Real positivity and approximate identities in Banach algebras
In this important paper, the authors develop the notions of real positivity and new notions of approximate identities in a complex approximatively unital Banach algebra \(A\). The ideas and results are a delightful interplay between the geometry of Banach spaces and the abstract Banach algebra theory. This article is a must read for practitioners of both areas. We recall from \textit{P. Harmand} et al. [\(M\)-ideals in Banach spaces and Banach algebras. Berlin: Springer-Verlag (1993; Zbl 0789.46011)] that a linear projection \(P: A \rightarrow A\) is said to be an \(M\)(\(L\))-projection if \(\|a\| =\max\{\|P(a)\|,\|a-P(a)\|\}\) (\(\|a\|= \|P(a)\|+\|a-P(a)\|\)) for all \(a \in A\). A closed subspace \(J \subset A\) is said to be an \(M\)-ideal, if there is an \(L\)-projection in \(A^\ast\) such that \(\ker(P) = J^\bot\). It is well known that in a \(C^\ast\)-algebra, these are precisely the closed two-sided ideals. An important question in the Banach algebra theory is to identify \(M\)-ideals in terms of the algebraic structure. Rather than giving a section-wise summary of this long article, this review focuses on some of the \(M\)-structure theoretical aspects. Identifying an approximatively unital Banach algebra \(A\), via the left regular representation, in the space of operators \(B(A)\), the authors denote by \(A^1\) the multiplier unitization of \(A\), i.e., the span of \(A\) and \(I\) in \(B(A)\). If \(A\) is an \(M\)-ideal in \(A^1\), then it is said to be \(M\)-approximatively unital. Lemma 2.4 gives a nice internal characterization of non-unital, approximatively unital \(A\) to be \(M\)-approximatively unital. We now skip to Section 5, which demonstrates the advantages enjoyed by \(M\)-approximatively unital algebras. Any such algebra \(A\), as well as an \(M\)-ideal in \(A\), has contractive approximate identity (\(cai\)) in \(\frac{1}{2} \{a \in A:\|1-2a\| \leq 1\}\). Let \(\tau = \{a \in A: \operatorname{Re}(\phi(a)) \geq 0 \text{ for all } \phi \in S(A^1)\}\). Then for any \(x \in A\), \(\|x\|<1\), \(x = a-b\), where \(a,b \in \tau\) and \(\|a\|,\|b\|<1\). The interested reader may also consult the survey article by \textit{D. P. Blecher} [Contemp. Math. 671, 35--67 (2016; Zbl 1367.46020)].
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