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No abstract / Mathematical Sciences / (D. Phil. (Mathematics))

Let A be a von Neumann algebra of linear operators on the Hilbert space H . A linear operator T (resp. a linear bounded. functional ϕ ) on A is said to be normal if for any increasing net [formula omitted] of positive elements in A with least upper bound B , T(B) is the least upper bound of [formula omitted]. Two linear positive functionals ψ1 and ψ2 on A are said to be equivalent if ψ1 (B) = 0 <=> ψ2 (B) = 0 for any positive element B in A. Let ϕ0 be a positive normal linear functional on A . Let S be a semigroup and, {T(s) : s ε S} an antirepresentation of S as normal positive linear contraction operators on A . We find in this thesis equivalent conditions for the existence of a positive normal linear functional ϕ on A which is equivalent to ϕ0 and invariant under the semigroup {T(s) : s ε S} (i.e. ϕ(T(s)B) = ϕ(B) for all B in A and s ε S ). We also extend the concept of weakly-wandering sets, which was first introduced by Hajian-Kakutani, to weakly-wandering projections in A. We give a relation between the non-existence of weakly-wandering projections in A and the existence of positive normal linear functionals on A, invariant with respect to an antirepresentation {T(s) : s ε S} of normal *-homomorphisms on A . Finally we investigate the existence of a complete set of positive normal linear functionals on A which are invariant under the semigroup {T(s) : s ε S}. / Science, Faculty of / Mathematics, Department of / Graduate

In this paper the following conjecture is studied: the group von Neumann algebra N(G) is a flat CG-module if and only if the group G is locally virtually cyclic. This paper proves that if G is locally virtually cyclic, then N(G) is flat as a CG-module. The converse is proved for the class of all elementary amenable groups without infinite locally finite subgroups. Foundational cases for which the conjecture is shown to be true are the groups G=Z, G=ZxZ, G=Z*Z, Baumslag-Solitar groups, and some infinitely-presented variations of Baumslag-Solitar groups. Modules other than N(G), such as L^p-spaces and group C*-algebras, are considered as well. The primary tool that is used to achieve many of these results is group homology. / Ph. D.

Dans ce mémoire, je démontre que la distribution de probabilités de l'état quantique Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) sous l'action locale de mesures de von Neumann indépendantes sur chaque qubit suit une distribution qui est une combinaison convexe de deux distributions. Les coefficients de la combinaison sont reliés aux parties équatoriales des mesures et les distributions associées à ces coefficients sont reliées aux parties réelles des mesures. Une application possible du résultat est qu'il permet de scinder en deux la simulation de l'état GHZ. Simuler, en pire cas ou en moyenne, un état quantique comme GHZ avec des ressources aléatoires, partagées ou privées, et des ressources classiques de communication, ou même des ressources fantaisistes comme les boîtes non locales, est un problème important en complexité de la communication quantique. On peut penser à ce problème de simulation comme un problème où plusieurs personnes obtiennent chacune une mesure de von Neumann à appliquer sur le sous-système de l'état GHZ qu'il partage avec les autres personnes. Chaque personne ne connaît que les données décrivant sa mesure et d'aucune façon une personne ne connaît les données décrivant la mesure d'une autre personne. Chaque personne obtient un résultat aléatoire classique. La distribution conjointe de ces résultats aléatoires classiques suit la distribution de probabilités trouvée dans ce mémoire. Le but est de simuler classiquement la distribution de probabilités de l'état GHZ. Mon résultat indique une marche à suivre qui consiste d'abord à simuler les parties équatoriales des mesures pour pouvoir ensuite savoir laquelle des distributions associées aux parties réelles des mesures il faut simuler. D'autres chercheurs ont trouvé comment simuler les parties équatoriales des mesures de von Neumann avec de la communication classique dans le cas de 3 personnes, mais la simulation des parties réelles résiste encore et toujours. / In this Master's thesis, I show that the probability distribution of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger quantum state (GHZ) under local action of independent von Neumann measurements follows a convex distribution of two distributions.The coefficients of the combination are related to the equatorial parts of the measurements, and the distributions associated with those coefficients are associated with the real parts of the measurements. One possible application of my result is that it allows one to split into two pieces the simulation of the GHZ state. Simulating, in worst case or in average, a quantum state like the GHZ state with random resources, shared or private, as well as with classical communication resources or even odd resources like nonlocal boxes is a very important in the theory of quantum communication complexity. We can think of this simulation problem as a problem in which many people get the description of a von Neumann measurement. Each party does not know the description of any other measurements belonging to the other parties. Each party after having applied his measurement on the subsystem of the state that he shares with the others gets a classical outcome. The joint distribution of the outcomes of every parties follows the distribution studied in this thesis in the case of the GHZ state. My result indicates that in order to simulate the distribution, we can first simulate the equatorial parts of the measurements in order to know which distribution associated to the real parts of the measurements to simulate. Other researchers have found how to simulate the equatorial parts of the von Neumann measurements with classical resources in the case of 3 parties, but it is still unknown how to simulate the real parts.

