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Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras 51

sequences {an } such that an ∈ An , and kan k → 0. If A = Ai for all i ∈ I,

then
Y
Ai = C b (I, A) and ⊕i∈I Ai = C0 (I, A).
i∈I

1.10 Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras

Definition 1.10.1 Let {Gn } be a sequence of groups and φn : Gn →

Gn+1 be homomorphisms. We write φn,n = idGn and (if n ≤ m) φn,m =
φm−1 ◦ · · · φn : Gn → Gm . If k ≤ n ≤ m, then φk,m = φn,m ◦ φk,n . If F is a
group and we have homomorphisms ψn : Gn → F such that the diagram

φn
Gn −→ Gn+1
&ψn ↓ψn+1
F

commutes for each n, then ψn = ψm ◦ φn,m for all m ≥ n.

Q∞
The product n=1 Gn with pointwise operation is a group. Let

∞
Y
F = {{gn } ∈ Gn : gn+1 = φn (gn ) for all sufficiently large n}.
n=1

Q∞
Then F is a subgroup of n=1 Gn . If n is the unit of Gn , then the set N
Q∞
of all {gn } ∈ n=1 Gn such that gn = n for all sufficiently large n is a
normal subgroup of F. Denote the quotient group F/N by G. We call G the
inductive limit of the sequence {(Gn , φn )} and write G = limn→∞ (Gn , φn ).
When there is no ambiguity, we may also write G = limn→∞ Gn .
If g ∈ Gn , define φ0n (g) to be the sequence {gk } where gk = k for
k < n and gn+i = φn,n+i (g) for all i ≥ 0. then φ0n (g) ∈ F, and the map
φn,∞ : Gn → G defined by the coset φ0n (g)N is a homomorphism. This is
called the homomorphism induced by the inductive limit. One verifies that
the diagram

φn
Gn −→ Gn+1
&φn,∞ ↓φn+1,∞
G
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52 The Basics of C ∗ -algebras

commutes for each n and that G is the union of the increasing sequence
{φn,∞ (Gn )}. From the definition, if φn,∞ (g) = , the unit of G, then for
some m ≥ n, φn,m (g) = m .

Theorem 1.10.2 Let G = limn→∞ (Gn , φn ), where Gn are groups.

(1) if g ∈ Gn and f ∈ Gm and φn,∞ (g) = φm,∞ (f ), then there exists
k ≥ n, m such that φn,k (g) = φm,k (f ).
(2) If G0 is a group and for each n there is a homomorphism ψn : Gn →
0
G such that the diagram
φn
Gn −→ Gn+1
&ψn ↓ψn+1
G0

commutes, then there is a unique homomorphism ψ : G → G0 such that the

diagram
φn,∞
Gn −→ G
&ψn ↓ψ
G0

commutes for each n.

Proof. Part (1) follows from the definition immediately.

Suppose that G0 and ψn : Gn → G0 are as in (2). If g ∈ Gn and f ∈ Gm
and φn,∞ (g) = φm,∞ (f ), then by (1), there is k ≥ n, m such that φn,k (g) =
φm,k (f ). So ψn (g) = ψk ◦ φn,k (g) = ψk ◦ φm,k (f ) = ψm (f ). Therefore the
map ψ : G → G0 defined by ψ(φn,∞ (g)) = ψn (g) is well defined. It is then
easily checked that ψ is a homomorphism and, by definition, ψ◦φn,∞ = ψn .
Uniqueness of ψ is also clear now. 

Example 1.10.3 Let Gn = Z and φn : Z → Z be defined by φn (k) = 2k

for k ∈ Z. Let G = limn→∞ (Gn , φn ). One can check that G ∼
= Z[1/2] (see
2.7.4).

