Definition 1.1.1. A topological group is a pair (G, τ) of a group G and a Hausdorff topologyτ for which the group operations
mG:G×G→G, (x, y)7→xy and ηG:G→G, x7→x−1 are continuous if G×G carries the product topology. Then we callτ a group topologyon the groupG.
Remark 1.1.2. The continuity of the group operations can also be translated into the following conditions which are more direct than referring to the product topology onG. The continuity of the multiplicationmGin (x, y)∈G×Gmeans that for each neighborhoodV ofxy there exist neighborhoodsUx ofxandUy
of y with UxUy ⊆ V. Similarly, the continuity of the inversion map ηG in x means that for each neighborhoodV ofx−1, there exist neighborhoodsUxofx withUx−1⊆V.
7
Remark 1.1.3. For a groupGwith a topologyτ, the continuity ofmG andηG already follows from the continuity of the single map
ϕ:G×G→G, (g, h)7→gh−1.
In fact, if ϕ is continuous, then the inversion ηG(g) = g−1 = ϕ(1, g) is the composition ofϕand the continuous mapG→G×G, g7→(1, g). The continuity ofηG further implies that the product map
idG×ηG:G×G→G×G, (g, h)7→(g, h−1) is continuous, and thereforemG=ϕ◦(idG×ηG) is continuous.
Remark 1.1.4. Every subgroup of a topological group is a topological group.
Example 1.1.5. (1)G= (Rn,+) is an abelian topological group with respect to any metric defined by a norm.
More generally, the additive group (X,+) of every Banach space is a topo-logical group.
(2) (C×,·) is a topological group and the circle groupT:={z∈C×:|z|= 1}
is a compact subgroup.
(3) The group GLn(R) of invertible (n×n)-matrices is a topological group with respect to matrix multiplication. The continuity of the inversion follows from Cramer’s Rule, which provides an explicit formula for the inverse in terms of determinants: For g ∈GLn(R), we definebij(g) := det(gmk)m6=j,k6=i. Then the inverse ofg is given by
(g−1)ij =(−1)i+j detg bij(g) (see Proposition 1.1.10 for a different argument).
(4) Any groupGis a topological group with respect to the discrete topology.
We have already argued above that the group GLn(R) carries a natural group topology. This group is the unit group of the algebra Mn(R) of real (n×n)-matrices. As we shall see now, there is a vast generalization of this construction.
Definition 1.1.6. ABanach algebrais a triple (A, mA,k · k) of a Banach space (A,k · k), together with an associative bilinear multiplication
mA:A × A → A,(a, b)7→ab for which the normk · kissubmultiplicative, i.e.,
kabk ≤ kak · kbk for a, b∈ A.
By abuse of notation, we shall mostly callAa Banach algebra, if the norm and the multiplication are clear from the context.
A unital Banach algebra is a pair (A,1) of a Banach algebra A and an element 1∈ Asatisfying1a=a1=afor eacha∈ A.
The subset
A×:={a∈ A: (∃b∈ A)ab=ba=1}
is called theunit group ofA(cf. Exercise 1.1.11).
Example 1.1.7. (a) If (X,k · k) is a Banach space, then the space B(X) of continuous linear operators A: X→X is a unital Banach algebra with respect to theoperator norm
kAk:= sup{kAxk:x∈X,kxk ≤1}
and composition of maps. Note that the submultiplicativity of the operator norm, i.e.,
kABk ≤ kAk · kBk, is an immediate consequence of the estimate
kABxk ≤ kAk · kBxk ≤ kAk · kBk · kxk for x∈X.
In this case the unit group is also denoted GL(X) :=B(X)×.
(b) IfXis a compact space andAa Banach algebra, then the spaceC(X,A) ofA-valued continuous functions onXis a Banach algebra with respect to point-wise multiplication (f g)(x) := f(x)g(x) and the norm kfk := supx∈Xkf(x)k (Exercise 1.1.9)
(c) An important special case of (b) arises forA=Mn(C), where we obtain C(X, Mn(C))×=C(X,GLn(C)) = GLn(C(X,C)).
