Linear disjointness preservers of W\(^\ast\)-algebras (Q415472)

Let \(A,B\) be two C\(^*\)-algebras. A bijection \(\theta:A\to B\) is called a \textit{preserver} if it preservers one or more properties. For example, linearity means that \(\theta\) preserves addition. Other properties that \(\theta\) may or may not preserve are multiplication, adjointness, orthogonality, etc. Most papers on preservers are concerned with proving that a bijection that preserves some structure is necessarily an isomorphim, or at least forces the existence of an isomorphism. There is an abundant literature on preservers, and we recommend the reference list of the paper under review. Here, the authors prove the following. Theorem. Let \(M,N\) be von Neumann algebras, \(\theta:M\to N\) a linear bijection. If any of the conditions below hold, then \(M\) and \(N\) are isomorphic. {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[(1)] For all \(a,b\in M\), \(ab=0\;\iff\;\theta(a)\theta(b)=0\). \item[(2)] For all \(a,b\in M\), \(a^*b=0\;\iff\;\theta(a)^*\theta(b)=0\). \item[(3)] For all \(a,b^*\in M\), \(ab=0\;\iff\;\theta(a)\theta(b)^*=0\). \item[(4)] For all \(a,b\in M\), \(a^*b=0\;\iff\;\theta(a)\theta(b)^*=0\). \item[(5)] \(J\subset M\) is a left ideal \(\iff\) \(\theta(J)\) is a left ideal. \item[(6)] \(J\subset M\) is a right ideal \(\iff\) \(\theta(J)\) is a right ideal. \end{itemize}} The authors do not assume continuity of \(\theta\), as opposed to most previous literature on preservers of the kind above.