Definition 1.10.4 Let p be a seminorm on a ∗-algebra A satisfying

p(ab) ≤ p(a)p(b), p(a∗ ) = p(a) and p(a∗ a) = p(a)2 . Set N = p−1 (0). It is a
self-adjoint ideal of A. Then A/N is ∗-algebra with norm ka + N k = p(a).
Let B be the Banach space completion of A/N with this norm. It is easy to
check that B is a C ∗ -algebra. The map j : A → B defined by j(a) = a + N
is called the canonical map from A to B. Note that j(A) is dense in B.
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Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras 53

Let {An } be a sequence of C ∗ -algebras and hn : An → An+1 be a

sequence of homomorphisms. Set
∞
Y
A0 = {{an } ∈ An : an+1 = hn (an ) for all sufficiently large n}.
n=1
Q∞
Then A0 is a ∗-subalgebra of n=1 An . It is important to note that

kak+1 k ≤ kak k for k ≥ N

for some integer N > 0. So {kak k} converges. We define p(a) =

limn→∞ kan k. It is easy to check that p is a seminorm on A0 satisfying
p(ab) ≤ p(a)p(b), p(a∗ ) = p(a) and p(a∗ a) = p(a)2 . We define A to be the
completion of A0 /p−1 (0). As above, A is a C ∗ -algebra. We call it the induc-
tive limit of the sequence (An , hn ) and write A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) (when
there is no ambiguity, we may simply write A = limn→∞ An .)

Remark 1.10.5 As in the group case, if a ∈ An , define h0n (a) = {an } in

A0 such that a1 = a2 = · · · = an−1 = 0 and an+j = hn,n+j (a) (j = 0, 1, ...,).
If j : A0 → A is the canonical map, then the map hn,∞ : An → A defined
by a 7→ j(h0n (a)) is a (C ∗ -algebra) homomorphism. It will be called the
homomorphism from An to A induced by the inductive limit. One checks
routinely that the diagram
h
An −→n
An+1
& hn,∞
↓hn+1,∞
A

commutes for each n, and the union of the increasing sequence of C ∗ -

subalgebras {hn,∞ (An )} is dense in A. Furthermore,

khn,∞ (a)k = lim khn,n+m (a)k (e 10.12)

m→∞

if a ∈ An .

Theorem 1.10.6 Let A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) be an inductive limit of C ∗ -

algebras.
(1) If a ∈ An , b ∈ Am , ε > 0 and hn,∞ (a) = hm,∞ (b), then there is
k0 ≥ n, m such that

khn,k (a) − hm,k (b)k < ε for all k ≥ k0 .

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54 The Basics of C ∗ -algebras

(2) If B is a C ∗ -algebra and there is a contractive positive linear map

ψn : An → B such that the diagram
h
An −→n
An+1
&ψn
↓ψn+1
B
commutes for each n, then there is a unique contractive positive linear map
ψ : A → B such that the diagram
hn,∞
An −→ A
&ψn ↓ψ
B
commutes for each n. Moreover, if ψn is a homomorphism for each n, then
ψ is a homomorphism.
Proof. Part (1) follows from the equation (e 10.12) immediately.
For part (2), let B and ψn be as in (2). Suppose that a ∈ An , b ∈ Am
and hn,∞ (a) = hm,∞ (b). If ε > 0 is given, then by (1), there exists k0 ≥ n, m
such that khn,k (a) − hm,k (b)k < ε for all k ≥ k0 . Therefore,

kψn (a) − ψm (b)k = kψk (hn,k (a) − hm,k (b))k < ε

for all ε. Thus ψn (a) = ψm (b). This shows that the map ψ :
∪∞n=1 hn,∞ (An ) → B defined by ψ(hn,∞ (a)) = ψn (a) is well defined. Since

kψn (a)k = kψn+i ◦ hn,n+i (a)k ≤ khn,n+i(a)k,

we have

kψ(hn,∞ (a))k = kψn (a)k ≤ lim khn,n+m (a)k = khn,∞ (a)k.

m→∞

Thus kψk ≤ 1 and it is easy to see that it is a contractive positive linear

map. Since ∪n hn,∞ (An ) is dense in A, ψ can be uniquely extended to a
contractive positive linear map ψ : A → B such that ψ ◦ hn,∞ = ψn for
each n. It is also clear that, if ψn is homomorphism for each n, ψ is a
homomorphism.

