Conditional expectations for unbounded operator algebras (Q925415)

The authors propose two different definitions of conditional expectations in the framework of a particular class of unbounded operator algebras, the so-called (partial) \(O^*\)-algebras. The motivation is the essential role that conditional expectations play in quantum mechanics and in probability theory. However, quite often in applications, unbounded operators appear in the analysis of even very simple physical systems, so that we are forced to work, for instance, with operators which are only densely defined. This is the motivation which is behind the analysis carried out in this paper, where, however, only mathematical properties of these unbounded conditional expectations are discussed.