On peak phenomena for non-commutative \(H^\infty\) (Q1000587)

The peak result of \textit{É.Amar} and \textit{A.Lederer} [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. A 272, 1449-1452 (1971; Zbl 0218.46051)] has played an important role in the proof of the uniqueness of the predual of the Banach algebra \(H^\infty (\mathbb{D})\) of all bounded analytic functions on the unit disk equipped with the supremum norm. Amar and Lederer established that identifying \(H^\infty (\mathbb{D})\) with a closed subalgebra of some \(C(X)\), a specific singular functional \(\varphi\) in the dual of \(H^\infty (\mathbb{D})\) with representing measure \(m\) satisfies the following property: for each closed subset \(F\subset X\) with \(m(F) =0\), there exists \(f\) in the unit ball of \(H^\infty (\mathbb{D})\) such that \(P:=\{ x\in X : {f} (x) = 1\}\) contains \(F\) and \(m(P) =0\). The author replaces \(H^\infty (\mathbb{D})\) with the noncommutative \(H^\infty\)-algebra \(H^\infty (M,\tau)\) associated to a von Neumann algebra \(M\) having a faithful normal trace \(\tau\). The main result establishes a generalisation of Amar's and Lederer's peak result, proving that for each nonzero singular functional \(\varphi\in M^*\) there exists a contraction \(a\in M\) and a projection \(p\in M^{**}\) such that {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[[1]] \(a^n\) tends to \(p\) in the weak\(^*\) topology of \(M^{**}\); \item[[2]] \(|\varphi| (p) = |\varphi| (1)\); \item[[3]] \(\psi (p) = 0\) for all \(\psi \in M_{*}\), when the latter is regarded as a subspace of \(M^{*}\). \end{itemize}} The uniqueness of the predual of \(H^\infty (M,\tau)\) follows as a consequence. In another application, the author removes some restrictions in some results due to \textit{D.\,P.\thinspace Blecher} and \textit{L.\,E.\thinspace Labuschagne} [Stud.\ Math.\ 178, No.\,2, 177--195 (2007; Zbl 1121.46048)].