Duality theories of topological groups and topological algebras

对偶性的概念可以追溯到法国数学家埃瓦斯特·伽罗瓦(Evarste Galois，1811-1832年)，他提出了用根(n次根)求多项式方程一元可解的判据。伽罗瓦解的核心是包含给定多项式的一些解的代数结构(称为“中间域扩张”)与伽罗瓦发明的典型多项式的代数结构(多项式的“伽罗瓦群”)的子结构之间的对应。这种对应的一个重要性质是它颠倒了包含关系：中间域扩张越大，相应的子结构就越小，反之亦然。虽然二元性在数学中经常出现，但很少被认为是二元性。例如，仿射代数几何的起点是多变量多项式的零集(“代数集”)和具有特殊性质的多项式集(“根理想”)之间的对偶。所有有意义的对偶的主要特征是对偶性质对的集合，即对(P，Q)使得对象满足P当且仅当其对偶具有Q。提出的研究的长期目标是发现具有足够多的上述类型的有趣性质对(P，Q)的拓扑群的对偶。我不排除这种二元性不存在的可能性，在这种情况下，我希望证明不可能构建这样的二元性。在这个项目的过程中，我还期望研究与量子力学密切相关的数学对象(即算子代数及其推广)。这一计划的任何进展不仅将有助于对拓扑群和代数的理解，而且将极大地刺激这些领域的研究，并将导致明显的“人才流失”。从对数学界的影响来看，对偶性理论往往是两个或更多数学领域之间的隧道，否则就是遥远的领域。因此，二元性有可能在遥远地区的研究人员之间创造协同效应。

The concept of duality dates back to the time of the French mathematician Evariste Galois (1811-1832), who formulated the criterion for solubility of polynomial equations in a single variable by radicals (n-th roots). At the heart of Galois' solution lies a correspondence between the algebraic structures containing some of the solutions of a given polynomial (called "intermediate field extensions") and substructures of an algebraic structure invented by Galois that is typical to the polynomial (the "Galois group" of the polynomial). An important property of this correspondence is that it reverses the inclusion relation: The larger the intermediate field extension is, the smaller the corresponding substructure is, and vice versa. Although dualities frequently occur in mathematics, they are less often recognized as such. For instance, the starting point of affine algebraic geometry is a duality between sets zero-sets of polynomials in several variables ("algebraic sets") and sets of polynomials with special properties ("radical ideals"). The main feature common to all meaningful dualities is the collection of pairs of dual properties, that is, pairs (P,Q) such that an object satisfies P if and only if its dual possesses Q. The long-term goal of the proposed research is discovering a duality for topological groups with sufficiently many interesting pairs of properties (P,Q) of the above-mentioned type. I do not rule out the possibility that such duality does not exist, in which case, I hope to prove that it is impossible to construct such a duality. In the course of this project, I anticipate to also investigate mathematical objects that are closely related to quantum-mechanics (namely, operator algebras and their generalizations). Any progress in this program outlined will not only contribute to the understanding of topological groups and algebras, but will also considerably stimulate research in these areas, and will cause noticeable "brain drain." From the point of view of the effect on the mathematical community, duality theories often serve as tunnels between two or more otherwise remote areas of mathematics. Thus, dualities have the potential of creating synergy between researchers of distant areas.