Example 1.1.8. For any normk · konRn, the choice of a basis yields an iso-morphism of algebrasMn(R)∼=B(Rn), so that GLn(R)∼=B(Rn)×= GL(Rn).
Remark 1.1.9. In a Banach algebraA, the multiplication is continuous because an→aand bn→b implieskbnk → kbk and therefore
kanbn−abk=kanbn−abn+abn−abk ≤ kan−ak · kbnk+kak · kbn−bk →0.
In particular, left and right multiplications
λa:A → A, x7→ax, and ρa: A → A, x7→xa, are continuous with
kλak ≤ kak and kρak ≤ kak.
Proposition 1.1.10. The unit groupA×of a unital Banach algebra is an open subset and a topological group with respect to the topology defined by the metric d(a, b) :=ka−bk.
Proof. The proof is based on the convergence of the Neumann seriesP∞ n=0xn forkxk<1. For any suchxwe have
(1−x)
∞
X
n=0
xn =X∞
n=0
xn
(1−x) =1,
so that1−x∈ A×. We conclude that the open unit ball B1(1) is contained inA×.
Next we note that left multiplications λg: A → A with elements g ∈ A× are continuous (Remark 1.1.9), hence homeomorphisms becauseλ−1g =λg−1 is also continuous. ThereforegB1(1) =λgB1(1)⊆ A×is an open subset, showing thatg is an interior point ofA×. ThereforeA× is open.
The continuity of the multiplication of A× follows from the continuity of the multiplication on A by restriction and corestriction (Remark 1.1.9). The continuity of the inversion in1follows from the estimate
k(1−x)−1−1k=k
∞
X
n=1
xnk ≤
∞
X
n=1
kxkn= 1
1− kxk−1 = kxk 1− kxk, which tends to 0 for x→ 0. The continuity of the inversion ing0 ∈ A× now follows from the continuity in1via
g−1−g−10 =g0−1(g0g−1−1) =g−10 ((gg−10 )−1−1)
because left and right multiplication withg0−1 is continuous. This shows that A× is a topological group.
As we shall see throughout these notes, dealing with unitary representations often leads us to Banach algebras with an extra structure given by an involution.
Definition 1.1.11. (a) Aninvolutive algebra A is a pair (A,∗) of a complex algebraAand a mapA → A, a7→a∗, satisfying
(1) (a∗)∗=a(Involutivity)
(2) (λa+µb)∗ =λa∗+µb∗ (Antilinearity).
(3) (ab)∗=b∗a∗ (∗ is an antiautomorphism ofA).
Then∗is called aninvolutiononA. ABanach-∗-algebrais an involutive algebra (A,∗), whereAis a Banach algebra and ka∗k =kak holds for eacha∈ A. If, in addition,
ka∗ak=kak2 for a∈ A, then (A,∗) is called aC∗-algebra.
Example 1.1.12. (a) The algebraB(H) of bounded operators on a complex Hilbert spaceHis aC∗-algebra. Here the main point is that for eachA∈B(H) we have
kAk= sup{|hAv, wi|:kvk,kwk ≤1},
which immediately implies thatkA∗k=kAk. It also implies that
kA∗Ak= sup{|hAv, Awi|:kvk,kwk ≤1} ≥sup{kAvk2:kvk ≤1}=kAk2, and since kA∗Ak ≤ kA∗k · kAk = kAk2 is also true, we see that B(H) is a C∗-algebra.
(b) From (a) it immediately follows that every closed∗-invariant subalgebra ofA ⊆B(H) also is aC∗-algebra.
(c) IfX is a compact space, then the Banach space C(X,C), endowed with kfk:= supx∈X|f(x)|is aC∗-algebra with respect tof∗(x) :=f(x). In this case kf∗fk=k|f|2k=kfk2is trivial.
(d) IfX is a locally compact space, then we say that a continuous function f:X →C vanishes at infinity if for eachε >0 there exists a compact subset K ⊆ X with |f(x)| ≤ ε for x 6∈ K. We write C0(X,C) for the set of all continuous functions vanishing at infinity and endow it with the norm kfk :=
supx∈X|f(x)|. (cf. Exercise 1.1.10). ThenC0(X,C) is aC∗-algebra with respect the involutionf∗(x) :=f(x).
