Free semigroup algebras. A survey. (Q4534553)

A free semigroup algebra is a unital weak-operator-topology-closed algebra generated by \(n\) isometries \((S_1,\dots,S_n)\) with mutually orthogonal ranges. The basic example is as follows. Let \({{\mathbf F}_n}^+\) be the free semigroup comprised of all words in the \(n\) non-commuting letters \(\{1,\dots,n\}\), with the empty word as the identity element. The Hilbert space \({\mathcal K}_n=\ell^2({{\mathbf F}_n}^+)\) (known as Fock space) has the orthonormal basis \(\{\xi_v: v\in {{\mathbf F}_n}^+\}\). For every word \(v\) in \({{\mathbf F}_n}^+\) define an isometry \(L_v\) by \(L_v\xi_w = \xi_{vw}\). For instance, let \(L_1,\dots, L_n\) be the isometries determined by the generators of \({{\mathbf F}_n}^+\). Then the \(L_i\) have orthogonal ranges spanned by all words beginning with the letter \(i\). The free semigroup algebra generated by \((L_1,\dots, L_n)\), denoted by \({\mathcal L}_n\), is called the non-commutative analytic Toeplitz algebra. This informative survey article exhibits the high degree of clarity of exposition we have come to expect from the author. In it, the reader will find not only a discussion of the spatial and algebraic structure of \({\mathcal L}_n\) itself, including its WOT-closed ideals, representations of \({\mathcal L}_n\), and the automorphism group of \({\mathcal L}_n\). There is also a host of results that highlight the role of free semigroup algebras in the classification of representations of \(C^*\)-algebras, in dilation theory, and in Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation theory. The classification and structure theory of general free semigroup algebras are also considered at length. The ample bibliography points the interested reader to a wide range of original sources for further study. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0972.00051].