Just-infinite \(C^\ast\)-algebras (Q2412933)

Summary: By analogy with the well-established notions of just-infinite groups and just-infinite (abstract) algebras, we initiate a systematic study of just-infinite \(C^\ast\)-algebras, i.e., infinite dimensional \(C^\ast\)-algebras for which all proper quotients are finite dimensional. We give a classification of such \(C^\ast\)-algebras in terms of their primitive ideal space, that leads to a trichotomy. We show that just-infinite, residually finite dimensional \(C^\ast\)-algebras do exist by giving an explicit example of (the Bratteli diagram of) an AF-algebra with these properties.{ }Further, we discuss when \(C^\ast\)-algebras and \(^\ast\)-algebras associated with a discrete group are just-infinite. If \(\mathcal{G}\) is the Burnside-type group of intermediate growth discovered by the first-named author, which is known to be just-infinite, then its group algebra \(\mathbb{C}[\mathcal{G}]\) and its group \(C^\ast\)-algebra \(C^\ast(\mathcal{G})\) are not just-infinite. Furthermore, we show that the algebra \(B=\pi(\mathbb{C}[\mathcal{G}])\) under the Koopman representation \(\pi\) of \(\mathcal{G}\) associated with its canonical action on a binary rooted tree is just-infinite. It remains an open problem whether the residually finite dimensional \(C^\ast\)-algebra \(C^\ast_\pi(\mathcal{G})\) is just-infinite.