We consider groupoids constructed from a finite number of commuting local homeomorphisms acting on a compact metric space and study generalized Ruelle operators and $ C^{\ast } $ -algebras associated to these groupoids. We provide a new characterization of $ 1 $ -cocycles on these groupoids taking values in a locally compact abelian group, given in terms of $ k $ -tuples of continuous functions on the unit space satisfying certain canonical identities. Using this, we develop an extended Ruelle–Perron–Frobenius theory for dynamical systems of several commuting operators ( $ k $ -Ruelle triples and commuting Ruelle operators). Results on KMS states on $ C^{\ast } $ -algebras constructed from these groupoids are derived. When the groupoids being studied come from higher-rank graphs, our results recover existence and uniqueness results for KMS states associated to the graphs.

We study the C*-algebras associated with upper semi-continuous Fell bundles over second-countable Hausdorff groupoids. Based on ideas going back to the Packer–Raeburn ‘stabilization trick’, we construct from each such bundle a groupoid dynamical system whose associated Fell bundle is equivalent to the original bundle. The upshot is that the full and reduced C*-algebras of any saturated upper semi-continuous Fell bundle are stably isomorphic to the full and reduced crossed products of an associated dynamical system. We apply our results to describe the lattice of ideals of the C*-algebra of a continuous Fell bundle by applying Renault's results about the ideals of the C*-algebras of groupoid crossed products. In particular, we discuss simplicity of the Fell-bundle C*-algebra of a bundle over G in terms of an action, described by Ionescu and Williams, of G on the primitive-ideal space of the C*-algebra of the part of the bundle sitting over the unit space. We finish with some applications to twisted k-graph algebras, where the components of our results become more concrete.

We investigate topological realizations of higher-rank graphs. We show that the fundamental group of a higher-rank graph coincides with the fundamental group of its topological realization. We also show that topological realization of higher-rank graphs is a functor and that for each higher-rank graph Λ, this functor determines a category equivalence between the category of coverings of Λ and the category of coverings of its topological realization. We discuss how topological realization relates to two standard constructions for k-graphs: projective limits and crossed products by finitely generated free abelian groups.

We define the action of a locally compact group G on a topological graph E. This action induces a natural action of G on the C*-correspondence ℋ(E) and on the graph C*-algebra C*(E). If the action is free and proper, we prove that C*(E)⋊rG is strongly Morita equivalent to C*(E/G) . We define the skew product of a locally compact group G by a topological graph E via a cocycle c:E1 →G. The group acts freely and properly on this new topological graph E×cG. If G is abelian, there is a dual action on C* (E) such that . We also define the fundamental group and the universal covering of a topological graph.

Let ${{G}_{0}}$ and ${{G}_{1}}$ be countable abelian groups. Let ${{\gamma }_{i}}$ be an automorphism of ${{G}_{i}}$ of order two. Then there exists a unital Kirchberg algebra $A$ satisfying the Universal Coefficient Theorem and with $[{{1}_{A}}]\,=\,0$ in ${{K}_{0}}(A)$, and an automorphism $\alpha \,\in \,\text{Aut}(A)$ of order two, such that ${{K}_{0}}(A)\,\cong \,{{G}_{0}}$, such that ${{K}_{1}}(A)\,\cong \,{{G}_{1}}$, and such that ${{\alpha }_{*}}\,:\,{{K}_{i}}(A)\,\to \,{{K}_{i}}(A)$ is ${{\gamma }_{i}}$. As a consequence, we prove that every ${{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}$-graded countable module over the representation ring $R({{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}})$ of ${{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}$ is isomorphic to the equivariant $K$-theory ${{K}^{{{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}}}(A)$ for some action of ${{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}$ on a unital Kirchberg algebra $A$.

Along the way, we prove that every not necessarily finitely generated $\mathbb{Z}\left[ {{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}} \right]$-module which is free as a $\mathbb{Z}$-module has a direct sum decomposition with only three kinds of summands, namely $\mathbb{Z}\left[ {{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}} \right]$ itself and $\mathbb{Z}$ on which the nontrivial element of ${{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}$ acts either trivially or by multiplication by −1.

An action of $\mathbb{Z}^k$ is associated to a higher rank graph $\Lambda$ satisfying a mild assumption. This generalizes the construction of a topological Markov shift arising from a non-negative integer matrix. We show that the stable Ruelle algebra of $\Lambda$ is strongly Morita equivalent to $C^*(\Lambda)$. Hence, if $\Lambda$ satisfies the aperiodicity condition, the stable Ruelle algebra is simple, stable and purely infinite.

Given a free action of a group $G$ on a directed graph $E$ we show that the crossed product of $C^* (E)$, the universal $C^*$-algebra of $E$, by the induced action is strongly Morita equivalent to $C^* (E/G)$. Since every connected graph $E$ may be expressed as the quotient of a tree $T$ by an action of a free group $G$ we may use our results to show that $C^* (E)$ is strongly Morita equivalent to the crossed product $C_0 ( \partial T ) \times G$, where $\partial T$ is a certain zero-dimensional space canonically associated to the tree.

large class of simple stably projectionless C*-algebras are shown to arise as crossed products of simple purely infinite C*-algebras by trace scaling one-parameter automorphism groups. The Elliott invariant is computed for this class.