\(C^\ast \)-irreducibility of commensurated subgroups (Q6043864)

A unital inclusion \( B \subseteq A \) of unital C*-algebras is called \emph{C*-irreducible} if every intermediate C*-algebra \( B \subseteq C \subseteq A \) is simple. This notion was recently introduced and studied systematically in [\textit{M. Rørdam}, Enseign. Math. (2) 69, No. 3--4, 275--314 (2023; Zbl 07724326)]. An inclusion of groups \( \Lambda \subseteq \Gamma \) is called \emph{C*-irreducible} if the unital inclusion \( C_r^*(\Lambda) \subseteq C_r^*(\Gamma) \) of the associated reduced group C*-algebras is C*-irreducible. A natural question is whether the C*-irreducibility of an inclusion of groups can be characterized in terms of group-theoretic properties alone. Note that this generalizes the question of characterizing the simplicity of \( C_r^*(\Gamma) \) in terms of \( \Gamma \), which was done in [\textit{M. Kennedy}, Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 53, No. 5, 1105--1119 (2020; Zbl 1482.46075)] using results from [\textit{M. Kalantar} and \textit{M. Kennedy}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 727, 247--267 (2017; Zbl 1371.46044)] and [\textit{E. Breuillard} et al., Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 126, 35--71 (2017; Zbl 1391.46071)]. In the paper under review, the authors give several characterizations of the C*-irreducibility of \( \Lambda \subseteq \Gamma \) when \( \Lambda \) is a commensurated subgroup of \( \Gamma \), that is, \( \Lambda \cap \gamma \Lambda \gamma^{-1} \) has finite index in \( \Lambda \) for every \( \gamma \in \Gamma \). One of the characterizations is that \( \Lambda \subseteq \Gamma \) is C*-irreducible if and only if both of the following conditions hold: (1) \( C_r^*(\Lambda) \) is simple, and (2) \( \Gamma \) is icc relative to \( \Lambda \), that is, \( \{ \lambda \gamma \lambda^{-1} : \lambda \in \Lambda \} \) is infinite for every nontrivial \( \gamma \in \Gamma \). These characterizations were previously obtained in the case where \( \Lambda \) is normal in \( \Gamma\) in [\textit{E. Bédos} and \textit{T. Omland}, J. Funct. Anal. 284, No. 5, Article ID 109795, 31 p. (2023; Zbl 1515.46023)] using results from [\textit{D. Ursu}, J. Oper. Theory 87, No. 2, 471--486 (2022; Zbl 1524.46082)] (see also [\textit{T. Amrutam}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2021, No. 21, 16193--16204 (2021; Zbl 1491.46064)]). The techniques involve the concept of Furstenberg boundary as first employed to C*-simplicity problems in the cited works of Kalantar-Kennedy and Breuillard-Kalantar-Kennedy-Ozawa. In particular, the action of \( \Lambda \) on its Furstenberg boundary \( \partial_F \Lambda \) extends to \( \Gamma \) when \( \Lambda \) is a commensurated subgroup of \( \Gamma \). The same is shown to hold for the action of \( \Lambda \) on the universal minimal proximal \( \Lambda \)-space \( \partial_p \Lambda \).