Totally irreducible representations of algebras (Q2833671)

A representation \({\mathbf T}\) of an algebra \(A\) on a locally convex space \(X\) is a homomorphism \(a\mapsto T_a\) of \(A\) into the algebra \(L(X)\) of all continuous endomorphisms of \(X\). It is called totally irreducible if, for each natural \(n\) and each \(n\)-tuple \(x_1,\dots,x_n\) of linearly independent elements of \(X\), the orbit \(O({\mathbf T};x_1,\dots,x_n)=\{(T_ax_1,\dots,T_ax_n):a\in A\}\) is dense in \(X^n\) in the product topology, i.e., the algebra \({\mathbf T}A=\{T_a\in L(X):a\in A\}\) is dense in \(L(X)\) in the strong operator topology. \({\mathbf T}\) is said to be algebraically totally irreducible if the above orbits coincide with \(X^n\) for all \(n\).NEWLINENEWLINEThe (still unsolved) problem of \textit{J. M. G. Fell} and \textit{R. S. Doran} [Representations of *-algebras, locally compact groups, and Banach *- algebraic bundles. Vol. 1: Basic representation theory of groups and algebras. Boston, MA etc.: Academic Press, Inc. (1988; Zbl 0652.46050)] is the question whether an irreducible (= 1-irreducible) representation of \(A\) with trivial commutant must be totally irreducible. The paper under review deals with this and related questions. The main result of Section 2 states that every algebraically irreducible representation of a locally convex Waelbroeck algebra (i.e., the set of its invertible elements is open and the inverse is continuous) is totally algebraically irreducible. In Section 3, the author deals with the question of when a \((k-1)\)-irreducible representation of an algebra is not \(k\)-irreducible. In Section 4, some cases of the Fell and Doran problem are solved in the positive. There is an interesting by-product (Corollary 4): If \(L(X)\) contains an operator without closed invariant subspaces, then it is generated by two operators.