This document contains a proof that Bieberbach groups with finite abelianization are not connective (an E-theoretic property) and then uses this result to provide a characterization of connectivity in the case of Bieberbach groups.

Renormalization procedures for families of dynamical systems have been used to prove many interesting results. Examples of results include that the bifurcation rate for the attractors of an analytic one-parameter family of quadratic-like maps is universal for all such families, unique ergodicity for almost every interval exchange mapping, a unique ergodicity criterion for the vertical translation flow of a flat surface in terms of its ``renormalization dynamics", known as Masur's criterion, and the classification of circle diffeomorphisms up to $C^{\infty}$ conjugation. We introduce renormalization procedures for $C^{*}$-algebras and étale groupoids using the concepts of $C_{0}(X)$-algebras and Morita equivalence for the former, and groupoid bundles and groupoid equivalence, in the sense of Muhly, Renault and Williams, for the latter. We focus on proving analogs to Masur's criterion in both cases using $C^{*}$-algebraic methods. Applying our criterion to our examples of renormalization procedures provides a unique trace criterion for unital AF algebras extending the one provided by Treviño in the setting of flat surfaces and the one provided by Veech in the setting of interval exchange mappings. Also, we recover the old fact that rotation of the circle by an irrational angle is uniquely ergodic, and the new fact that interesting groupoids associated to certain iterated function systems, recently introduced by Korfanty, have unique invariant probability measures whenever they are minimal. Lastly, we show how an étale groupoid renormalization procedure arises from an étale groupoid which factors down onto a groupoid associated to its renormalization dynamics, whenever it is a local homeomorphism. / Graduate

<p dir="ltr">A group is said to be matricially (Frobenius) stable if every function from the group to unitary matrices that is "almost multiplicative" in the point operator (Frobenius) norm topology is "close" to a genuine unitary representation in the same topology. A result of Dadarlat shows that for a large class of groups, non-torsion even cohomology obstructs matricial stability. However, the proof doesn't generate explicit almost multiplicative maps that are far from genuine representations. In this paper, we compute explicit almost homomorphisms for all finitely generated groups with a non-torsion 2-cohomology class with a residually finite central extension. We use similar techniques to show that finitely generated nilpotent groups are Frobenius stable if and only if they are virtually cyclic, and that a finitely generated group with a non-torsion 2-cohomology class that can be written as a cup product of two 1-cohomology classes is not Frobenius stable.</p><p><br></p>

I define and analyze the Hensel-Steinitz algebra ����(��), a crossed product C∗-algebra associated with multiplication maps on continuous functions on the ring of ��-adic integers. In ����(��), I define an ideal and identify it with a known algebra. From this, I construct a short exact sequence conveying the structure of the algebras. I further identify smooth subalgebras within both ����(��) and its ideal, classify derivations on those algebras, and compare the classification with derivations on other smooth algebras. I also analyze the algebras associated with multiplication maps based on the multiplier being a root of unity, not a root of unity, or not invertible in the ��-adic integers. In the case of the multiplier being a root of unity and the quotient group therefore being finite, unexpected additional structure is found.

The research in this thesis was initially motivated by an outstanding problem posed by Argyros and Haydon. They used a generalised version of the Bourgain-Delbaen construction to construct a Banach space $XK$ for which the only bounded linear operators on $XK$ are compact perturbations of (scalar multiples of) the identity; we say that a space with this property has very few operators. The space $XK$ possesses a number of additional interesting properties, most notably, it has $ell_1$ dual. Since $ell_1$ possesses the Schur property, weakly compact and norm compact operators on $XK$ coincide. Combined with the other properties of the Argyros-Haydon space, it is tempting to conjecture that such a space must necessarily have very few operators. Curiously however, the proof that $XK$ has very few operators made no use of the Schur property of $ell_1$. We therefore arrive at the following question (originally posed in cite{AH}): must a HI, $mathcal{L}_{infty}$, $ell_1$ predual with few operators (every operator is a strictly singular perturbation of $lambda I$) necessarily have very few operators? We begin by giving a detailed exposition of the original Bourgain-Delbaen construction and the generalised construction due to Argyros and Haydon. We show how these two constructions are related, and as a corollary, are able to prove that there exists some $delta > 0$ and an uncountable set of isometries on the original Bourgain-Delbaen spaces which are pairwise distance $delta$ apart. We subsequently extend these ideas to obtain our main results. We construct new Banach spaces of Bourgain-Delbaen type, all of which have $ell_1$ dual. The first class of spaces are HI and possess few, but not very few operators. We thus have a negative solution to the Argyros-Haydon question. We remark that all these spaces have finite dimensional Calkin algebra, and we investigate the corollaries of this result. We also construct a space with $ell_1$ Calkin algebra and show that whilst this space is still of Bourgain-Delbaen type with $ell_1$ dual, it behaves somewhat differently to the first class of spaces. Finally, we briefly consider shift-invariant $ell_1$ preduals, and hint at how one might use the Bourgain-Delbaen construction to produce new, exotic examples.

