Jump to content

Uniform algebra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

In functional analysis, a uniform algebra A on a compact Hausdorff topological space X is a closed (with respect to the uniform norm) subalgebra of the C*-algebra C(X) (the continuous complex-valued functions on X) with the following properties:[1]

the constant functions are contained in A
for every x, y X there is fA with f(x)f(y). This is called separating the points of X.

As a closed subalgebra of the commutative Banach algebra C(X) a uniform algebra is itself a unital commutative Banach algebra (when equipped with the uniform norm). Hence, it is, (by definition) a Banach function algebra.

A uniform algebra A on X is said to be natural if the maximal ideals of A are precisely the ideals of functions vanishing at a point x in X.

Abstract characterization

If A is a unital commutative Banach algebra such that for all a in A, then there is a compact Hausdorff X such that A is isomorphic as a Banach algebra to a uniform algebra on X. This result follows from the spectral radius formula and the Gelfand representation.

Notes

  1. ^ (Gamelin 2005, p. 25)

References

  • Gamelin, Theodore W. (2005). Uniform Algebras. American Mathematical Soc. ISBN 978-0-8218-4049-8.
  • Gorin, E.A. (2001) [1994], "Uniform algebra", Encyclopedia of Mathematics, EMS Press