This work is a compilation of structural results for the von Neumann algebras of poly-hyperbolic groups established in a series of works done jointly with I. Chifan and T. Sinclair; and S. Pant. These works provide a wide range of circumstances where the product structure, a discrete structural property, can be recovered from the von Neumann algebra (a continuous object). The primary result of Chifan, Sinclair and myself is as follows: if Γ = Γ1 × · · · × Γn is a product of non-elementary hyperbolic icc groups and Λ is a group such that L(Γ)=L(Λ), then Λ decomposes as an n-fold product of infinite groups. This provides a group-level strengthening of the unique prime decomposition of Ozawa and Popa by eliminating any assumption on the target group Λ. The methods necessary to establish this result provide a malleable procedure which allows one to rebuild the product of a group from the algebra itself. Modifying the techniques found in the previous work, Pant and I are able to demonstrate that the class of poly-groups exhibit a similar phenomenon. Specifically, if Γ is a poly-hyperbolic group whose corresponding algebra is non-prime, then the group must necessarily decompose as a product of infinite groups.

Chifan, Kida, and myself introduced a new class of non-amenable groups denoted by ${\bf NC} \cap {\bf Quot}(\mathcal C_{rss})$ which gives rise to \emph{prime} von Neumann algebras. This means that for every $\G\in {\bf NC} \cap {\bf Quot}(\mathcal C_{rss})$ its group von Neumann algebra $L(\G)$ cannot be decomposed as a tensor product of diffuse von Neumann algebras. The class ${\bf NC} \cap {\bf Quot}(\mathcal C_{rss})$ is fairly large as it contains many natural examples of groups, some intensively studied in various areas of mathematics: all infinite central quotients of pure surface braid groups; all mapping class groups of (punctured) surfaces of genus $0,1,2$; most Torelli groups and Johnson kernels of (punctured) surfaces of genus $0,1,2$; and, all groups hyperbolic relative to finite families of residually finite, exact, infinite, proper subgroups. In a separate investigation, de Santiago and myself were able to extend the previous techniques that allowed us to eliminate the usage of the {\bf NC} condition and ultimately classify all the possible tensor factorization of the von Neumann algebras of groups that belong solely to ${\bf Quot}(\mathcal C_{rss})$. This provides a far-reaching generalization of the aforementioned primeness results; for instance, we were able to show that if $\Gamma$ is a poly-hyperbolic group, then whenever we have a tensor decomposition $L(\G)\cong P_1\bar\otimes P_2 \bar \otimes \cdots \bar\otimes P_n$ then there exists a product decomposition $\G\cong \G_1\times \G_2 \times \cdots \times \G_n$ with $\G_i \in {\bf Quot}(\mathcal C_{rss})$ and, up to amplifications, we have $L(\G_i)\cong P_i$ for all $i=1,n$.