To the pair (E,c), where E is a countable Borel equivalence relation on a standard Borel space (X,A) and c a normalized Borel T-valued 2-cocycle on E, we associate a sequentially weakly closed Borel *-algebra Br*(E,c), contained in the bounded linear operators on L^2(E). Associated to Br*(E,c) is a natural (Borel) Cartan subalgebra (Definition 6.4.10) L(Bo(X)) isomorphic to the bounded Borel functions on X. Then L(Bo(X)) and its normalizer (the set of the unitaries u in Br*(E,c) such that u*fu in L(Bo(X)), f in L(Bo(X))) countably generates the Borel *-algebra Br*(E,c). In this thesis, we study Br*(E,c) and in particular prove that: i) If E is smooth, then Br*(E,c) is a type I Borel *-algebra (Definition 6.3.10). ii) If E is a hyperfinite, then Br*(E,c) is a Borel AF-algebra (Definition 7.5.1). iii) Generalizing Kumjian's definition, we define a Borel twist G over E and its associated sequentially closed Borel *-algebra Br*(G). iv) Let a Borel Cartan pair (B, Bo) denote a sequentially closed Borel *-algebra B with a Borel Cartan subalgebra Bo, where B is countably Bo-generated. Generalizing Feldman-Moore's result, we prove that any pair (B, Bo) can be realized uniquely as a pair (Br*(E,c), L(Bo(X))). Moreover, we show that the pair (Br*(E,c), L(Bo(X))) is a complete invariant of the countable Borel equivalence relation E. v) We prove a Krieger type theorem, by showing that two aperiodic hyperfinite countable equivalence relations are isomorphic if and only if their associated Borel *-algebras Br*(E1) and Br*(E2) are isomorphic.

Let $\overline{R}$ be a finitely bordered Riemann surface, and let $\mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R})$ be a flat matrix $PU_n(\mathbb{C})$-bundle over $\overline{R}$. Let $\Gamma_c(\overline{R}, \mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ denote the $C^*$-algebra of continuous cross-sections of $\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R})$, and let $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ denote the subalgebra consisting of the continuous holomorphic sections, i.e.~the continuous cross-sections that are holomorphic on the interior of $\overline{R}$. The algebra $\Gamma_c(\overline{R}, \mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ is an example of an $n$-homogeneous $C^*$-algebra, and the subalgebra $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ is the principal object of study of this thesis. The algebras $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ appeared in the earlier works \cite{Abrahamse1976} and \cite{Blecher2000}. Operators that can be viewed as elements in $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ are the subject of \cite{Abrahamse1976}. The Morita theory of $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$, under the guise of a fixed-point algebra and in the special case of an annulus $R$, is studied in \cite[Ex.~8.3]{Blecher2000}. This thesis studies these algebras and their topological data $\mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R})$ motivated by several problems in the theory of nonselfadjoint operator algebras. Boundary representations are an invariant of operator algebras that were introduced by Arveson in 1969. However, it took nearly 50 years to show that boundary representations existed in sufficient abundance in all cases. I show that every boundary representation of $\Gamma_c(\overline{R}, \mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ for $\Gamma_h(\overline{R}, \mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ is given by evaluation at some point $r \in \partial R$. As a corollary, the $C^*$-envelope of $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ is $\Gamma_c(\partial R, \mathfrak{E}(\partial R))$. Using the $C^*$-envelope, I show that for certain choices of fibre and base space, $\Gamma_h(\overline{R}, \mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R}))$ is not completely isometrically isomorphic to $A(\overline{R})\otimes M_n(\mathbb{C})$ unless the representation $\rho$ is the trivial representation. I also show that $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ is an Azumaya over its center. Azumaya algebras are the ``pure-algebra'' analogues to $n$-homogeneous $C^*$-algebras \cite{Artin1969}. Thus the structure of the nonselfadjoint subalgebra $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}(\overline{R}))$ reflects some of the structure of its $C^*$-envelope (which is $n$-homogeneous). Finally, I answer a question raised in \cite[Ex.~8.3]{Blecher2000} on the $cb$ and strong Morita theory of $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R}))$, showing in particular that $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R}))$ is $cb$ Morita equivalent to its center $A(\overline{R})$. As suggested in \cite[Ex.~8.3]{Blecher2000}, I provide additional evidence that $\Gamma_h(\overline{R},\mathfrak{E}_\rho(\overline{R}))$ may not be strongly Morita equivalent to its center. This evidence, in turn, suggests that there may be a Brauer group -like analysis for these algebras.

An n-parameter Fibonacci AF-algebra is determined by a constant incidence matrix K of a special form. The form of the matrix K is defined by a given n-parameter Fibonacci sequence. We compute the K-theory of certain Fibonacci AF-algebra, and relate their K-theory to the K-theory of an AF-algebra defined by incidence matrices that are the transpose of K.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Feb. 6, 2007). PDF text: iv, 86 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3218333. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

Crack problems are regarded as elements in a pseudo-differential algbra, where the two sdes int S± of the crack S are treated as interior boundaries and the boundary Y of the crack as an edge singularity. We employ the pseudo-differential calculus of boundary value problems with the transmission property near int S± and the edge pseudo-differential calculus (in a variant with Douglis-Nirenberg orders) to construct parametrices od elliptic crack problems (with extra trace and potential conditions along Y) and to characterise asymptotics of solutions near Y (expressed in the framework of continuous asymptotics). Our operator algebra with boundary and edge symbols contains new weight and order conventions that are necessary also for the more general calculus on manifolds with boundary and edges.