No label defined (Q4935953)

Let \(G\) be a locally compact group. The spectral theory of unitary representation of \(G\) is equivalent to the spectral theory of the associated group \(C^\ast\)-algebra \(C^\ast(G)\) which reflects the whole structure of \(G\) and enables one to use powerful tools of functional analysis. This is the main idea behind the investigation of group \(C^\ast\)-algebras which are the main topic of the book under review. Although the description of group \(C^\ast\)-algebras has not been completed yet, many new methods and results have been obtained. The book is one of the first systematic treatments of them. The exposition is divided into two parts -- elementary theory and advanced theory. In the first part, suitable for graduate students, basic methods of study of group \(C^\ast\)-algebras, based on concrete examples of the groups of affine transformations of the real and complex line, and MD groups, is provided. In these sections BDF functors, K-homology and KK-functors are used. In Part II, non-trivial methods from representation theory, differential geometry, and KK-theory are applied. In particular, the multidimensional orbit method and the construction of indices of group \(C^\ast\)-algebras is developed. The book is a nice and useful introduction to the theory which is at the crossroads of many modern mathematical disciplines and has important applications in physics. It provides the reader with the basic background as well as literature for further study.