This work contains some structural results for von Neumann algebras arising from measure preserving actions by direct products of groups on probability spaces. The technology and the methods we use are a continuation of those used by Chifan and Sinclair in [10]. By employing these methods, we obtain new examples of strongly solid factors as well as von Neumann algebras with unique or no Cartan subalgebra. We show for instance that every II 1 factor associated with a weakly amenable group in the class S of Ozawa is strongly solid [59]. We also obtain a product version of this result: any maximal abelian ∗-subalgebra of any II 1 factor associated with a finite direct product of weakly amenable groups in the class S of Ozawa has an amenable normalizing algebra. Finally, pairing some of these results with Ioana's cocycle superrigidity theorem [36], we prove that compact actions by finite products of lattices in Sp(n, 1), n ≥ 2, are virtually W∗-superrigid. The results presented here are joint work with Ionut Chifan and Thomas Sinclair. They constitute the substance of an article [11] which has already been submitted for publication.

The measure-multiplicity-invariant for masas in II_1 factors was introduced by Dykema, Smith and Sinclair to distinguish masas that have the same Pukanszky invariant. In this dissertation, the measure class (left-right-measure) in the measuremultiplicity- invariant is studied, which equivalent to studying the structure of the standard Hilbert space as an associated bimodule. The focal point of this analysis is: To what extent the associated bimodule remembers properties of the masa. The structure of normaliser of any masa is characterized depending on this measure class, by using Baire category methods (Selection principle of Jankov and von Neumann). Measure theoretic proofs of Chifan's normaliser formula and the equivalence of weak asymptotic homomorphism property (WAHP) and singularity is presented. Stronger notions of singularity is also investigated. Analytical conditions based on Fourier coefficients of certain measures are discussed, that partially characterize strongly mixing masas and masas with nontrivial centralizing sequences. The analysis also provide conditions in terms of operators and L2 vectors that characterize masas whose left-right-measure belongs to the class of product measure. An example of a simple masa in the hyperfinite II1 factor whose left-right-measure is the class of product measure is exhibited. An example of a masa in the hyperfinite II1 factor whose leftright- measure is singular to the product measure is also presented. Unitary conjugacy of masas is studied by providing examples of non unitary conjugate masas. Finally, it is shown that for k greater than/equal to 2 and for each subset S \subseteq N, there exist uncountably many non conjugate singular masas in L(Fk) whose Pukanszky invariant is S u {1}.

For an inclusion N \subseteq M of finite von Neumann algebras, we study the group of normalizers N_M(B) = {u: uBu^* = B} and the von Neumann algebra it generates. In the first part of the dissertation, we focus on the special case in which N \subseteq M is an inclusion of separable II_1 factors. We show that N_M(B) imposes a certain "discrete" structure on the generated von Neumann algebra. By analyzing the bimodule structure of certain subalgebras of N_M(B)'', this leads to a "Galois-type" theorem for normalizers, in which we find a description of the subalgebras of N_M(B)'' in terms of a unique countable subgroup of N_M(B). We then apply these general techniques to obtain results for inclusions B \subseteq M arising from the crossed product, group von Neumann algebra, and tensor product constructions. Our work also leads to a construction of new examples of norming subalgebras in finite von Neumann algebras: If N \subseteq M is a regular inclusion of II_1 factors, then N norms M: These new results and techniques develop further the study of normalizers of subfactors of II_1 factors. The second part of the dissertation is devoted to studying normalizers of maximal abelian self-adjoint subalgebras (masas) in nonseparable II_1 factors. We obtain a characterization of masas in separable II_1 subfactors of nonseparable II_1 factors, with a view toward computing cohomology groups. We prove that for a type II_1 factor N with a Cartan masa, the Hochschild cohomology groups H^n(N,N)=0, for all n \geq 1. This generalizes the result of Sinclair and Smith, who proved this for all N having separable predual.