Gelfand Theory for Non-Commutative Banach Algebras (Q3148701)

Let \(A\) be a Banach algebra. A pair \(({\mathcal G},{\mathfrak A})\) consisting of a \(C^*\)-algebra \(\mathfrak A\) and a homomorphism \({\mathcal G}:A\to{\mathfrak A}\) is called a Gelfand theory if (i) the assignment \(L\mapsto {\mathcal G}^{-1}(L)\) is a bijection between the sets of maximal modular left ideals of \(\mathfrak A\) and \(A\), respectively; (ii) for each maximal modular left ideal \(L\) of \(\mathfrak A\), the linear map \({\mathcal G}_L:A/{\mathcal G}^{-1}(L)\to {\mathfrak A}/L\) induced by \(\mathcal G\) has dense range. The classical Gelfand theory of commutative Banach algebras is obviously characterized by these axioms. The authors show that (not necessarily commutative) unital homogeneous Banach algebras always have a Gelfand theory, which is in general not unique. If \(A\) is already a \(C^*\)-algebra, then the identity pair \((\text{id},A)\) is trivially a Gelfand theory for \(A\). It is shown that, for liminal \(C^*\)-algebras with discrete spectrum, the identity is the only Gelfand theory up to an appropriate equivalence.