Example 1.1.13. (a) IfHis a (complex) Hilbert space, then its unitary group U(H) :={g∈GL(H) :g∗=g−1}
is a topological group with respect to the metricd(g, h) :=kg−hk. It is a closed subgroup of GL(H) =B(H)×.
ForH=Cn, endowed with the standard scalar product, we also write Un(C) :={g∈GLn(C) :g∗=g−1} ∼= U(Cn),
and note that
U1(C) ={z∈C×= GL(C) :|z|= 1} ∼=T is the circle group.
(b) IfAis a unitalC∗-algebra, then itsunitary group U(A) :={g∈ A:gg∗=g∗g=1}
also is a topological group with respect to the norm topology.
Exercises for Section 1.1
Exercise 1.1.1. (Antilinear Isometries) Let H be a complex Hilbert space.
Show that:
(a) There exists an antilinear isometric involution τ onH. Hint: Use an or-thonormal basis (ej)j∈J ofH.
(b) A mapϕ:H → His an antilinear isometry if and only if hϕ(v), ϕ(w)i=hw, vi for v, w∈ H.
(c) If σ is an antilinear isometric involution of H, then there exists an or-thonormal basis (ej)j∈J fixed pointwise by σ. Hint: Show that Hσ :=
{v ∈ H: σ(v) =v} is a real Hilbert space withHσ⊕iHσ =Hand pick an ONB inHσ.
Exercise 1.1.2. (Antilinear Isometries) Let H be a complex Hilbert space.
Show that:
(a) In the group Us(H) of semilinear (=linear or antilinear) surjective isometries ofH, the unitary group U(H) is a normal subgroup of index 2.
(b) Each antilinear isometry ϕ of H induces a map ϕ: P(H) → P(H),[v] 7→
[ϕ(v)] preservingβ([v],[w]) = kvk|hv,wi|2kwk22, i.e., β(ϕ[v], ϕ[w]) = |hϕ(v), ϕ(w)i|2
kϕ(v)k2kϕ(w)k2 =β([v],[w]).
(c) An elementg∈U(H) induces the identity onP(H) if and only ifg∈T1.
(d) If there exists an antilinear isometry inducing the identity on P(H), then dimH= 1. Hint: Show first that σ2 =λ1for some λ∈T. Find µ∈ T such thatτ :=µσis an involution and use Exercise 1.1.1(c).
Exercise 1.1.3. LetGbe a topological group. Show that the following asser-tions hold:
(i) The left multiplication mapsλg: G→G, x7→gxare homeomorphisms.
(ii) The right multiplication mapsρg:G→G, x7→xgare homeomorphisms.
(iii) The conjugation mapscg: G→G, x7→gxg−1 are homeomorphisms.
(iv) The inversion mapηG:G→G, x7→x−1 is a homeomorphism.
Exercise 1.1.4. Let G be a group, endowed with a topology τ. Show that (G, τ) is a topological group if the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) The left multiplication mapsλg: G→G, x7→gxare continuous.
(ii) The inversion mapηG:G→G, x7→x−1 is continuous.
(iii) The multiplicationmG:G×G→Gis continuous in (1,1).
Hint: Use (i) and (ii) to derive that all right multiplications and hence all conjugations are continuous.
Exercise 1.1.5. Let G be a group, endowed with a topology τ. Show that (G, τ) is a topological group if the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) The left multiplication mapsλg: G→G, x7→gxare continuous.
(ii) The right multiplication mapsρg:G→G, x7→xgare continuous.
(iii) The inversion map ηG:G→Gis continuous in1.
(iv) The multiplicationmG:G×G→Gis continuous in (1,1).
Exercise 1.1.6. Show that if (Gi)i∈I is a family of topological groups, then the product groupG:=Q
i∈IGiis a topological group with respect to the product topology.
Exercise 1.1.7. Let G and N be topological groups and suppose that the homomorphismα:G→Aut(N) defines a continuous map
G×N→N, (g, n)7→α(g)(n).
