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Exponential length and exponential rank in C*-algebras

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2011

J. R. Ringrose
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, England, U.K

Synopsis

In an operator algebra, the general element of the connected component of the unitary group can beexpressed as a finite product of exponential unitary elements. The recently introduced concept of exponential rank is defined in terms of the number of exponentials required for this purpose. The present paper is concerned with a concept of exponential length, determined not by the number of exponentials but by the sum of the norms of their self-adjoint logarithms. Knowledge of the exponential length of an algebra provides an upper bound for its exponential rank (but not conversely). This is used to estimate the exponential rank of certain algebras of operator-valued continuous functions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1992

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