Weak exactness for \(C^\ast\)-algebras and application to condition (AO) (Q1939353)

The study of weakly exact von Neumann algebras was initiated by \textit{E. Kirchberg} [``Exact \(C^*\)-algebras, tensor products, and the classification of purely infinite algebras'', in: Chatterji, S. D. (Ed.), Basel: Birkhäuser. 943--954 (1995; Zbl 0897.46057)], and further pursued by \textit{N. Ozawa} [J. Math. Soc. Japan 59, No.4, 985--991 (2007; Zbl 1137.46034)]. Kirchberg showed the abundance of this class of algebras, in the sense that von Neumann algebras containing a weakly dense exact \(C^*\)-algebra must be weakly exact. Subsequent work of Ozawa provided equivalent characterizations of weak exactness through local approximation of the identity map on finite-dimensional operator sub-systems. As a by-product, Ozawa was able to prove that, if \(\Gamma\) is a discrete group, then \(\Gamma\) is exact if and only if the group von Neumann algebra \({\mathcal L}(\Gamma)\) is weakly exact. The paper under review furthers the study of weak exactness, extending the notion to general inclusions \(A\subset M\) with \(M\) a von Neumann algebra and \(A\) a unital \(C^*\)-subalgebra. The situation \(A=M\) corresponds to Kirchberg's weak exactness of \(M\), while \(A\subset {\mathbb B}(H_u)\), the universal representation of \(A\), corresponds to \(C^*\)-exactness of \(A\). If \(A\subset {\mathbb B}(H)\) is faithful, then the exactness of \(A\) implies the weak exactness of this inclusion. Ozawa's results on weak exactness are naturally carried over to the setting of \(A\subset {\mathbb B}(H)\). One interesting corollary is that the exactness of a discrete group \(\Gamma\), known to be equivalent with the exactness of the reduced group \(C^*\)-algebra \(C^*_\lambda(\Gamma)\), is also shown to be equivalent with the weak exactness of \(C^*_\lambda (\Gamma) \subset {\mathbb B} (\ell^2(\Gamma))\). Permanence properties of the weak exactness of von Neumann algebras with separable predual are investigated. It is shown that this class of von Neumann algebras is closed under tensor products, crossed products with exact groups, and increasing unions. An amalgamated free product von Neumann algebra \((M,E_D)\bar{\ast}_D (D \bar{\otimes} {\mathbb B}(H),\text{id}_D \otimes \omega )\) is shown to be weakly exact assuming \(M\) weakly exact with separable predual, \(D\) a unital \(\sigma\)-finite von Neumann subalgebra of \(M\), \(E_D:M\rightarrow D\) a faithful normal conditional expectation, \(H\) a separable Hilbert space, and \(\omega\) a vector state on \({\mathbb B}(H)\). A celebrated result of Ozawa [\textit{N. P. Brown} and \textit{N. Ozawa}, \(C^*\)-algebras and finite-dimensional approximations. Graduate Studies in Mathematics 88. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2008; Zbl 1160.46001)] states that \({\mathcal L}(\Gamma)\) is solid when the group \(\Gamma\) is bi-exact. In the last section of the paper, the author extends this type of result by inserting weak exactness for inclusions into the (AO) condition employed in Ozawa's proof. As a result, some new examples of (not necessarily finite) semiprime or prime factors inside crossed products by bi-exact groups are being produced.