Principles of operator algebras

Abstract: This is an introduction to the algebras

A s u b s e t B (H)

that the bounded linear operators

T : H o H

can form, once a complex Hilbert space

H

is given. Motivated by quantum mechanics, we are mostly interested in the von Neumann algebras, which are stable under taking adjoints,

T o T^{*}

, and weakly closed. When the algebra has a trace

t r : A o m a t h b b C

, we can think of it as being of the form

A = L^{i} n f t y (X)

, with

X

being a quantum measured space, and of particular interest is the free case, where the center of the algebra is

Z (A) = m a t h b b C

. Following Murray, von Neumann, Connes, Jones, Voiculescu, Woronowicz, we discuss here the basic properties of such algebras

A

, and how to do algebra, geometry, analysis and probability on the underlying quantum spaces

X

.

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