Gradient forms and strong solidity of free quantum groups (Q2225609)

Let \(O_N^+(F)\) and \(U_N^+(F)\) be the free orthogonal and unitary compact quantum groups, determined by \(F\in GL_N(\mathbb C)\), and consider the von Neumann algebras \(L_\infty(O_N^+(F))\) and \(L_\infty(U_N^+(F))\). These are finite von Neumann algebras, and for \(F=I\) it was shown by [\textit{Y. Isono}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 367, No. 11, 7917--7937 (2015; Zbl 1342.46056)] and [\textit{P. Fima} and \textit{R. Vergnioux}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2015, No. 20, 10069--10094 (2015; Zbl 1378.46055)] that the von Neumann algebras are strongly solid. This is a technical, and strong, property of von Neumann algebras first introduced in [\textit{N. Ozawa} and \textit{S. Popa}, Ann. Math. (2) 172, No. 1, 713--749 (2010; Zbl 1201.46054)] to prove non-existence of Cartan subalgebras. The property is now widely studied in its own regard. The author shows that for general $F$, the von Neumann algebras \(L_\infty(O_N^+(F))\) and \(L_\infty(U_N^+(F))\) are strongly solid. The idea of the proof is to construct a semi-group of state preserving UCP maps arising from central multipliers on the quantum groups. From this, one can construct a bimodule (a Hilbert space with commuting left and right actions) of the \(L_\infty\) algebra. This construction comes from the theory of Dirichlet forms, which have recently played an important role in von Neumann algebra theory [\textit{M. Caspers} and \textit{A. Skalski}, Commun. Math. Phys. 336, No. 3, 1637--1664 (2015; Zbl 1330.46057)]. A derivation is constructed into this bimodule, and some new properties of the semigroup are introduced and studied, with the aim of understanding when the bimodule is weakly contained in the coarse bimodule. This machinery is enough in the case when the defining matrix satisfies \(F \overline F \in \mathbb R\). The general case is dealt with by a careful study of how these semigroup constructions interact with free products of quantum groups, and the continuous core construction. The paper is carefully written, with a lot of motivation and clear statements. For example, a helpful appendix is given showing technical results which are similar to known results, but with slightly different statements. The introduction, in particular, gives some very helpful background.