Malliavin's theorem for weak synthesis on nonabelian groups (Q1957951)

The paper is devoted to problems of spectral synthesis on locally compact groups. The group von Neumann algebra \(VN(G)\) of a locally compact group \(G\) is generated by the (left) regular representation of \(G\). Its predual is the Fourier algebra \(A(G)\) consisting of the coefficient functions of the regular representation. The authors extend some results due to Malliavin, and Parthasarathy and Varma to nonabelian groups by proving that weak synthesis holds for \(A(G)\) if and only if \(G\) is discrete. The authors give the injection theorem and the inverse projection theorem for weak \(X\)-spectral synthesis, as well as a condition for the union of two weak \(X\)-spectral sets to be weak \(X\)-spectral for an \(A(G)\)-submodule \(X\) of \(VN(G)\). Relations between weak \(X\)-synthesis in \(A(G)\) and \(A(G\times G)\) and the Varopoulos algebra \(V(G)\) are explored. The authors extend several recent investigations on operator synthesis by defining and studying, for a \(V^\infty(G)\)-submodule \({\mathcal M}\) of \({\mathcal B}(L^2(G))\), sets of the weak \({\mathcal M}\)-operator synthesis. Relations between \(X\)-Ditkin sets and \(\mathcal{M}\)-operator Ditkin sets and between weak \(X\)-spectral synthesis and weak \({\mathcal M}\)-operator synthesis are explored.