Noncommutative approximation: inverse-closed subalgebras and off-diagonal decay of matrices (Q607491)

The authors investigate two systematic constructions of inverse-closed subalgebras of a given Banach algebra or operator algebra \({\mathcal A}\), both of which are inspired by classical principles of approximation theory. The first construction requires a closed derivation or a commutative automorphism group on \({\mathcal A}\) and yields a family of smooth inverse-closed subalgebras of \({\mathcal A}\) that resemble the usual Hölder-Zygmund spaces. The second construction starts with a graded sequence of subspaces of \({\mathcal A}\) and yields a class of inverse-closed subalgebras that resemble the classical approximation spaces. A theorem of Jackson-Bernstein type is proved to show that in certain cases both constructions are equivalent. The results proved in the paper about abstract Banach algebras are applied to algebras of infinite matrices with off-diagonal decay. In particular, new and unexpected conditions of off-diagonal decay that are preserved under matrix inversion have been obtained.