Eight-dimensional real absolute-valued algebras with left unit whose automorphism group is trivial (Q1774370)

Let \(A\neq 0\) be a real nonassociative algebra and \(\| \;\| \) a norm on its underlying vector space. The algebra \(A\) is said to be an \textit{absolute valued algebra} if \(\| xy\| = \| x \| \| y \| \) for any \(x, \; y \in A.\) Finite dimensional absolute valued algebras are division algebras. So by the well known Kervaire--Milnor--Bott Theorem one such algebra has dimension \(1, \; 2, \; \; 4\) or \(8.\) It is possible to give the classification, up to isomorphisms, of the absolute valued algebras of dimension \(\leq 4\) [\textit{M.~Ramírez}, ''On four-dimensional absolute valued algebras'', Proceedings of the International Conference on Jordan Structures, Málaga 169--173 (1999; Zbl 1006.17007)]. Furthermore, she proves that \(4\)-dimensional absolute valued algebras with a left unit always contain a two-dimensional subalgebra. Despite these facts, the structure of the \(8\)--dimensional absolute valued algebras is scarcely known. The paper under review is devoted to the study of these algebras when there exists a left unity. In particular, the author characterizes when an \(8\)-dimensional absolute valued algebra with left unit has some \(4\)-dimensional subalgebra. If \({\mathbb O}\) is the absolute valued algebra of the division real octonions and \(f: {\mathbb O}\longrightarrow {\mathbb O}\) is an isometric linear map fixing \(1,\) we obtain an absolute valued algebra \({\mathbb O}_f\) by defining a new product by \(x\circ y = f(x)y.\) This algebra has \(e=1\) as a left unit element. In this paper the author first shows that, up to isomorphisms, the \(8\)-dimensional absolute valued algebras with left unit are exactly the algebras \({\mathbb O}_f \) described above. He also gives a criterion characterizing when two of these algebras \({\mathbb O}_f\) and \({\mathbb O}_g\) are isomorphic. In the last section he proves that \({\mathbb O}_f\) has a four-dimensional subalgebra if and only if its automorphism group is not trivial.