An introductory graduate level text presenting the basics of the subject through a detailed analysis of several important classes of C*-algebras, those which are the basis of the development of operator algebras. Explains the real examples that researchers use to test their hypotheses, and introduces modern concepts and results such as real rank zero algebras, topological stable rank, and quasidiagonality. Includes chapter exercises with hints. For graduate students with a foundation in functional analysis. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The first unified, in-depth discussion of the now classical Gelfand-Naimark theorems, thiscomprehensive text assesses the current status of modern analysis regarding both Banachand C*-algebras.Characterizations of C*-Algebras: The Gelfand-Naimark Theorems focuses on general theoryand basic properties in accordance with readers' needs ... provides complete proofs of theGelfand-Naimark theorems as well as refinements and extensions of the original axioms. . . gives applications of the theorems to topology, harmonic analysis. operator theory.group representations, and other topics ... treats Hermitian and symmetric *-algebras.algebras with and without identity, and algebras with arbitrary (possibly discontinuous)involutions . . . includes some 300 end-of-chapter exercises . . . offers appendices on functionalanalysis and Banach algebras ... and contains numerous examples and over 400 referencesthat illustrate important concepts and encourage further research.Characterizations of C*-Algebras: The Gelfand-Naimark Theorems is an ideal text for graduatestudents taking such courses as The Theory of Banach Algebras and C*-Algebras: inaddition , it makes an outstanding reference for physicists, research mathematicians in analysis,and applied scientists using C*-algebras in such areas as statistical mechanics, quantumtheory. and physical chemistry.

This volume, setting out the theory of positive maps as it stands today, reflects the rapid growth in this area of mathematics since it was recognized in the 1990s that these applications of C*-algebras are crucial to the study of entanglement in quantum theory. The author, a leading authority on the subject, sets out numerous results previously unpublished in book form. In addition to outlining the properties and structures of positive linear maps of operator algebras into the bounded operators on a Hilbert space, he guides readers through proofs of the Stinespring theorem and its applications to inequalities for positive maps. The text examines the maps’ positivity properties, as well as their associated linear functionals together with their density operators. It features special sections on extremal positive maps and Choi matrices. In sum, this is a vital publication that covers a full spectrum of matters relating to positive linear maps, of which a large proportion is relevant and applicable to today’s quantum information theory. The latter sections of the book present the material in finite dimensions, while the text as a whole appeals to a wider and more general readership by keeping the mathematics as elementary as possible throughout.

This book constitutes a first- or second-year graduate course in operator theory. It is a field that has great importance for other areas of mathematics and physics, such as algebraic topology, differential geometry, and quantum mechanics. It assumes a basic knowledge in functional analysis but no prior acquaintance with operator theory is required.

Reprinted by popular demand, this monograph presents a comprehensive study of positive operators between Riesz spaces and Banach lattices. Since publication of this book in 1985, the subject of positive operators and Riesz spaces has found practical applications in disciplines including social sciences and engineering. This book examines positive operators in the setting of Riesz spaces and Banach lattices, from both the algebraic and topological points of view.