Corollary 1.10.7 Let A be a C ∗ -algebra and let {An } be an increas-
ing sequence of C ∗ -subalgebras of A whose union is dense in A. Set
B = limn→∞ (An , ı), where ı : An → A is the embedding. Then A = B.
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Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras 55

Proof. The proof is an easy application of (2) in 1.10.6 and is left to the
reader. 
Example 1.10.8 Let An = M2n . Define hn : An → An+1 by defining
hn (a) = diag(a, a). A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) is called the UHF-algebra of 2∞ -
type. It is infinite dimensional and unital. A is a simple C ∗ -algebra by the
following proposition, which we leave to the reader as an easy exercise.
Proposition 1.10.9 If A = limn→∞ (An , hn ), where each An is simple,
then A is simple.
Definition 1.10.10 An AF -algebra is an inductive limit of C ∗ -algebras
of the form Mk1 ⊕ Mk2 ⊕ · · · ⊕ Mkl . In other words, an AF-algebra is an
inductive limit of finite dimensional C ∗ -algebras.
The C ∗ -algebra A in 1.10.8 is a simple AF -algebra.

Definition 1.10.11 Let A and B be two C ∗ -algebras and φi : A → B

(i = 1, 2) be two maps. Let ε > 0 and F ⊂ A. We say φ1 and φ2 are
approximately the same within ε on F if

kφ1 (a) − φ2 (a)k < ε

for all a ∈ F. When this happens we write

φ1 ≈ε φ2 on F.

Let u ∈ B be a unitary. We denote adu : B → B the automorphism

a 7→ u∗ au.
We write

φ1 'ε φ2 on F,

if there is a unitary u ∈ B such that

adu ◦ φ1 ≈ε φ2 on F,

and say φ1 and φ2 are approximately unitarily equivalent within ε on F.

We say φ1 and φ2 are approximately unitarily equivalent if for any ε > 0
φ1 'ε φ2 on any finite subset F ⊂ A and write φ1 ' φ2 . We say φ1 and φ2
are unitarily equivalent if there exists a unitary u ∈ B such that

adu ◦ φ1 = φ2 .
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56 The Basics of C ∗ -algebras

For two elements a and b in B we write a ≈ε b if ka − bk < ε. We write

a 'ε b if there is a unitary u ∈ A such that u∗ au ≈ε b and we write a ' b
if there is a unitary u ∈ A such that u∗ au = b.
Definition 1.10.12 Let L : A → B be a positive linear map. Given ε > 0
and a subset F ⊂ A, L is said to be F-ε-multiplicative if

kL(ab) − L(a)L(b)k < ε

for all a, b ∈ F.
Definition 1.10.13 Let B1 , B2 , A1 and A2 be C ∗ -algebras. Consider the
(not necessary commutative) diagram:
φ
B1 −→ B2
↓L1 ↓L2
ψ
A1 −→ A2
Let F ⊂ B1 and ε > 0. We say the above diagram approximately commutes
on F within ε if

ψ ◦ L1 ≈ε L2 ◦ φ on F.

Note that this includes special case that A1 = A2 and ψ = idA1 .

Let A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) and B = limn→∞ (Bn , φn ) be two inductive
limits of C ∗ -algebras. Suppose that we have the following (not necessary
commutative) diagram:
h h h
B1 →1 B2 →2 B3 →3 ··· B
↓L1 ↓L2 ↓L3
φ1 φ2 φ3
A1 → A2 → A3 → ··· A
where Li is a contractive positive linear map for each n. Suppose that there
are finite subsets F1 in the unit ball of B1 , F2 in the unit ball of B2 , ..., with
hn (Fn ) ⊂ Fn+1 such that the closure of ∪n hn,∞ (Fn ) contains the unit ball
of B. Suppose also that there is a decreasing sequence of positive numbers
P∞
{rn } with n=1 rn < ∞ such that the nth-square of the above diagram
approximately commutes on Fn within rn , i.e.,

φn ◦ Ln ≈rn Ln+1 ◦ hn on Fn .

