Non-Archimedean group algebras with Baer reductions (Q484634)

The methods developed in the classical theory of operator algebras (i.e., for Banach spaces over the real or complex field) do not carry over to the non-Archimedean context (i.e., for Banach spaces over a complete non-Archimedean valued field \(K\) with a non-trivial valuation), because of the absence of natural involutions on those fields \(K\). In [``On some classes of non-Archimedean operator algebras'', Contemp. Math. 596, 133--148 (2013; \url{doi:10.1090/conm/596/11896})], the author proposed a non-Archimedean counterpart for the classical class of von Neumann algebras. To get this, he followed a procedure reduction for an algebra \({\mathcal U}\) of bounded linear operators on a Banach space over \(K\) with an orthonormal basis. He considered the reduced algebra \({\mathcal U}_1/ {\mathcal U}_0\), where \({\mathcal U}_1\) is the closed unit ball of \({\mathcal U}\) (which is an algebra over the valuation ring of \(K\)) and where \({\mathcal U}_0\) is the ideal of \({\mathcal U}_1\) consisting of the operators of norm \(<1\). The reduced algebra is considered as an algebra over the residue class field of \(K\). An operator algebra \({\mathcal U}\) for which its reduction belongs to one of the three types of Baer rings (I, II or III, according to \textit{I. Kaplansky} [Rings of operators. New York-Amsterdam: W. A. Benjamin, Inc. (1968; Zbl 0174.18503)]), is called an \textit{algebra with the Baer reduction}. More generally, one can consider the situation where the reduced algebra is not necessarily a Baer ring, but its maximal right ring of quotients is. In this case, \({\mathcal U}\) is called an \textit{algebra with the weak Baer reduction}. In order to justify the above definitions, we need meaningful examples of operator algebras with (weak) Baer reductions. In [loc.\,cit.], the author constructed a non-Archimedean version of the crossed products that possess properties resembling those of von Neumann algebras and whose reduced algebras are Baer rings. In the present paper, the analogs of the von Neumann group algebras are constructed and studied. Let \(G\) be an arbitrary group. The author considers operators on the Banach space of all \(K\)-valued sequences indexed by elements of \(G\). Specifically, the closed linear spans in the strong operator topology, \(M(G)\) and \(N(G)\), of the sets formed by the operators of the right and left regular representations, respectively. Their descriptions and the duality relations between them are given in the paper. Also, for the case in which \(K\) is the field \(\mathbb{C}_p\) of non-Archimedean complex numbers (i.e., the completion of the algebraic closure of the field \(\mathbb{Q}_p\) of \(p\)-adic numbers, \(p\) a prime number), a list of some classes of groups \(G\) for which the corresponding operator algebras \(M(G)\) are algebras with (weak) Baer reductions is provided. As the author says at the end of the paper, the problem of constructing non-Archimedean operator algebras with type II Baer reductions remains open.