Localizing the Elliott conjecture at strongly self-absorbing \(C^*\)-algebras (Q2509510)

This article considers ``classification up to \(\mathcal D\)-stability,'' defined as follows: Consider a strongly self-absorbing \(C^*\)-algebra \(\mathcal D\) (i.e., \(\mathcal D\) is unital, and isomorphic to the \(C^*\)-algebraic tensor product \(\mathcal D \otimes \mathcal D\), via an isomorphism which is approximately unitarily equivalent to the first-factor embedding). A class \(\mathcal C\) of \(C^*\)-algebras is said to be classified up to \(\mathcal D\)-stability if, for any \(C^*\)-algebras \(A,B \in \mathcal C\), if \(A \otimes \mathcal D\) and \(B \otimes \mathcal D\) have isomorphic Elliott invariants, then \(A \otimes \mathcal D \cong B \otimes \mathcal D\). Here, the Elliott invariant of a \(C^*\)-algebra \(A\), denoted \(\mathrm{Inv}(A)\), consists of the ordered \(K\)-theory of \(A\), the traces on \(A\), and the pairing between these two objects. Classification up to \(\mathcal D\)-stability (especially in the case \(\mathcal D \cong \mathcal Z\)) has become a central concept in Elliott's programme of classification of amenable \(C^*\)-algebras. This article goes on to introduce a crucial technique for showing classification up to \(\mathcal Z\)-stability, which is the following result. In essence, it says that classification (in a stronger sense) up to UHF-stability implies classification (in the sense defined above) up to \(\mathcal Z\)-stability. Let \(A,B\) be simple, separable, unital, nuclear \(C^*\)-algebras, with isomorphic Elliott invariants. Suppose that the isomorphism of invariants lifts to isomorphisms \(\phi_p:A \otimes M_p \to B \otimes M_p\) and \(\phi_q:A \otimes M_q \to B \otimes M_q\), where \(p,q\) are comprime supernatural numbers of infinite type (and \(M_p,M_q\) are the corresponding UHF algebras). If, moreover, there is a strong asymptotic unitary equivalence between \(\phi_p \otimes \mathrm{id}_{M_q}:A \otimes M_{pq} \to B \otimes M_{pq}\) and \(\phi_q \otimes \mathrm{id}_{M_p}:A \otimes M_{pq} \to B \otimes M_{pq}\), then the isomorphism of invariants lifts to an isomorphism \(A \otimes \mathcal Z \cong B \otimes \mathcal Z\). To demonstrate the power of this technique, the following result is derived by combining this main result with existing classification results and a contribution by Huaxin Lin (in the form of an appendix) [\textit{H.-X. Lin}, ibid. 692, 233--243 (2014; Zbl 1327.46056)]. Let \(\mathcal A\) denote the class of simple, separable, unital, nuclear \(C^*\)-algebras \(A\) such that: (i) \(A\) satisfies the UCT, (ii) \(A\) has locally finite decomposition rank, (iii) the projections of \(A\) separate its traces, and (iv) the torsion-part of the \(K\)-theory of \(A\) is finitely generated. Then \(\mathcal A\) is classified up to \(\mathcal Z\)-stability. The author predicts that the technique introduced in this paper will be useful in producing more general classification theorems for simple, separable, nuclear, stably finite \(C^*\)-algebras. Since the paper was written, \textit{G.-H. Gong}, \textit{H.-X. Lin} and \textit{Z. Niu} used the technique (and much more) in [``Classification of finite simple amenable \(\mathcal Z\)-stable \(C^*\)-algebras'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1501.00135}] to prove that simple, separable, unital, nuclear \(C^*\)-algebras \(A\) with ``rational generalized tracial rank one'' are classified up to \(\mathcal Z\)-stability. Rational generalized tracial rank one for a \(C^*\)-algebra \(A\) means that \(A \otimes U\) has generalized tracial rank one (roughly, it can be approximated in a tracial sense by subhomogeneous C*-algebras of topological dimension one), for every infinite-dimensional UHF algebra \(U\), a hypothesis that clearly links to the main result of the paper under review. \textit{G. A. Elliott}, \textit{G.-H. Gong}, \textit{H.-X. Lin} and \textit{Z. Niu} [``On the classification of simple amenable \(C^*\)-algebras with finite decomposition rank. II'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1507.03437}] went on to show that, if \(A\) is a simple, separable, unital \(C^*\)-algebras with finite nuclear dimension such that \(A\) satisfies the UCT and all traces on \(A\) are quasidiagonal, then \(A\) has rational generalized tracial rank one; this large abstract class of \(C^*\)-algebras is thereby classified up to \(\mathcal Z\)-stability (in fact, each \(C^*\)-algebras in this class is either \(\mathcal Z\)-stable or finite-dimensional by \textit{W. Winter} [Invent. Math. 187, No. 2, 259--342 (2012; Zbl 1280.46041)], so the class itself is classified).