Then we say the diagram is one-sided approximately intertwining.

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Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras 57

If each square is actually commutative, then we say the diagram is

intertwining.

The following theorem will be used in Chapter 4 and Chapter 6.

Theorem 1.10.14 Let A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) and B = limn→∞ (Bn , φn )

be two inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras. Suppose that there are contractive
positive linear maps Ln : Bn → An such that the diagram
h h h
B1 →1 B2 →2 B3 →3 ··· B
↓L1 ↓L2 ↓L3
φ1 φ2 φ3
A1 → A2 → A3 → ··· A

is one-sided approximately intertwining. Then there is a contractive positive

linear map L : B → A such that the diagram
hn,∞
Bn −→ B
↓Ln ↓L
φn,∞
An −→ A
P∞
approximately commutes on Fn within k=n rk , and

L ◦ hn,∞ (b) = lim φk,∞ ◦ Lk ◦ hn,k (b)

k→∞

for all b ∈ Bn .
If furthermore, Ln is Fn -εn -multiplicative for some εn > 0 with
P∞
n=1 εn < ∞, then L : B → A is a homomorphism.

Proof. For each b ∈ Bj consider the sequence

{φk,∞ ◦ Lk ◦ hj,k (b)}.

We claim that the above sequence is Cauchy. We assume that b 6= 0 and

set b0 = b/kbk. Given ε > 0, there is a ∈ ∪∞
n=1 hn,∞ (Fn ) such that

khj,∞ (b0 ) − ak < ε/4(kbk + 1).

By 1.10.6, choose a0 ∈ Fi (i ≥ j) and s ≥ i such that hi,∞ (a0 ) = a and

khi,s ◦ hj,i (b0 ) − hi,s (a0 )k < ε/4(kbk + 1).

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58 The Basics of C ∗ -algebras

By assumption,

X
k+l
kφk,k+l ◦ Lk ◦ hs,k (hi,s (a0 )) − Lk+l ◦ hi,k+l (a0 )k < rt .
t=k

Therefore
X
k+l
kφk,k+l ◦ Lk ◦ hs,k (hj,s (b0 )) − Lk+l ◦ hs,k+l (hj,s (b0 ))k < ε/2(kbk + 1) + rt .
t=k

This implies that {φn,∞ ◦ Ln ◦ hj,n (b0 )} is Cauchy in B. So {φn,∞ ◦ Ln ◦

hj,n (b)} is Cauchy. This proves the claim.
Define ψj : Bj → A by ψj (b) = limk→∞ φk,∞ ◦ Lk ◦ hj,k (b). It is clear
that ψj is positive and contractive. It is also clear that it is linear. From
the definition, we obtain the following commutative diagram (for each n)
h
Bn −→
n
Bn+1
&ψn ↓ψn+1
A

Thus by 1.10.6, there is a unique contractive positive linear map L : B → A

such that
hn,∞
Bn −→ B
&ψn ↓L
A

commutes for each n.

P∞
Now if n=1 εn < ∞ (εn > 0) and Ln are Fn -εn -multiplicative, then
kψj (ab) − ψj (a)ψj (b)k
≤ lim kφn,∞ ◦ Ln ◦ hj,n (ab) − φn,∞ ◦ Ln ◦ hj,n (a)φn,∞ ◦ Ln ◦ hj,n (b)k
n→∞
= lim kφn,∞ (Ln (hj,n (ab)) − Ln (hj,n (a))Ln (hj,n (b)))k < εn
n→∞

if hj,n (a), hj,n (b) ∈ Fn . So ψj (ab) = ψj (a)ψj (b) if hj,n (a), hj,n (b) ∈ Fn .
This of course implies that ψj is multiplicative. A positive multiplicative
linear map is a ∗-homomorphism. Therefore each ψj is a homomorphism.
By 1.10.6, L is a homomorphism. 

