A star-variety with almost polynomial growth (Q1969116)

In the paper under review the authors study \(*\)-polynomial identities of associative algebras with involution over a field \(F\) of characteristic 0. As in the case of ordinary PI-algebras, a lot of information for the \(*\)-polynomial identities is carried by the sequence of \(*\)-codimensions and cocharacters, but instead of the representation theory of the symmetric group, in the \(*\)-case one involves representations of the hyperoctahedral group. Especially interesting are the algebras with extremal behaviour of the codimensions. In the present paper the authors construct a four-dimensional algebra \(M\) with involution with almost polynomial growth for the \(*\)-codimensions, i.e., its \(*\)-codimensions are of exponential growth and for any \(*\)-T-ideal properly containing \(\text{Id}(M,*)\) the \(*\)-codimensions are of polynomial growth. The authors also show that the \(*\)-T-ideal \(\text{Id}(M,*)\) is generated by the \(*\)-polynomial identity \((x_1-x_1^*)(x_2-x_2^*)=0\). The other main result of the paper is that the only \(*\)-T-ideals of finite-dimensional algebras with almost polynomial \(*\)-codimension growth are \(\text{Id}(M,*)\) and \(\text{Id}(G_2,*)\), where \(G_2=F\oplus F\) is the direct sum of two copies of the field equipped with the exchange involution \((a,b)^*=(b,a)\). Very recently, the \(*\)-T-ideals with polynomial growth of \(*\)-codimensions have been described in the language of representations of the hyperoctahedral group [\textit{A. Giambruno, M. Zaicev}, A characterization of algebras with polynomial growth of the codimensions, Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 129, No. 1, 59-67 (2001) and \textit{A. Giambruno, S. Mishchenko}, Polynomial growth of the \(*\)-codimensions and Young diagrams, Commun. Algebra (to appear)]. (Also submitted to MR).