Operator algebra seminar

Speaker:  Sven Raum (University of Muenster)

Title: C*-simple and non-C*-simple locally compact groups

Abstract: In this talk we present recent advance on C*-simplicity of non-discrete groups.  On the one hand, we present different implications of C*-simplicity.  Every C*-simple group must be totally disconnected.  Further, a C*-simple group cannot contain a cocompact amenable closed subgroup, since the latter always provides an analogue of principal series representations as we will see during the lecture.  On the other hand, we describe a class of C*-simple groups emphasising on C*-simplicity of Burger-Mozes' universal groups acting on trees.  These results are the first C*-simplicity results obtained for non-discrete groups.
Throughout the talk, we try to put operator algebraic methods for totally disconnected groups in the spotlight.