Definition 1.10.15 In 1.10.13, for each n ≥ 1, let Gn ⊂ An be a finite

subset of the unit ball such that φn (Gn ) ⊂ Gn+1 and ∪n φn,∞ (Gn ) is dense
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Inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras 59

P∞
in the unit ball of A, and let sn > 0 with n=1 sn < ∞. If in addition, we
have contractive positive linear maps: Hn : An → Bn+1 such that
h
Bn −→
n
Bn+1
↓Ln %Hn ↓Ln+1
φn
An −→ An+1
is approximately commutative on Fn and on Gn within rn and within sn ,
respectively, i.e.,

Hn ◦ Ln ≈rn hn on Fn and Ln+1 ◦ Hn ≈sn φn on Gn ,

then we say the diagram

h h h
B1 −→
1
B2 −→
2
B3 −→
3
··· B
↓L1 %H1 ↓L2 %H2 ↓L3
φ1 φ2 φ3
A1 −→ A2 −→ A3 −→ · · · A
is two-sided approximately intertwining.
If each triangle above is actually commutative, then we say the diagram
is intertwining.
Theorem 1.10.16 Let A = limn→∞ (An , hn ) and B = limn→∞ (Bn , φn )
be two inductive limits of C ∗ -algebras. Suppose that there are contractive
positive linear maps Ln : Bn → An and Hn : An → Bn+1 such that the
diagram
h h h
B1 −→
1
B2 −→
2
B3 −→
3
··· B
↓L1 %H1 ↓L2 %H2 ↓L3
φ1 φ2 φ3
A1 −→ A2 −→ A3 −→ · · · A
is two-sided approximately intertwining. Then there are contractive positive
linear maps L : B → A and H : A → B such that L ◦ H = idA and
H ◦ L = idB and such that the diagram
hn,∞
Bn −→ B
↓Ln %Hn,∞ ↓L ↑H
φn,∞
An −→ A
approximately commutes on Fn within rn and approximately commutes on
Gn within sn .
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60 The Basics of C ∗ -algebras

If, furthermore, Ln are Fn -εn -multiplicative, Hn is Gn -δn -multiplicative

P∞ P∞
with n=1 εn < ∞ and n=1 δn < ∞, then L and H are isomorphisms.

Proof. It follows from 1.10.14 that there are L : B → A and H : B → A

such that

L◦hn,∞ (b) = lim φk,∞ ◦Lk ◦hn,k (b) and H◦φn,∞ (a) = lim hk+1,∞ ◦Hk ◦φn,k (a)
k→∞ k→∞

for all a ∈ An and b ∈ Bn . Therefore

khk+1,∞ ◦ Hk ◦ φn,k (a) − H ◦ φn,∞ (a)k → 0 as k → ∞.

Also

kφk+1,∞ ◦ Lk+1 (Hk ◦ φn,k (a)) − L ◦ hk+1,∞ (Hk ◦ φn,k (a))k → 0

as k → ∞. Since

kLk+1 (Hk ◦ φn,k (a)) − φn,k+1 (a)k → 0

as k → ∞ (this can be verified in a similarly manner as in the argument

used in the proof of 1.10.14 using the fact that ∪n φn,∞ (Gn ) is dense in the
unit ball of A and Lk+1 ◦ Hk ≈sn φk on Gn ), we conclude that

kL ◦ H(φn,∞ (a)) − φk+1,∞ (φn,k+1 (a))k → 0

as k → ∞. This implies that L ◦ H = idA . Similarly, H ◦ L = idB . 

1.11 Exercises

1.11.1 Prove that in a unital algebra, every proper ideal is contained

in a proper maximal ideal.
1.11.2 Let T be a bounded operator on a Hilbert space H. If sp(T ) is
disconnected, then T has a non-trivial invariant subspace, i.e., there is a
proper closed subspace H0 ⊂ H such that T (H0 ) ⊂ H0 .
1.11.3 Let T be in 1.1.17. Show that limn→∞ kT n k1/n = 0. Is zero an
eigenvalue of T ?
1.11.4 Let H be a Hilbert space with orthonormal basis {en }∞
n=1 . Define
a bounded operator S by S(en ) = en+1 . This operator S is called the shift
operator. Show that S has no square roots.