Operator algebras with contractive approximate identities: weak compactness and the spectrum (Q398824)

The authors provide counterexamples to a couple of problems stated in their earlier work [J. Funct. Anal. 261, No. 1, 188--217 (2011; Zbl 1235.47087)] and that of \textit{M. Almus} et al. [Stud. Math. 212, No. 1, 65--93 (2012; Zbl 1271.46038)] concerning the weak compactness of algebras of operators on a Hilbert space \(H\) having contractive approximate identities. The main example provides, by a somewhat complicated construction, a closed semisimple subalgebra \(A \subset B(H)\) such that \(A\) has a contractive approximate identity but \(A\) is not weakly compact, that is, there is some \(a \in A\) for which the multiplication operator \(M_{a,a}: x \mapsto axa\) is not weakly compact \(A \to A\). Moreover, for any \(x \in A\) the spectrum \(\sigma_A(x)\) is either finite or a zero-sequence containing \(0\), so that \(A\) is a modular annihilator algebra in the sense of \textit{B. Yood} [Math. Proc. R. Ir. Acad. 103A, No. 2, 149--157 (2003; Zbl 1079.46034)]. Further interesting properties related to its multiplier algebra \(M(A)\) are discussed.