Algebraic tensor products and internal homs of noncommutative \(\mathrm{L}^{p}\)-spaces (Q2401820)

This very interesting paper presents a categorical approach to von Neumann algebras and noncommutative \(L^p\) spaces. The presentation is made very clear by a slight change of notation: \(\mathcal{L}^a\) is \(L^{1/a}\), where \(a\) is any complex number with a nonnegative real part. For an arbitrary von Neumann algebra \(M\), if \(x\in\mathcal{L}^a(M)\) and \(y\in\mathcal{L}^b(M)\), then \(xy\in\mathcal{L}^{a+b}(M)\), and the noncommutative Hölder inequality reads \(\|xy\|\leq \|x\| \|y\|\), which means that the (quasi) norm of the map \(x\otimes y\mapsto xy\) of \(\mathcal{L}^a(M)\otimes \mathcal{L}^b(M)\) into \(\mathcal{L}^{a+b}(M)\) is non-increasing. This is generalized to the main theorem of the paper: the multiplication map \(\mathcal{L}^a(M)\otimes_M \mathcal{L}^b(M) \to \mathcal{L}^{a+b}(M)\) is an isometric isomorphism of (quasi) Banach \(M\)-\(M\)-bimodules. The (quasi) norm on \(\mathcal{L}^a(M)\otimes_M \mathcal{L}^b(M)\) is the quotient (quasi) norm obtained from the (quasi) norm on \(\mathcal{L}^a(M)\otimes \mathcal{L}^b(M)\). Similar results are obtained for internal homs. Another novelty in the paper is the treatment of the `core' von Neumann algebra \(\hat{M}\), classically constructed as a crossed product of \(M\) by the modular group associated with some faithful semifinite normal weight, but known to be functorially dependent on \(M\). Here, \(\hat{M}\) is constructed using a theory of representable functors, as an \(\mathbb{I}\)-graded von Neumann algebra, with \(\mathbb{I}\) being imaginary numbers. the author extends the grading to a \(\mathbb{C}\)-grading of the algebra \(\bar{M}\) of measurable operators affiliated with \(\hat{M}\) is such a way that the \(a\) graded component of \(\bar{M}\) is \(\mathcal{L}^a\) (or \(0\) if real part of \(a\) is negative). Constructions of the algebras that do not use the Tomita-Takesaki theory are announced.