Related papers: Elementary constructions of non-discrete C*-simple…

In 2016, I solved a problem of de la Harpe in 2006: Is there a non-discrete C*-simple group? However the solution was not fully satisfactory as the provided C*-simple groups (and their operator algebras) are very close to discrete groups.…

In this article we initiate research on locally compact C*-simple groups. We first show that every C*-simple group must be totally disconnected. Then we study C*-algebras and von Neumann algebras associated with certain groups acting on…

A discrete group is said to be C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is simple, and is said to have the unique trace property if its reduced C*-algebra has a unique tracial state. A dynamical characterization of C*-simplicity was recently…

Suzuki recently gave constructions of non-discrete examples of locally compact C*-simple groups and Raum showed C*-simplicity of the relative profinite completions of the Baumslag-Solitar groups by using Suzuki's results. We extend this…

We discuss just infiniteness of C*-algebras associated to discrete quantum groups and relate it to the C*-uniqueness of the quantum groups in question, i.e. to the uniqueness of a C*-completion of the underlying Hopf *-algebra. It is shown…

A group is said to be C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is simple. We establish an intrinsic (group-theoretic) characterization of groups with this property. Specifically, we prove that a discrete group is C*-simple if and only if it has…

In this short note we prove that the reduced group C*-algebra of a locally compact group admits a non-zero trace if and only if the amenable radical of the group is open. This completely answers a question raised by Forrest, Spronk and…

We give a number of examples of exotic actions of locally compact groups on separable nuclear C*-algebras. In particular, we give examples of the following: (1) Minimal effective actions of ${\mathbb{Z}}$ and $F_n$ on unital nonsimple prime…

This is a survey of work in which the author was involved in recent years. We consider C*-algebras constructed from representations of one or several algebraic endomorphisms of a compact abelian group - or, dually, of a discrete abelian…

A countable group is C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is a simple algebra. Since Powers recognised in 1975 that non-abelian free groups are C*-simple, large classes of groups which appear naturally in geometry have been identified,…

We construct first examples of non-trivial groups without non-cyclic free subgroups whose reduced $C^\ast$-algebra is simple and has unique trace. This answers a question of de la Harpe. Both torsion and torsion free examples are provided.…

We prove that a countable group with an effective minimal non-elementary convergence group action is a Powers group. More strongly we prove that it is a strongly Powers group and thus its non-trivial subnormal subgroups are $C^*$-simple.

We characterize relatively norm compact sets in the regular $C^*$-algebra of finitely generated Coxeter groups using a geometrically defined positive semigroup acting on the algebra.

A group may be considered $C^*$-stable if almost representations of the group in a $C^*$-algebra are always close to actual representations. We initiate a systematic study of which discrete groups are $C^*$-stable or only stable with…

The reduced C*-algebra of a countable linear group G is shown to be simple if and only if G has no nontrivial normal amenable subgroups. Moreover, these conditions are shown to be equivalent to the uniqueness of tracial state on the…

A countable group is C*-simple if its reduced C*-algebra is simple. It is well known that C*-simplicity implies that the amenable radical of the group must be trivial. We show that the converse does not hold by constructing explicit…

We develop a framework suitable for obtaining simplicity criteria for reduced $C^*$-algebras of Hausdorff etale groupoids. This is based on the study of certain non-degenerate $C^*$-subalgebras (in the case of groupoids, the $C^*$-algebra…

We introduce a class of locally compact Hausdorff groupoids and show how to associate C*-algebras to them in a way which generalizes the reduced C*-algebra of an 'etale groupoid. Focusing on criteria for simplicity and existence of Cartan…

It is known that exactness for a discrete group is equivalent to C*-exactness, i.e., the exactness of its reduced C*-algebra. The problem of whether this equivalence holds for general locally compact groups has recently been reduced by Cave…

We introduce an extended setting to study Hecke pairs $(G,H)$ which admit a regular representation on $L^2(H\backslash G)$, and consequently a $C^*$-algebra. As the result, many pairs of locally compact groups which had been studied in…