Projections in rotation algebras and theta functions (Q1809298)

The rotation algebra (alias non-commutative torus) -- the universal \(C^*\)-algebra generated by two unitaries satisfying \(uv = e^{2\pi i\alpha}vu\) together with the automorphism \(u\mapsto v, v\mapsto u^{-1}\) -- is studied. The author describes a method of constructing projections in the related fixed point algebra in terms of Jacobi's theta functions. For \(\alpha = q^{-1}, q\in {\mathbb Z}\) the explicit formulae are provided and a lower bound for the norm of the Harper operator \(u + u^* + v + v^*\) (an important object in the theory of quantum Hall effect) is given.