A bounded transform approach to self-adjoint operators: Functional calculus and affiliated von Neumann algebras

Spectral theory and functional calculus for unbounded self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space are usually treated through von Neumann's Cayley transform. Based on ideas of Woronowicz, we redevelop this theory from the point of view of multiplier algebras and the so-called bounded transform (which establishes a bijective correspondence between closed operators and pure contractions). This also leads to a simple account of the affiliation relation between von Neumann algebras and self-adjoint operators.