Almost Periodic von Neumann Algebras

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Von Neumann algebras are mathematical objects that offer a rigorous framework for the study of quantum physics and can be thought of as infinite-dimensional generalizations of matrix algebras. The theory was initiated by Francis J. Murray and John von Neumann in the 1930s, and since then researchers have discovered a vast number of applications to mathematics as well as biology, physics, and engineering. The von Neumann algebras that occur naturally in physics (e.g. quantum statistical mechanics or relativistic quantum field theory) are typically what are known as non-semifinite von Neumann algebras. This makes them more difficult to study, and in particular they lie outside the scope of the majority of techniques developed for so-called semifinite von Neumann algebras over the past few decades. This project seeks to adapt some of these semifinite techniques to almost periodic von Neumann algebras, which straddle the boundary between semifinite and non-semifinite von Neumann algebras. The project will also involve training and professional development for graduate students and postdocs. The research goal of this project is to study von Neumann algebras that admit almost periodic weights, with a focus on the non-semifinite case. Specifically, the PI will develop a notion of von Neumann dimension for almost periodic von Neumann algebras and use this to generalize free Stein dimension and l^2-Betti numbers to the almost periodic case. These invariants would shed light on the structural properties of such von Neumann algebras, and an extended notion of l^2-Betti numbers has potential applications to non-unimodular groups and non-measure preserving equivalence relations. Additionally, the PI proposes to extend the notions of rigid and co-rigid inclusions from finite von Neumann algebras to von Neumann algebras equipped with almost periodic states.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.