ThenN×Gis a group with respect to the multiplication (n, g)(n0, g0) := (nα(g)(n0), gg0),
called the semidirect product ofNandGwith respect toα. It is denotedNoαG.
Show that it is a topological group with respect to the product topology.
A typical example is the group
Mot(H) :=HoαU(H)
of affine isometries of a complex Hilbert spaceH; also called themotion group.
In this caseα(g)(v) =gvand Mot(H) acts onHby (b, g).v:=b+gv(hence the name). On U(H) we may either use the norm topology or the strong topology.
For both we obtain group topologies on Mot(H) (verify this!).
Exercise 1.1.8. LetXbe a topological space andGbe a topological group. We want to define a topology on the group C(X, G), endowed with the pointwise product (f g)(x) := f(x)g(x). We specify a set τ of subsets of C(X, G) by O ∈ τ if for each f ∈ O there exists a compact subset K ⊆ X and an open 1-neighborhoodU ⊆Gsuch that
W(K, U) :={f ∈C(X, G) :f(K)⊆U}
satisfies gW(K, U)⊆O. Show thatτ defines a group topology onC(X, G). It is called the compact open topology, or the topology of uniform convergence on compact subsets ofX. Hint: You may cut the problem into the following steps:
(i) For compact subsetsK1, . . . , KnofX and open1-neighborhoodsU1, . . . , Un inG, we have
W[n
i=1
Ki,
n
\
i=1
Ui
⊆
n
\
i=1
W(Ki, Ui).
(ii) W(K, U) ∈ τ for K ⊆X compact and U ⊆ G an open 1-neighborhood.
Hint: Iff(K)⊆U, there exists a 1-neighborhoodV in Gwith f(K)V ⊆ U, and then f W(K, V)⊆W(K, U).
(iii) τ is a topology onC(X, G).
(iv) Use Exercise 1.1.4 to show thatC(X, G) is a topological group. For the con-tinuity of the multiplication in 1, use that W(K, V)W(K, V)⊆W(K, U) wheneverV V ⊆U.
Exercise 1.1.9. LetX be a compact space andAbe a Banach algebra. Show that:
(a) The space C(X,A) of A-valued continuous functions on X is a complex associative algebra with respect to pointwise multiplication (f g)(x) :=
f(x)g(x).
(b) kfk := supx∈Xkf(x)k is a submultiplicative norm onC(X,A) for which C(X,A) is complete, hence a Banach algebra. Hint: Continuous func-tions on compact spaces are bounded and uniform limits of sequences of continuous functions are continuous.
(c) C(X,A)× =C(X,A×).
(d) IfAis aC∗-algebra, thenC(X,A) is also aC∗-algebra with respect to the involution f∗(x) :=f(x)∗,x∈X.
Exercise 1.1.10. LetX be a locally compact space andAbe a Banach algebra.
We say that a continuous function f: X → A vanishes at infinity if for each ε > 0 there exists a compact subset K ⊆ X with kf(x)k ≤ ε for x 6∈ K.
We write C0(X,A) for the set of all continuous A-valued functions vanishing at infinity. Show that all assertions of Exercise 1.1.9 remain true in this more general context.
Exercise 1.1.11. LetA be a complex Banach algebra overK∈ {R,C}. If A has no unit, we cannot directly associate a “unit group” toA. However, there is a different way to do that by considering onAthe multiplication
x∗y:=x+y+xy.
Show that:
(a) The space A+ := A ×K is a unital Banach algebra with respect to the multiplication
(a, t)(a0, t0) := (aa0+ta0+t0a, tt0).
(b) The map η: A → A+, x 7→ (x,1) is injective and satisfies η(x∗ y) = η(x)η(y). Conclude in particular that (A,∗,0) is a monoid, i.e., a semi-group with neutral element 0.
(c) An elementa∈ Ais said to bequasi-invertibleif it is an invertible element in the monoid (A,∗,0). Show that the setA× of quasi-invertible elements ofAis an open subset and that (A×,∗,0) is a topological group.