Operator algebra quantum homogeneous spaces of universal gauge groups (Q657636)

It was noticed some time ago that quantum groups can be studied using methods of operator algebras. Roughly speaking, one starts with a representation of quantum group by the bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space and takes the self-adjoint closure of the representation in the norm (or weak) topology on the space of operators; the resulting \(C^*\)-algebra (von Neumann algebra) encodes geometry and physics of the quantum group. An additional co-multiplication structure of the quantum group translates into a corresponding operation in the \(C^*\)-algebra. In the paper under review the authors introduce a concept of a \(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-quantum group as follows. Recall that a \(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-algebra is the inverse limit of a countable family of \(C^*\)-algebras; a unital \(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-algebra \(A\) is called a \textit{\(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-quantum group} if there exists a unital \(\ast\)-homomorphism \(\Delta: A\to A\hat\otimes A\) which satisfies a co-associativity \((\Delta\hat\otimes \mathrm{id})\Delta=(\mathrm{id} \hat\otimes\Delta)\Delta\) and such that the linear spaces \(\Delta(A)(A\hat\otimes 1)\) and \(\Delta(A)(1\hat\otimes A)\) are dense in \(A\hat\otimes A\). In what follows the notion of a \(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-quantum homogeneous space is defined; the main example here is a quantum version of the universal gauge group \(SU(\infty)\). Finally, the machinery of the so-called \(RK\)-theory for \(\sigma\)-\(C^*\)-algebras is applied to classify the above algebras. The text is clearly written and contains a variety of concrete examples which allow the readers to put their fingers on the general concepts involved in the paper.