to \(B\) needs a surjective *-homomorphism \(C \to A\) with kernel \(J\) and a C*-algebra \(E\) containing \(B\) as an ideal. It is a pair of *-homomorphisms \((f,g)\) from \(C\) to \(E\) such that \(f(x) = g(x)\) for all \(x \in J\) and \(f(x) - g(x) \in B\) for all \(x\in C\). It is shown that such a pseudohomomorphism defines a quasi-homomorphism in the usual sense. The main point in the proof is a canonical isomorphism between the kernels of the canonical *-homomorphisms from the amalgamated free product \(C *_J C\) to \(C\) and from \(A * A\) to \(A\). The author also develops a variant of KK-theory based on pseudohomomorphisms. To make it exactly equal to KK, it is necessary to restrict to pseudohomomorphisms such that \(f\) and \(g\) are strict on \(J\). Then the pseudohomomorphism splits as a direct sum of one where both \(f\) and \(g\) factor through \(A\), so that they define an ordinary quasi-homomorphism, and one where \(f = g\).